Two sisters, 13-year-old Blair and 11-year-old Brooke Harber, were killed in the Texas Hill Country floods and found with rosaries and their “hands locked together,” their family said.
Newsweek has reached out to friends of the family via a GoFundMe online contact form for comment.
The Context
Flash floods swept across central Texas on Friday. More than 80 people have died, and many are missing, according to the Associated Press. Flooding struck as the Guadalupe River surged by more than 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes, which caused widespread devastation and forced mass evacuations.
Flood warnings have been activated by the National Weather Service across Texas, and many of these are expected to last until at least Monday morning. Flooding is the second-deadliest weather hazard in the U.S. after extreme heat, according to NWS data.
GoFundMe
What To Know
The Harber sisters died while on a family trip to Casa Bonita, a gated community in Hunt, Texas, their aunt Jennifer shared in a message posted to a GoFundMe page.
The two girls had been staying with their grandparents, Charlene and Mike Harber, both of whom are currently still missing.
The girls’ parents, RJ and Annie were staying in a separate cabin nearby. They woke to the sound of rushing water at around 3:30 a.m. and tried to shatter a window to reach their daughters, but the force of the water prevented them from being able to reach the home where the daughters were.
Jennifer wrote in the GoFundMe that Brooke Harber had texted her father and her maternal grandparents at 3:30 am saying, “I love you.”
The sisters were found 15 miles away in Kerrville.
“When they were found their hands were locked together,” the GoFundMe reads.
The GoFundMe described what had occurred as a “nightmare.”
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
A GoFundMe set up for the family reads in part: “RJ and Annie’s daughters, Brooke (11) and Blair (13), were with their beloved grandparents, Charlene and Mike Harber, when they tragically lost their lives in the devastating floodwaters in Hunt, Texas. The family is now facing an unimaginable loss and a very long road ahead.”
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, wrote in an X post on Saturday: “Heidi and I continue to lift up in prayer the families of the victims. It is imperative that all Texans heed the warnings and guidance of law enforcement. Please stay safe.”
What Happens Next
On Sunday, President Donald Trump approved a “Major Disaster Declaration” for Kerr County, which unlocked federal assistance for rescue and recovery operations.
Multiple local, state and federal agencies are continuing search and rescue operations amid the debris from the flood.