Texas is experiencing one of its worst tragedies and a large rescue operation has been underway since Friday night, after torrential rains and flash floods left at least 78 dead, 28 of whom were minors. However, the danger is not over yet.

According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in addition to the losses, there are still 41 missing from flooding in the south-central part of the state since Friday and he called for caution in the face of the “deadly” risk of rains expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Abbott offered the first estimate of missing people throughout the state, of 41 people, and confirmed a death toll similar to that reported by local authorities, around 70, and concentrated in Kerr County, where 59 bodies have been recovered.

Among the missing, he counted 11 girls and young women from the Mystic Christian Camp, located near the town of Hunt and the Guadalupe River, which experienced a strong and rapid rise in flow on Friday.

The Republican noted that there are “more storms expected that will pose a life-threatening danger in the next 24 to 48 hours” and emphasized that search and rescue operations continue without stopping and that will expand beyond Kerrville, but “without reducing the focus” on that town.

Abbott said that rains “of the magnitude” of those in Kerrville are not expected but assured that there are “potential flash floods” in that area, as well as Big Country, Concho Valley and Central Texas, because the ground is already “saturated with water.”

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the Austin and San Antonio area indicated on X that its flood warning remains in effect until 7:00 p.m. local time and precipitation is expected at a rate of 1-2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) per hour in the worst cases.

Abbott emphasized the danger for drivers, since flooding can occur at lower water levels than those recorded and reach vehicles on roads, since everything happens very quickly, and recalled that some deaths have occurred in this way.