'It was like a dam broke': Kerr County flood survivors begin recovery process

KERR COUNTY (Nexstar) -- James Forster lives near the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. On Friday morning, he came to check on a friend's house along the river banks. The flood waters were rising quickly.

"I'm looking, and about that time the water hits me," Forster said Saturday, as he returned to his friend's flood damaged home. "And then it all comes up, pops this thing up, pops the floor boards up," he said, pointing to the mud-covered wooden boards on the porch.

"It was like a dam broke," Forster said.

On Saturday, the home was covered with mud and piles of debris from the flood.

"This has got to be a 1,000 year flood," Forster said as he looked at the damage.

Nearby in Center Point, work crews brought in a crane to clear flood debris on a bridge over the river. Workers removed piles of tree branches and splintered wood. A closer look revealed personal items, in the debris. Our team spotted a T-shirt and a girl's shoe among the piles of wood. A home, forced from its foundation in the flood, was smashed along the supports of the bridge.

The number of confirmed flood victims continues to rise. At a Saturday evening news conference the Kerr County Sheriff reported 43 people died in the flood. The Sheriff said 15 of the victims are children. The sheriff did not confirm if any of the 27 girls reported missing from a camp along the river are among the victims.

Rescue efforts continue, with search teams still looking for survivors.

"We will be relentless," Governor Greg Abbott said at a news conference earlier Saturday. But more than 36 hours into the operation, hopes for finding survivors is dwindling.

"History would tell us that after a certain period, those chances diminish," Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd told reporters.