Rockford City Council rose for a moment of silence during its July 7 meeting to mourn the deaths of at least 104 people in catastrophic flooding in Texas and honor the first responders and residents working to rescue survivors.
The Guadalupe River was rapidly overwhelmed by heavy rain July 4, rising by an estimated 26 feet within 45 minutes and devasting parts of central Texas. Rescue teams in central Texas scoured storm-ravaged terrain are continuing to look for survivors and the death toll continues to rise.
“If you have watched any of the news or seen any of the footage, it is absolutely devastating,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said. “It’s just an unimaginable loss of life, and I would just ask if this Council could do a moment of silence in honor of the lives lost, all the heroic first responders and just the incredibly courageous citizens who have stepped in to help save lives during that horrific devastation.”
Among the dead were 27 children and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp in Kerr County, Texas, where the worst of the flooding was located. Ten children and a camp counselor were still missing as of July 7.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford mourns ‘unimaginable loss of life’ in Texas floods
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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