Rescue teams continue to search the banks of the Guadalupe River in central Texas as more than 160 people are still missing following last week鈥檚 flash floods, which have killed more than 100 people, according to authorities in Texas.
Folks from around the world have gathered to aid the devastated community, including Mexican volunteers from Fundaci贸n 911 who crossed the border into Texas to help with relief efforts.
Ismael Aldaba, president of Fundaci贸n 911, said the group arrived Sunday morning after getting a call for help from a local fire department. So far, Aldaba said the search team has not rescued anyone who is alive.
鈥溾�奍t looks like a bomb exploded,鈥� Aldaba said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 trees that are huge laying down on their side. There鈥檚 many that are snapped in half. A lot, a lot of damage.鈥�
4 questions with Ismael Aldaba
Have you been able to successfully recover any bodies?
鈥淵es, we have. We鈥檝e been working closely with our search team, which has guys from the local sheriffs of Kerr County, which is coordinating with our fire chief from Mountain Home Fire Department, our Mexico team, state police. So we鈥檝e got quite a bit of a search team with assisting them in identifying or removing and finding some bodies.鈥�
In the past, your organization has recovered bodies that floated down the river into Mexico. How does that assist with the work you鈥檙e doing now?
鈥淲e work closely with the Ciudad Acu帽a Mexico Fire Department, which is where our guys are coming from, and we鈥檝e been in close contact with them. When it comes to a search and rescue operation or a recovery, sometimes the local sheriff will call our foundation to see if our guys are available to assist or if there鈥檚 some type of communication between U.S. authorities and Mexico authorities, and they refer some of that help to us.
鈥淭here has been a lot of recoveries. This team that鈥檚 on the ground now has recovered over the past year and a half, over a hundred recoveries on the U.S.-Mexico border. So this is not new.鈥�
How has your team been received in Texas?
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very welcoming from this area, from Mountain Home, from Kerrville, from Ingram. They鈥檙e making sure we have everything we need, getting the proper meals and rest, and so on.鈥�
It鈥檚 been a few days since the floods started. What is your team doing on the ground now?
鈥淭oday, we鈥檝e slept 鈥� and this is the full team 鈥� maybe two hours last night. We tried to get as much as rest as we can. Right now, I am in the command center, which I have communication with my team. I have three teams that have split up there. Some are searching near the water, others are searching within the rubble. There鈥檚 another team on the other side of the riverbank, so they鈥檙e spread out along with the local fire department and local authorities. So we鈥檙e hoping to cover more ground today.
鈥淚鈥檓 within the floodplain. There鈥檚 trees that are laying down on the side. We have a house that鈥檚 fully destroyed to the left. The creek bed is just full of rubble. There鈥檚 cars that are still upside down here. Just a lot of damage everywhere.鈥�
This interview was edited for clarity.
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