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Where is Greg Abbott? Camp Mystic-Guadalupe River flood sparks FEMA speculation
The Guadalupe River flooding and situation at the all-girls Mystic Camp on Friday sparked severe criticism of Texas Gov Greg Abbott
The Guadalupe River flooding and situation at the all-girls Mystic Camp on Friday sparked severe criticism of Texas Gov Greg Abbott, with locals calling on the state administration to request Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) action. Instead of Abbott, acting governor Dan Patrick addressed a press conference.
Patrick confirmed that at least 13 people were dead after the flash flooding in south-central Texas and more than 20 girls at the summer camp were still unaccounted for.
Read More: Camp La Junta and Camp Waldemar issue updates amid reports of missing campers in Hunt, Texas floods
"We have identified 13 fatalities," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Some of the dead were children, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said.
"About 23" girls were unaccounted for from Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, which rose 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes overnight, Patrick added.
"That does not mean they've been lost, they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication," he said.
However, social media users wondered why Patrick addressed reporters instead of Gov Abbott.
Read More: Who are Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner? Camp Mystic campers missing amid Guadalupe River floods
Where is Greg Abbott?
There is no definitive information that confirms Governor Greg Abbott's exact location on Friday. Locals on X speculated that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is acting governor because Abbott may be out of state or unavailable, but no specific location is confirmed. According to the Texas Constitution (Article 4, Section 16), the lieutenant governor assumes the duties of the governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated.
Call on FEMA assistance
Several locals demanded state authorities to seek FEMA assistance. “So funny that the flooding in Texas, people are wondering why didn’t they know it was gonna get as bad as it got and it looks really bad… You can thank Trump for that… He took away all the storm forecasting/weather information as well as FEMA… Good luck to you,” one person noted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
