An extended period of dry weather began in Texas on Sunday for the first time in more than a week, giving authorities the chance to take stock of the damage and continue to search for missing people.
The devastating flooding that swept over Texas and Oklahoma, starting over Memorial Day weekend, left at least 31 people dead and 10 missing.
In Hays County, Texas, alone, eight bodies have been recovered, and six people were still missing Sunday, after the Blanco River swelled and washed over homes and bridges more than a week earlier.
Eight of those killed or missing in the floods was a group of eight people whose Wimberley vacation home was washed into the river. The bodies of one child and two adults in the group have been found, but five people, Sue McNeil Carey, 71; William Randall Charba, 42; William Charba, 6; Laura Schultz McComb, 34; and Leighton McComb, 4, remained missing Sunday.
"We are still actively searching for our loved ones," the families said in a statement, thanking the 1,000 people consisting of "family members and complete strangers" who were assisting in the search effort. The bodies of three people found in Hays had yet to be identified, according to authorities.
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The county suffered severe damage, affecting more than 1,200 homes. At least 200 homes were completely destroyed, and officials estimated that the cost of the floods would reach more than $30 million.
The floods weren't limited to Hays, with many Texas counties breaking all-time records for most rainfall in the month of May, and officials warning that many rivers won't return to normal levels until July, According to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Transportation systems across the state suffered $27 million in damage, Veronica Beyer, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation, told The Associated Press. "But clearly we expect that number to go up as the water goes down," she said.
President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state of Texas Saturday, which will provide federal funding to the three most affected counties of Harris, Hays, and Van Zandt.
