‘It’s sobering’: Volunteers search debris for bodies after Texas flooding

CENTER POINT, Texas (KXAN) — While local, state and federal assets have been active across central Texas in the aftermath of Friday’s deadly floods, volunteers are also helping out with efforts coordinated through first responders.

On Sunday, Charlie Wolfe and Johnny Fjord assisted in Center Point, Texas.

“There was concern there was a body in the debris pile,” Fjord said. “It’s definitely a sobering thought. You know that it’s either going to be someone you know or someone’s child you know, so you know it’s going to be very sobering for sure.”

He and Wolfe worked with a group coordinated by a local fire department.

Center Point was also a primary location for various search and rescue efforts on Sunday. It’s downstream from where the floods began.

As of Monday morning, the death toll was at least 82, with 68 — including 28 children — in Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country. Some of the victims still haven’t been identified, and the total number of people unaccounted for is unknown.

“We’re just here to serve and make sure everyone is recovered, so we can give these families some closure. So that’s really where my mindset is at,” Wolfe said.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday’s flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches of rain in the dark early morning hours.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.