Owners of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs have joined the list of professional sports organizations making donations to support the recovery from flooding that has devastated the Texas Hill Country, they announced on Wednesday.
As of 7 p.m. ET, state officials confirmed at least 120 people have died from the floods in central Texas, including 96 confirmed fatalities (60 adults and 36 children) in Kerr County. Five campers and one counselor were still missing from Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River.
A wall of water swept over the area after heavy rainfall forced the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning.
The Vikings and the Wilf family committed $500,000 in support of relief and recovery efforts.
“We are deeply saddened by the continued devastation and loss of life in the Texas Hill Country and can’t imagine the pain so many are experiencing,” Vikings owners Mark, Zygi and Leonard Wilf said in a statement Wednesday. “We are praying for peace for the families who have lost a loved one and strength for those who continue to risk their lives leading the rescue and recovery effort.”
Major League Soccer’s Texas-based clubs — Austin FC, FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo FC — have joined the league in committing $500,000 toward disaster-relief efforts.
Clark Hunt, who owns FC Dallas as well as the NFL’s Chiefs, lost a 9-year-old cousin in the floods.
“Our family is devastated by the tragedy in Central Texas,” Hunt said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to those grieving — in particular, to the parents who lost children, those who lost family members, and the far-too-many who have lost friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
“This has shaken our community to its core. Today, along with our MLS partners, my brother, (Dan), and I are humbled to support those directly assisting the victims of this unimaginable tragedy. In the wake of such sadness, we are awed by the hearts of our fellow Texans, and we are grateful for the true community leaders — in boats, helicopters or trucks filled with food — who are showing up for their neighbors in need.”
One of the campers at Camp Mystic who died was Janie Hunt, the grand-granddaughter of the late William Herbert Hunt — brother of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt.
“The FC Dallas family is heartbroken over the disaster in Central Texas,” Dan Hunt said. “We are grieving alongside the families and communities who are living through the unimaginable right now.”
Camp Mystic, in the community of Hunt in Kerr County, is a Christian girls camp that opened in 1926.
In recent days, the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and the NFL committed $500,000 apiece while Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros and Texas Rangers each pledged $1 million.
The Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, the NBA and the NBA Basketball Players Association announced more than $2 million in donations to support immediate and long-term relief.
–Field Level Media
