Noem says first responders in Texas ‘still looking for a lot of little girls’ missing after flood

WASHINGTON AP Her voice latest Homeland Assurance Secretary Kristi Noem commented Tuesday that emergency responders in Texas are still looking for a lot of little girls who remain missing after a catastrophic flood during the holiday weekend Noem described the scene at Camp Mystic in Kerrville Texas at the urging of President Donald Trump as he opened a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House Noem visited on Saturday a day after floodwaters swept away the camp She stated Texans are strong but they ve gone through something that is absolutely horrific and it is heartbreaking to watch these families suffer the way that they are Trump communicated during the meeting that he and his wife Melania will visit on Friday Noem announced she was surprised when she arrived at the camp and saw the devastation The parents that were looking for their children and picking up their daughters stuffed animals out of the mud and finding their daughter s shoe that might be laying in the cabin and just hugging and comforting people matters a lot the secretary declared I m extremely grateful for God s hand in that whole situation because hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people were saved she revealed And and this is a time for all of us in this country to remember that we were created to serve each other A wall of water slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday pulling people out of their cabins tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars Certain survivors were uncovered clinging to trees More than people were killed including at least campers and counselors Officers noted Monday that campers and one counselor still have not been ascertained The flood and its devastation appear to have for the moment tamped down talk by Trump and Noem of scaling back the Federal Urgency Management Agency which helps states respond to natural disasters by providing water and other supplies and federal assistance Trump declined earlier this week to discuss his plans to shrink FEMA when a reporter required if that was still his intent Noem commented Tuesday that FEMA supports states during disasters like this and that s exactly what we did here in this situation