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Texas Deadly Flood Disaster; Couple Rescues More Than A Dozen Strangers Trapped Inside Airbnb; More Rain Forecast Today for Texas Areas Hit by Deadly Floods; At Least 67 People Dead, 11 Campers Missing In Texas Floods; Pope Leo Offers Condolences, Prayers For Texas Flood Victims; World Central Kitchen Is On The Ground In Kerrville, Texas. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired July 06, 2025 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:01:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is horrible. So bad, we've Never seen it this bad before. We've had flooding, Not to this extent. It's -- it's a catastrophe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was going up to -- we have bunk beds in our cabins and it was going up to the top bunk. And we had one choice, and we had to swim out of our cabins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the way here, we saw all of like, the other camps destroyed, like obliterated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The devastation -- there are just no words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is when we need to come together and help each other out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: I mean, just so many signs of the devastation there.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague Boris Sanchez, live in Texas. Boris, we'll get to you in a moment.

Welcome to this special edition of the CNN NEWSROOM as we continue to cover breaking news out of Texas.

Right now, expanding search and rescue efforts are underway in the central part of the state, which has been devastated by catastrophic flooding.

This is new video from the Fourth of July, when those torrential rains hit showing Coast Guard helicopters airlifting victims from the flood near Kerrville, Texas. The Coast Guard says it was able to rescue 15 children from Camp Mystic earlier this weekend.

And new time lapse video showing just how fast, you can see right there, the flooding happened. You can see the historic flash floods rapidly swelling this river in just a matter of minutes. Homes, bridges, roads, cars just washed out.

Today, first responders are entering a third day of searching for survivors as the situation looks increasingly urgent and desperate. Today, the death toll has risen to at least 67. Most of the fatalities in hard hit Kerr County, where 59 people have died, including 21 children.

And a short time ago, officials gave an update on the situation, saying 11 girls and a counselor are still missing from Camp Mystic, a summer camp located along the Guadalupe River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF LARRY LEITHA, KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: We extend our sincerest condolences and prayers for every single family affected by this tragedy. And we continue to work around the clock and reunite these families. We will continue to search -- our search efforts until everybody is found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN anchor Boris Sanchez is on the ground there in Hunt, Texas. Boris set the scene for us.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, Fred. The situation here on the ground in Kerr County is difficult to put into context, to give you an idea of the scale of the damage.

We are just outside of that camp, Camp Mystic, where 11 campers remain missing along with a counselor as well. This is right on the banks of the Guadalupe River, which at some point hit up to 24 feet after some months of rain fell in a matter of hours. That wall of water came through the camp and it hit some of the structures where you see right now, folks are combing through the debris.

We understand from our reporting that several of the counselors in those buildings specifically had to break through glass on the windows to help some of the campers get out and evacuate.

As the floodwater came through this area, it pushed massive trees over this small dam. It's hard again, to give you an idea of just how widespread the damage is and the devastation were seeing, because it doesn't quite fit into the camera lens just underneath us.

There is an overturned trailer. There's an overturned dumpster as well. Just further down, there's an entire SUV with the airbags deployed that got pushed into the side -- into the side of this sort of plateau here.

[14:04:54] SANCHEZ: This morning we've seen volunteers, a number of them come out with chainsaws trying to cut through these downed trees to search for any sign of life, perhaps any people that have been lost as a result of these floods.

The scope of the damage coming into view now as the waters recede, the loved ones of those missing, at this point they are just hoping and praying for a miracle. Rescue crews are doing everything that they can right now.

There are more than 400 first responders from some 20 agencies searching on the ground, in the air as well. We've seen some Coast Guard helicopters flying over us. They are also in the water. We've seen a number of johnboats. Members of the Cajun Navy here on the ground as well.

And as you mentioned, again 11 young girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic -- this, the site of one of the biggest losses of life in Texas here in Kerr County.

The number of missing, we should note from Camp Mystic down significantly from where it was yesterday, where nearly 30 had been reported missing. We heard again, 21 kids in Kerr County, part of the wider death toll. All around, there is immense devastation on the ground.

So getting a view now, 48 hours after all of this happened, authorities are racing against the clock to try to find any sign that someone is alive. The search for the missing is growing more desperate by the hour.

We do want to get you some perspective from a nearby area, Center Point where CNN's Isabel Rosales is right now.

And Isabel, the Guadalupe River also flows through that community. Weve heard reports of people being swept up and winding up miles away because of these floodwaters. Give us an idea of the devastation where you are.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, these volunteers, which by the way, number in the hundreds, anywhere from Bernie to Center Point to Hunt to Ingram and all over central Texas and beyond they are bringing everything that they can. Whether it's horses, ATVs, dogs, kayaks, any which way to follow the river and follow where these currents might have taken these victims.

But more often than not, what they're bringing, Boris, are their bare hands. We see volunteers, look at this woman right here, pulling tree limbs, oftentimes without gloves.

This is heavy, heavy labor. This is grueling. And they're checking every nook and cranny that they possibly can, because there are holes in here in this debris where people might have been swept up.

And there are dangers here for these volunteers. These are regular people that were just -- they saw the images, the devastation to this community, whether they are part of this community or beyond. And they felt inspired to come here and just do anything that they can.

But there are dangers, from fire ants to all this mud to debris like this barbed wire all over the place. So they have to go through this very, very carefully.

And look at this. These tree limbs just that were snapped. This goes to show you the direction of the water. How powerful the currents were.

And if you look at this bridge right over there, you can see tree limbs hanging over it as well, that they had to clear out so that rescuers could get into this area.

I spoke with a woman who's lived here for 34 years. She says they get flash flood warnings all of the time. She didn't think she would see anything like this. She's never seen anything like this. She didn't think it would be this much devastation.

I also spoke to a rancher who traveled from an hour and a half away. Here -- here is why he was inspired to come out here. Listen.

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JOSEPH EISENBACH, HORSEBACK VOLUNTEER SEARCHER: I couldn't sit back. I mean they have -- all day yesterday and seeing everything. I got a buddy that's down in Conroe in rescue. He was down here. Matter of fact, right here yesterday he told me, you know, he was telling me about, you know, finding some (INAUDIBLE). He's had to come. Those babies -- those babies. If it was my babies, I would want somebody looking for them. So that's why I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Boris, further complicating this search and rescue effort is that more rain is in the forecast. But something that all of these volunteers have shared with me is this sentiment. No matter where they come from, that they are seeking for something that they rather not find, which are victims.

But they know how important it is to give these families closure, to give them answers. Because if their loved ones were out here, they told me they would want someone doing exactly what they're doing. Just searching, Boris.

[14:09:50]

SANCHEZ: Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for that update.

We've been hearing all manner of stories about narrow escapes. And we actually heard from a group of friends that escaped the flash flooding in Kerrville, Texas after they were rescued by two strangers.

I spoke to Ricky Gonzalez this morning. He told CNN that he and his 12 friends were trapped inside their Airbnb.

This is video that they took. Floodwaters rising, sweeping one of their cars away. This is what he shared about how they escaped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICKY GONZALEZ, RESCUED FROM DEADLY FLASH FLOODING: We were on the second floor of the Airbnb and the water was coming up to the floor. So it was going really quickly. And we were -- we were stranded. We were stuck.

There was -- one of the trucks that was merged underneath the house and was banging up against the pillar. So I was very worried that the house was either going to fall or the water was going to continue to rise.

So everything happened so quickly. What felt like, you know, two minutes was actually a two-hour ordeal for us. And we were saved by a family who just so happened to be driving by to check on some property that they had.

And I was looking out the window, talking with my sister, you know, just letting her know what's going on. And she saw me. I waved at her and they went to the front. They were able to access the house and they were telling us, you know, the house was in bad shape. We need to get out.

And thankfully by that time the water was going down enough for us waist deep to be able to get out. And this family, the Garcia family, Paula and Leo, they took us in, they fed us. They made sure we were dry. They drove us all the way to the San Antonio Airport so we can rent vehicles since we didn't have any vehicles anymore.

And they were just our guardian angels for this trip. And so many different things had to happen right on this trip in order for us to be safe.

The house next door was swept away. The poor little children in the camp and everyone is just -- we're one of the great, you know, the lucky ones. And we're extremely grateful for all the local support there in Kerrville. And despite everything going on, people still have a heart and are willing to help out strangers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Ricky and his friends are so lucky to be alive. And they're so lucky that folks like Paula and Leo Garcia are out there.

They join us now live, along with their daughter Rachel, Leo and Paula, thank you so much for being with us.

What more can you tell us about how you first came across Ricky and his friends? Ricky had told me that when you came across him, he was on Facetime with his sister, and he was contemplating what he should tell her if it was the last time he was going to be speaking with her.

LEO GARCIA, RESCUED GROUP OF STRANGERS: Well, we were going to check on the family property and coming in on the west side. Well, we quickly realized that the water was still kind of high, and I decided that we were going to go back around to the east side.

So we drove around and coming to our property, we noticed that everything was gone. There was two campers there in our shed that we had there, not really a shed. It was a family gathering place that we had there. It was also gone.

So we just continued forward a little more and I thought I had seen somebody at the second story window. And I told my wife, Paula, I said I'm pretty sure I saw somebody in there.

So I backed up and we saw them, saw Ricky and so she got out and asked if they were ok and you could tell they were in shock, you know?

So we got out as well as my daughter Rachel, and we all got out and just went over to the house and helped them down. You know, I think they were just so much in shock that they did not realize that the water had receded enough where they could have walked out.

But I mean, I get it, I get it. I mean, they were in shock. And I think they were just happy to see somebody that could get to them.

SANCHEZ: 100 percent.

And you see the video and it just looks terrifying with all that debris moving through the water.

Paula, what was going through your mind as you were trying to help evacuate Ricky and his friends?

PAULA GARCIA, RESCUED GROUP OF FRIENDS: Well, we were kind of shocked a little bit that that people -- there were a few people on the road that were standing around. We were a little shocked that somebody hadn't already helped them. But then we realized it was because those people were in shock also. They were stunned from what they had just experienced.

And we were pretty sure that the water had just receded enough for us to be able to walk up to the house. We were walking through water to get to the house, but it was, you know, like thigh deep. And so we were just trying to remove debris from the steps. And it was still -- even though they could walk out, it wasn't like they were just like on a leisurely stroll.

[14:14:51]

P. GARCIA: They had to climb over debris that was in the water and you couldn't see anything in the water. And of course, they were all shaken from the experience that they had just been through.

And they had five animals with them, too. And we were a little concerned about if they -- if the animals would let us help them because they were, you know, traumatized as well.

So anyway, the animals were very cooperative. And we got out and took them back to the house and fed them and just tried to do what we do best. And that's to just take care of people. That's what we like to do.

SANCHEZ: Absolutely. I love hearing that. I actually heard that Ricky said that it was one of the dogs that was with him, that that belonged to one of his friends, Nash, who started pawing at the door and actually got them to realize how bad the waters had gotten.

Rachel, I wonder, hearing your folks say that helping people is what they want to do, what they do best. I mean, it's got to be inspiring that you were part of this moment to help these folks in a really bad time.

RACHEL GARCIA, RESCUED GROUP OF FRIENDS: Yes. It definitely was. We've always grown up, you know, just loving on people and helping as many people as we can. And that's what we've always been taught. And that's something we will continue to do.

And if it was my family that was out there, I would hope that people would help them. So we are going to do whatever we can to make sure we can help other people.

SANCHEZ: And lastly, I just wonder what message -- you wanted to say something, Leo.

L. GARCIA: No. It also helps that that Rachel is a nurse. So, you know, she -- it's in her blood one way or another.

So I mean, she was there, but we were there, you know, we were not -- we're not any hero. We were just we just happened to be there. And we're going to help out. Right place, right time. We're going to help whoever it is.

I don't care who you are, we're going to help you if you are in need of help.

P. GARCIA: I'd also like to say something to you about, you know, who are mentioning that it's you know, why -- why weren't there warning systems in place?

The people that are saying that do not understand how the weather works in this area, that water was coming so fast that there was just no way to warn people. And it just -- it's a tragedy and we're going to do our best to help our community get through that tragedy.

But it's just sad that we're, you know, in the middle of all of it, trying to find blame. It's just kind of sad.

L. GARCIA: Yes.

SANCHEZ: That is that is important context to keep in mind. And I know you said, Leo, that you don't consider yourself a hero. I know Ricky and his friends certainly consider you all heroes. Paula, Leo and Rachel, thank you so much for your time.

P. GARCIA: Thank you.

L. GARCIA: Thank you. SANCHEZ: All across the central part of Texas, volunteers are racing against time, scouring the banks of the Guadalupe River for any potential survivors as forecasters are actually warning that more rain is on the way.

We've got the latest on the forecast in just moments. Don't go anywhere.

[14:17:59]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. You're watching breaking news coverage of the deadly flooding in Texas.

First responders are spending a third day searching for survivors after floodwaters surged through the central part of the state. We're getting new video also from Friday, when those torrential rains hit showing the Coast Guard airlifting victims from the floodwaters near the hardest hit area around Kerrville, Texas.

The death toll has grown to at least 67 now, and that includes 21 children. 11 girls and a counselor are still missing from Camp Mystic, one of the summer camps along the Guadalupe River.

And the weather threat is not over. Forecasters say more rain is on the way for central Texas. Let's bring in now meteorologist Chris Warren who's with us. So, how much rain is expected in these already hard-hit areas?

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's going to come at times in fits, but it's also possible that it could miss some of these hard-hit areas.

I want to show you right now with the radar. And you kind of get that idea. Less likely to miss up here. There's a lot more green, the lighter rain -- yellow. Orange and red, that's the heavier rain, even some thunderstorms. Some flashes that are showing the lightning.

But down here in Kerr County, a little bit of light rain not too far away. Some thunderstorm activity. We're currently tracking just to the west of Junction, and the threat is still there.

So any of those thunderstorms can still bring heavy enough rain to create some flash flooding. There are some flash flood warnings and flood. Watches still posted right now for these areas.

Future radar does show kind of a gathering of thunderstorms, if you will, around San Antonio. Kerrville, you're close to that, so you can't completely rule it out.

And first thing in the morning, this forecast does show the chance for some thunderstorms rolling through at least some heavy rain and then picking up again tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. But then you can see the radar goes essentially dry.

And that is the forecast here, Fredricka. Lows in the 70s. Highs in the 90s. It is going to be hot, but it will be dry.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And then walk us through how things unfolded.

WARREN: Well it started out being too dry. So it kind of -- can be counterintuitive too, right. So there is currently drought. And this will be updated later in the week.

[14:24:51]

WARREN: But at the time there was even extreme drought to exceptional drought. That dark red, that's the highest level of drought, the most intense drought.

And that's important because when you get tropical moisture from former tropical systems coming up and the proximity just being close to the Gulf adds more moisture anyways. But this little extra kick and then all of the rain that falls falling on very dry ground, that dry ground is hard.

So you might think that a lot of water going into dry ground would soak it up really easily, but that's not the case.

It can be really hard and it takes a while for that to soften up and then let water get in. And you can see here in Kerr County, the north fork, south fork of the Guadalupe River, all of that rain over hours. You see this.

And while its dark, falling on that dry ground, going just very fast into the north and south fork and then downstream in what was being called a flood wave of water.

And you can imagine that one area and then all over here, just how bad and widespread all of this rain has been. And here the Guadalupe River at Kerrville -- again, all that rain happening at night. This is throughout the week when the water levels of the river, less than a foot in a couple of hours shooting up to two stories high. That is unimaginable. Hard to think of, hard to comprehend when we look at that.

And again, dealing with some showers right now. But Fredricka, not expecting anything compared to what we saw last week.

WHITFIELD: Yes, even with that, it is still so hard to believe.

WARREN: That's true.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Warren, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

So flash flood alley -- that's how a local meteorologist describes this part of Texas. He'll join us live next.

[14:26:29]

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[14:30:43] SANCHEZ: Back now live in central Texas as rescue crews desperately trying to find survivors. Questions are emerging about whether there were sufficient warnings ahead of the flash flooding that has claimed at least 67 lives.

We want to discuss with someone who is familiar with this area, a former meteorologist based in Kerrville, Cary Burgess, joins us now live.

Cary, thank you so much for being with us.

I don't want to start with the forecast or with the warnings. I want to start with the personal loss that you've endured as well. You know, three people that were lost as a result of these floods.

CARY BURGESS, KERRVILLE LOCAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. I know three people, including in our family does, more so with the director here at Camp Mystic and also a pretty good close acquaintance at the Heart of the Hills Camp, which is just down the bend around the river there who lost her life. One of the -- she was found earlier on Friday and then, the Tivy High School soccer coach. And his wife, which was probably the closest acquaintance of mine, and that's going to hurt the Kerrville community considerably at Tivy High School.

But this has been a really rough couple of days. This is flash flood alley. This stuff has happened before and it all is about location, where the rain falls.

And as you can see behind us, there's a lot of limestone rock. It just drains off. It doesn't soak into the ground like a lot of the areas of the country would normally have.

So, this is known as flash flood alley as a result of that.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. You mentioned earlier while we were speaking that you were here in the '80s, the last time a flood of this magnitude swept through the area. Talk to us about what that was like, why the Guadalupe River has become known for these kinds of flash floods.

BURGESS: Well, part of that is, even though you look at the cliffs back here, you've seen video of that. You look at the topography behind us. It's rock underneath there.

And this is actually a shallow portion. This is the headwaters of the Guadalupe River. So underneath, it's just basically limestone rock. So, it acts just like water when it rains on the pavement here, it just runs off at a high rate of speed compared to if you had soil or dirt or where it just has a chance to soak in.

That doesn't happen here. It just immediately runs off, and then you get walls of water. And that is what happened in this case in 1987. I was here for that one. That was a quiet one. Didn't lightning, didn't do anything. It rained all night, and at that point in time, you didn't even have weather radios or any kind of warning system whatsoever in place, except for the weather service to be able to do it through radio stations. And that's how it was in the '80s. Just technology didn't exist for stuff like it does now.

But we did not have fatalities on this part of the Guadalupe River, but it did rise up to about 30 feet, which is similar to this. This one is unique in that this is -- you're on the south fork of the Guadalupe. There's a north fork also that is further north, and they kind of merge at Hunt.

So, Hunt, Texas, took to me the brunt of this system, and it rained. Up upstream from camp mystic here about 10 to 20 inches, depending on what -- where you live. So, we know that some of those radar estimates were that high and a wall of water, you don't have much time to react.

SANCHEZ: You don't. And especially as you mentioned a moment ago, these systems often come at night. And so there's a very limited amount of time for folks to even be aware that the water has gone up that high. What do you make of the warnings that were sent out? Is there more, from your perspective, that could have been done to let folks know that this was on the way, especially as we've heard from some folks in the community who are worried about a warning fatigue that some folks maybe heard so many warnings that they didn't give it more thought, and perhaps it could have made a difference.

BURGESS: Well, obviously, can't really comment 100 percent on the warning system. I think the watches were issued a day ahead. That is traditionally when most locations in this area they're familiar with this country, this part of the country typically will start planning when a watch is issued, which was issued around 1:15, 1:14 p.m. on Thursday.

So, they -- there was a warning that we could see some of this, even some meteorologists and -- had been forecasting rainfall totals that could be a flash flood criteria.

[14:35:02]

But what you don't know when you put a forecast like that is who's going to get a bull's eye and you got to consider that weather is not 100 percent science, no matter who it is. So, you can, you know, you can -- you can say warnings, maybe being in the middle of the night, everybody's asleep. How do they get that?

Well, as you may have noticed out here yourselves, there's not a lot of cell service. There's very difficult communications out here in the western part of Kerr County. It's very difficult to get the word out in this part of the county. It's much more rural.

It's not like Kerrville, which is just 15 miles downstream where you've got internet, you've got Wi-Fi, you've got towers, you've got all of that, but you don't have that here.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

BURGESS: Just coming in. You don't have cell service. Basically, once you're in Hunt. And then same thing out west.

So, I think it's very hard to warn people. The '87 flood kind of triggered new gauges on the river. There were ten fatalities in 1987.

Weve had fatalities in Kerrville, up to 10 to 15 people. I believe, in 1978. And also, all of these are in July -- June or July or early August as a result of tropical systems, the National Weather Service put out a warning around 1:00 a.m. as far as the actual flash flood warning.

So, it's very difficult to know, you know how it got communicated to the directors that we don't know, but the warnings were issued ahead of time. It's just, you know, this happened so quickly, 30, 40 miles per hour. That water wall comes down so fast.

I don't know if you could have even gotten out in time anyway. So --

SANCHEZ: Cary, I wanted to ask you one more question. Given your experience with floods in this region, what would be your message to folks that maybe didn't endure that 1986 or '87 flood as they try to rebuild now, as they try to move forward, as they try to account for those that are still missing.

BURGESS: Well, I do radio and newspaper weather here. The main thing I would always say is when there is a flash flood watch, it may or may not produce torrential rainfall at your exact location, but the watch is there for reason. Go ahead and start planning when the watch is issued.

Just like a hurricane watch, just like a tornado watch, you don't just sit there and wait for the minute that it happens. You try to have some kind of plan in place when the watch is actually issued, so that you can maybe make arrangements to alter your plans, or maybe get away from riverbank area. So that would be my main message there.

And you got to respect this river. Normally, it's very tame, but in this part of the state and anybody who has lived here for a long time will tell you this has been happening since the 1910s, 1930s. There was a massive flood that produced a 40 -- 40-foot wall of water in 1932. So, but we didn't have population then like we do now.

So, I would encourage people whenever there's a flood watch, no matter what part of the country you live in, take heed. Treat it as if it would be a tornado watch, or if it were to be a hurricane watch.

That's the time to prepare. Don't wait until the minute that things start to happen.

SANCHEZ: Cary, thank you so much for that perspective. And also, so sorry for your loss. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

BURGESS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

Still plenty more news to come on CNN. They were mothers and fathers, grandparents and many just kids, 67 lives tragically lost in the Lone Star State. So many families and friends are mourning, and some are still hoping for answers as the search for survivors continues. Well bring you their stories in just moments.

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[14:43:12]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

At the Vatican today, Pope Leo spoke about the flood victims in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO, CATHOLIC CHURCH: I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones. In particular, their daughters who were at summer camp in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A reminder, Pope Leo is an American. He made those remarks about the Texas flood victims this morning during his angelus prayer.

All right. Joining me right now is CNN national correspondent Rafael Romo on what he's learning about the many victims from this flooding.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's just an assignment that is very hard. It's hard to hear what these families are telling us, and also the moment that they're going through, right? And as of 11:00 a.m. this morning, officials say a total of 11 children were missing from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas. That figure has gone down, but not in the way that parents of the missing children would have hoped.

There were others, both adults and children, who were in the vicinity and fell victim to the flood. CNN has also confirmed that 13-year-old Blair Harber and her 11-year-old sister, Brooke, are among the victims. This was confirmed by their father.

Both girls had been missing. RJ Harber told us that Blair was a gifted student and had a generous, kind heart. And Brooke was like a light in any room. People gravitated to her, and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment.

Neither girl was attending Camp Mystic at the time of their disappearance. Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik was -- has confirmed to CNN that her daughter, Ella is among the people missing after the devastating floods in central Texas. Her mother also told us that in addition to Ella, her friends Reece McChaca, Joyce Baden and Aiden Hartfield are also are also missing.

[14:45:07]

Mackenzie Cahill-Hodulik told us that Aiden called his father, who owns a vacation home, about the water coming in the house. As they were on the phone, she added, Aiden passed it to Joyce, saying that he needed help, Ella and Reece. She also said that Joyce confirmed that all three have been swept away shortly after the phone -- shortly after the phone went dead, I should say.

CNN has also confirmed nine-year-old Lila Bonner is among the dead. In a statement, her family said that in the midst of unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time. We ache with all who love her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.

The toll includes at least 21 children in Kerr County. That's where there's a desperate, ongoing search for 11 girls and one counselor. Authorities have said, Fred, that they're not going to stop day and night until they find the very last one of them.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, and this still is very early on. It's still just really the beginning. All right. Thank you so much. Rafael Romo, appreciate it.

All right. For more information about how you can help Texas flood victims, go to CNN.com or text "flood" to 707070.

All right. World Kitchen -- the World Central Kitchen that is, is in Kerrville, helping people in need. We'll speak to the response director there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:01]

SANCHEZ: As we were getting more updates on the search for victims of these devastating floods in central Texas, more help is pouring in. World Central Kitchen has set up in the area and has already served thousands of meals.

With us now is Samantha Elfmont. She's the response director for World Central Kitchen.

Samantha, thank you so much for being with us.

What can you tell us about where operations stand right now?

SAMANTHA ELFMONT, RESPONSE DIRECTOR, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Thank you, Boris.

Well, actually, as were checking in here, I'm at the emergency operations center, World Central Kitchen, were the only organization here. We made sure, along with another local catering group, that folks were fed here today.

In short, first responders are beginning to recover more bodies today. But with us at World Central Kitchen, our job is to make sure people are fed, those families that are grieving, those families who have lost their homes and first responders. We are here wherever a meal is ready, when anyone needs a meal, we are here.

SANCHEZ: And, Samantha, what are your teams seeing here in Kerrville? Can you take us through some of the challenges that you've had in trying to provide help to folks? ELFMONT: So, of course, so we were here day one on the ground on

Friday, making sure that families were fed at those reunification centers, those families that were able to be saved and reunited. Things have changed very much. So here on Sunday, we are making sure that those first responders here behind me are able to get out in the field, work all day and night to reunite those families.

But also, we are here changing operations daily. I just got word that there's more road closures. So, where we were going to be providing meals today, we might have a hard time getting to, but we will get those meals delivered and on time, hot and fresh.

We always use local vendors, but we continually on the hour we have a safety and security team telling us where to go and how to get there.

SANCHEZ: And, Samantha, I wonder what you're hearing from the folks that are coming to you for help.

ELFMONT: What we're hearing is just horrible stories. There was a family that we met last night. Their brother passed away, unfortunately, breaking a window and trying to save them. We made sure that they had hot meals last night.

We were hearing that people have lost their homes or those who have homes have no electricity. So, obviously, they aren't able to cook. People forget about themselves in times like this, we need to make sure that people are fed breakfast, lunch and dinner and are able to take care of themselves.

Get that nourishment they need. Because these days are long and we don't know what's ahead.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, so such an important thing to keep in mind. I wonder what you think the most significant need is right now. What resource could you do more with right now?

ELFMONT: So right now, today, we actually discovered that Texas management has a plan to feed their own. And these first responders. But there are quite a few volunteer firefighters. So, for instance, we're giving them lunch today.

Those on horse right down in Ingram, we were able to just pass out sandwiches so that they can throw those in their pockets easily. We want to make sure they're fed.

But today is our day. We call it the last mile where we find those who haven't been able to be reached, that they have meals and then can get to the resources they need. So, we are there for the children, of course, in this horrible, horrible -- I'm a mom myself -- unimaginable time. But we want to make sure these local residents are also taking care of.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Samantha Elfmont, thank you so much for what you're doing.

[14:55:00] World Central Kitchen providing such significant help at a difficult time. Thank you.

ELFMONT: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, alongside my colleague Boris Sanchez, live in Texas.

Boris, we'll get to you in a moment.