The bleak figure was presented by Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a sometimes tense press conference on Tuesday – where representatives of the rescue effort deflected questions about who was responsible for monitoring and weather warnings.
The primary task right now is still to locate everyone affected by this flood, said Abbott, and added:
We must find every single person who is missing.
The governor also warned that the number of missing people may rise.
It is very likely that more can be added to that list, said Abbott.
Four days have passed since someone was found alive in the aftermath of the floods in Kerr County, and they are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the chances of finding survivors, rescue leaders stated on Tuesday.
Most of the dead after the flash flood have been reported from Kerr County where 87 people have been confirmed dead, of which 30 are children.
Many of them participated in the severely affected Christian summer camp for girls, Camp Mystic, which was held right next to the Guadalupe River which rose eight meters in just 45 minutes early on Friday. Ten children from the camp are still missing.
US President Donald Trump plans to visit Texas on Friday.