12 missing after flooding in Texas sweeps away vacation home

WIMBERLEY, Texas — Recovery teams were resuming the search Tuesday for 12 members of two families who are missing after a rain-swollen river in Texas carried a vacation home off its foundation, slamming it into a bridge downstream.

A holiday weekend of storms dumped record rainfall on the American heartland, caused major flooding, spawned tornadoes and killed at least eight people in Oklahoma and Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Texas, and thousands of residents are displaced.

Authorities were also searching for victims and assessing damage just across the Texas-Mexico border in Ciudad Acuna, where a tornado Monday killed 13 people and left at least five unaccounted for.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared disasters in 37 counties, allowing for further mobilization of state resources to assist.

"It's absolutely massive," Abbott said after touring the destruction.

The worst flooding damage was in Wimberley, where the vacation home was swept away.

Witnesses reported seeing the swollen river push the home off its foundation and smash it into a bridge. Only pieces of the home have been found, Hays County Judge Bert Cobb said.

Cobb had said Monday night that one person who was rescued from the home told workers that the other 12 inside were all connected to two families. Young children were among those thought to be missing.

Early Tuesday, Hays County spokeswoman Laureen Chernow said officials were not able to confirm whether all 12 people were in that house.

The Blanco River crested above 12 metres, more than triple its flood stage of 13 feet. The river swamped Interstate 35 and forced parts of the busy north-south highway to close. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter to pull people out.

In Austin on Monday, emergency crews responded to more than 20 high-water rescues. Harris County Flood District, which includes Houston, advised residents not leave their homes early Tuesday after the weather service issued a flash flood warning for parts of the county.

Before the sun rose Tuesday, emergency crews used helicopters and boats to help residents evacuate their flooded homes.

The storm system also prompted reports of tornadoes across Texas and was blamed for four deaths: a man whose body was pulled from the Blanco; a 14-year-old who was found with his dog in a storm drain; a student whose car was caught in high water; and a man whose mobile home was destroyed by a reported tornado.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported four fatalities between Saturday and Monday across the state, which saw severe flooding and reported tornadoes.