Heartbreaking photo of dead & missing girls in Texas floods emerges as death toll reaches 105 – & MORE floods are feared
The entire group from the Bubble Inn cabin — 13 girls and two counselors — were swept away when a wall of water slammed through the summer camp.
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Camp Mystic confirmed 27 campers and counselors have died in the disaster, with four still missing.
Among the lost are some of the camp's youngest attendees, aged just eight and ten.
The Bubble Inn cabin sat just 500 feet from the Guadalupe River, where the floodwaters hit hardest over the July Fourth weekend.
So far, 10 girls and 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress have been found dead.
The camp's director, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, died trying to save the children.
Katherine Ferruzzo, another counselor, and campers Molly DeWitt, Ellen Getten, and Abby Pohl remain missing.
Among the victims were eight-year-olds Renee Smajstrla and Sarah Marsh, nine-year-olds Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, and 13- and 11-year-old sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, whose bodies were found 'with their hands locked together' 15 miles downstream.
'We are beyond devastated and so heartbroken,' their aunt, Jennifer Harber, said.
A desperate search is still underway in Texas as rescuers scour the wreckage for the dozens still missing.
The Guadalupe River, swollen by torrential rains, burst its banks early Friday, sweeping through camps, homes, and entire communities across Central Texas.
At least 28 children are among the dead, and 41 people remain unaccounted for, with frantic families clinging to hope.
As rescuers enter their fifth day of searches, brave crews refuse to give up hope that survivors are waiting to be saved.
What we know so far...
Torrential rain sparked deadly flash flooding around the Guadalupe River
At least 105 people lost their lives, mostly in Kerr County, and rescue teams continue to search for survivors
Families of some Camp Mystic girls have confirmed their deaths
A woman was rescued after being washed 20 miles downstream
Two brothers told of their brave escape from a flooded cabin
The victims include the niece of the Kansas City Chiefs' owners, a dad who died while saving his wife and kids, and a beloved high school coach
"We will never presume they're dead," Jake Stovall, the founder of Gulf Search and Rescue, told CNN and vowed to keep working the scene for up to 15 days.
It comes as five million people across Central Texas remain under flood watch as more floods are feared.
Governor Greg Abbott said more flooding is likely, though not expected to match the devastation seen in Kerrville.
President Trump is set to visit Texas on Friday, though his administration has come under fire amid claims that National Weather Service staffing cuts may have delayed warnings.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding an investigation into whether vacancies and outdated systems contributed to the scale of the tragedy.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, called the accusations 'a depraved lie,' insisting the NWS 'did its job' and the floods were 'an act of God.'
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
A deadly 1987 flood foreshadowed the Texas disaster. Survivors ask, ‘why didn't we learn?'
The rain was pouring down in Texas in the early morning hours of 17 July 1987. James Moore, a reporter for a local NBC news station, was stationed in Austin when his editors called and told him to grab his camera operator and head to Kerrville, a Hill Country town about 100 miles (160km) away. They'd heard reports of flash flooding on the Guadalupe River. 'We just jumped in the car when it was still dark … we knew there were going to be problems based on how much rain there was,' Moore said. En route, he got another call over the radio that told him to head instead for the small hamlet of Comfort, just 15 miles from Kerrville. 'They said: 'Hey, head up towards Comfort,'' Moore recalled. ''Something's happened.'' At about 7.45am, a caravan of buses had left a children's church camp at the Pot O' Gold Ranch as they tried to evacuate the Guadalupe's surging waters, which eventually rose nearly 30ft (9 meters) during the ferocious, slow-moving rainstorm. According to a report by the National Weather Service, a bus and a van had stalled on an overflowing river crossing. As kids rushed to escape the vehicles, they were hit by a massive wave of water – estimated to be a half mile wide – that swept away 43 people. Thirty-three of them were rescued, but 10 children drowned. Moore arrived at a scene of chaos. Helicopters clattered overhead as people scrambled in a frantic search for the injured and missing. Then he and his camera operator caught sight of something horrifying. 'We unfortunately found one of the bodies of the kids,' Moore said. 'All we saw was the legs under a brush pile and we alerted the authorities.' Nearly 40 years later, it felt like history repeating itself. Last week, in the early morning hours of 4 July, another flash flood hit the Guadalupe. This time, though, the wall of water was sizeably bigger, and came in the middle of the night and during one of the area's busiest holiday weekends. The death toll is now nearly 130 people with more than 160 still missing. The loss of life includes 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a girls' camp several miles upriver from Comfort. For many who lived through the tragedy in Comfort, they see the 1987 flood as a harbinger for what washed through Hill Country on the Fourth of July. '[The 1987 flood] was called the 'big one' back then. This is 100 times over what we experienced,' said Emily Davis. She was a 10-year-old at Camp Capers, another church camp up the road from the Pot O' Gold Ranch, when the 1987 flood hit. 'Why didn't they learn from this? Why wasn't there a better system?' After the Independence Day floods devastated Kerr county last week, Donald Trump described the scene as 'a 100-year catastrophe'. 'This was the thing that happened in seconds,' he added. 'Nobody expected it.' But Hill Country is no stranger to these disasters, and has even earned itself the moniker 'flash flood alley'. Its chalky limestone cliffs, winding waterways and dry rocky landscape have made it ground zero for some of the deadliest flash floods nationwide. Hill Country's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and its ocean moisture have also made it a prime target for drenching thunderstorms. The US Geological Survey calculates that the Guadalupe has experienced noteworthy flash floods almost every decade since the 1930s. In 1998, it recorded a flood that surpassed even 500-year flood projections. Other rivers in Hill Country, including the Pedernales and Blanco, have also seen deadly flash floods. 'What makes Kerr county so beautiful, the reason why people want to go there … is literally the reason why it's so dangerous,' said Tom Di Liberto, a meteorologist who formerly worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and is now with the non-profit Climate Central. 'The risk is always there.' During the 1987 floods, as in 2025, news reports and video footage captured a harrowing scene: the Guadalupe's surging muddy waters downing 100ft-tall cypress trees, as dead deer and the siding of houses rushed by. Helicopters circling overhead trying to rescue people clinging to the tops of trees, stranded in the middle of the river. Davis said that even though she was just a kid, she remembers the helicopters and army trucks swarming the area. She even took a photo of one of the helicopters above with her Le Clic camera. Camp Capers was up a hill, she said, so the children there were able to shelter in place. But, she said, the mood was tense. 'We were told that 10 didn't make it,' Davis said. 'It just became very haunted and eerie. I wanted nothing to do with that river.' The day was marked by a series of awful events. One 14-year-old girl in the Guadalupe grabbed a rope hanging from a helicopter but was unable to hang on long enough and fell to her death. Another girl caught in the river's waves kept trying to grab a helicopter rope, but lost strength and was swept away. A teenager, John Bankston Jr, worked to save the younger kids when the camp bus stalled, carrying them on his back to dry land. He was in the river when the wall of water hit. Bankston was the only person whose body was never recovered. Moore, the local reporter, said his TV station sent out a helicopter and they helped search for people. 'We were flying up and down the river looking for survivors,' Moore said. 'Later in the day, John Bankston Sr got in the helicopter and we flew him up and down the river for hours looking for his son.' 'I covered a lot of horrific stuff, from the Branch Davidians and earthquakes and hurricanes and Oklahoma City,' said Moore, who is now an author. 'And this one has haunted me, just because of the kids.' That year, the Texas water commission's flood management unit made a dedication to the children who lost their lives in Comfort. 'When something like this occurs, we must all look into ourselves to see if we are doing all we can to prevent such a tragic loss of life,' read the dedication, written by Roy Sedwick, then state coordinator for the unit. Sedwick wrote that he was resolved to promote public awareness and flood warnings in Texas, 'so that future generations will be safe from the ravages of flash floods'. The National Weather Service's storm report from the 1987 flood in Comfort paints more unsettling parallels with last week's tragedy. Up to 11.5in (29cm) of rain fell near the small hamlet of Hunt that day, causing the river to surge 29ft. A massive flood wave emerged and travelled down the Guadalupe to Comfort. During the recent floods in Kerr county, an estimated 12in of rain fell in a matter of hours during another heavy, slow-moving thunderstorm. This time, Hunt was the hardest hit, with the Guadalupe River again rising dozens of feet and setting a record-high crest of at least 37.5ft at its peak, according to the US Geological Survey. Many people along the river were given little to no warning. The National Weather Service issued 22 alerts through the night and into the next day. But in the rural area, where cell service can be spotty, many residents said they didn't get the alerts or they came too late, after the flash flood hit. No alerts were sent by Kerr county's local government officials. Other parts of Hill Country, such as in Comal county and on the Pedernales River, have siren systems. When high flood waters trigger the system, they blare 'air raid' sirens giving notice to evacuate and get to high ground. In Comfort, the 1987 tragedy still casts a shadow over the town. But on 4 July, the hamlet avoided much of the disaster that hit neighboring communities. Comfort recently worked to scrape together enough money to expand its own emergency warning system and installed sirens that are set off during floods. Over the last year, the volunteer fire department sounded the alarm every day at noon, so residents could learn to recognize the long flat tone. So, when the raging Guadalupe waters once again rushed toward Comfort over the holiday weekend, sirens echoed throughout the town. This time, the volunteer fire department confirmed, all residents evacuated in time and there was no loss of life. Kerr county, meanwhile, had been looking at installing a flood siren system for the past decade. But the plan got mired in political infighting and ultimately stalled when the county was presented with a $1m price tag. Earlier this year, state lawmakers introduced a house bill to fund early warning systems across Texas that could have included siren towers along the Guadalupe. And even though the bill overwhelmingly passed in the house, it died in the senate. In the aftermath of the 4 July catastrophe, the state says it will now fund such a system. While it's impossible to say whether such a warning system would have changed the outcome, given the massive expanse of Kerr county, experts say these types of weather events are going to keep happening and intensifying, so communities need to be prepared. 'This is a conversation for the entire country when it comes to areas that are prone to flash floods,' said the meteorologist Di Liberto. 'Are we doing enough as a society to warn people?'
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Texas floods latest: Death toll climbs to 132 as dozens rescued after new round of flash floods
A new round of flash floods tore through Central Texas, triggering dozens of rescues as the death toll climbed to 132. Emergency crews resumed some recovery efforts Sunday afternoon after heavy rain brought renewed flood threats to Kerr County, temporarily halting operations in a region still reeling from the July 4 flash floods when the Guadalupe River burst its banks. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Sunday that rescue operations were underway in San Saba – where more than nine inches of rain fell – as well as in Lampasas and Schleicher counties. Evacuations were ongoing across Central Texas, with authorities closely monitoring rising waters in Kerrville. Later Sunday, Abbott wrote on X that 'dozens' of people had been rescued in the Lampasas area, after the Lampasas River surged by 23ft in under four hours. It comes after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Federal Emergency Management Agency 's response to the deadly floods, asserting that her department acted swiftly and received commendation from state officials. 'Dozens rescued' in Lampasas County as river surges to 33ft in hours Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Sunday the state was making rescues in San Saba – where more than nine inches of rain fell – as well as in Lampasas and Schleicher counties. Evacuations were taking place in Lampasas, Menard, Kimble and Sutton counties, he said. By the afternoon, Abbott wrote on X that 'dozens' of people had been rescued in the Lampasas area, after the Lampasas River swelled to 33ft in under four hours. 'Texas Task Force 1 has already rescued dozens of Texans in the Lampasas area,' Abbott he tweeted 'They and other first responders will continue operations to prioritize saving lives.' James Liddell14 July 2025 09:06 Flash floods possible as thunderstorms sweep through western Hill Country Torrential rains and thunderstorms continue to sweep through portions of the western Hill Country. The region could see up to three inches of rain per hour, which is expected to 'result in some renewed flooding concerns,' according to the National Weather Service. James Liddell14 July 2025 08:57 Recovery efforts resume after fresh wave of flash floods delay searches Emergency crews resumed recovery efforts Sunday afternoon after heavy rain brought renewed flood threats to Kerr County, temporarily halting operations in a region still reeling from the July 4 flash floods when the Guadalupe River burst its banks. Officials said recovery efforts in western Kerr County were expected to resume around 3 p.m. local time. James Liddell14 July 2025 08:48 Noem denies report she held up FEMA response to floods Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has defended the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) response to the deadly floods that ravaged Texas last week, asserting that her department acted swiftly and received commendation from state officials. Speaking on NBC News' Meet the Press, Noem vehemently denied claims that a directive she issued in June — requiring her approval for FEMA expenditures exceeding $100,000 — had impeded the agency's response speed. 'Those claims are absolutely false,' Noem stated. 'Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security there.' Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 07:00 National Weather Service flood watch extended to Monday morning Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 06:15 FEMA let Camp Mystic operate in 100-year flood zone despite deadly warnings for years: 'Particularly disturbing' Federal regulators repeatedly approved appeals to remove Camp Mystic's buildings from their 100-year flood map, easing oversight as the camp operated and expanded in a hazardous floodplain in the years leading up to the central Texas flash floods of July 4, according to new reporting by The Associated Press. Oliver O'Connell has more: FEMA let Camp Mystic operate inside 100-year flood zone despite deadly warnings Federal regulators repeatedly granted appeals to remove Camp Mystic's buildings from their 100-year flood map, as the camp operated and expanded in a dangerous floodplain Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 05:30 Trump calls reporter 'evil' for asking Texas flood question Trump calls reporter 'evil' for asking Texas flood question Donald Trump branded a reporter 'evil' after he was asked if warnings could have prevented a high death toll in the Texas floods. The US president lashed out during a press conference on Friday (11 July), when a journalist from CBS News Texas asked him what he would say to grieving families who believe 'warnings didn't go out in time'. Mr Trump applauded the efforts of all involved in the rescue effort, before sternly stating: 'Only a bad person would ask a question like that, to be honest with you, I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that. This has been heroism.' Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 04:30 Heavy rain stalls ongoing search efforts in Texas Torrential rain and strong winds hit central Texas Sunday, forcing rescuers to halt search operations for victims even one week on from the first of the devastating floods in the region. A slow-moving storm set off flood warnings in several places along the Guadalupe River. Officials and local residents are still ready for further disaster. However, the rain began to ease up in some parts by midafternoon, meaning some flood warnings were downgraded to flood watches. Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 03:30 Watch: Hundreds of Texas pets rescued following deadly floods Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 02:30 Recap: Texas floods mapped – the affected areas as death toll rises At least 170 people are still missing in Central Texas, as death toll rises to 129 Mike Bedigan14 July 2025 01:37
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Monday briefing: The ‘toxic cocktail' of climate denial, federal cuts and the Texas floods
Good morning. The death toll from the catastrophic floods in Texas has climbed to 129, including at least 27 children and counsellors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County. With more than 160 people still missing, authorities warn that the number of casualties is likely to rise. On Sunday morning, some search operations were cancelled as heavy rain and strong winds battered the state once again. The flash floods, which swept through large parts of central Texas, are being described as one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history. At Camp Mystic, rain gauges recorded 6.5in (16.5cm) of rainfall in just 180 minutes. In addition to the human cost, the floods have caused widespread destruction. According to a preliminary estimate by private forecaster AccuWeather, the economic toll could range from $18bn to $22bn (£13.2bn to £16.2bn). The floods struck as the climate crisis worsens, and as the Trump administration's hollowing out of federal agencies has left critical services such as the National Weather Service under severe strain. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also facing continued threats of defunding. Yet, despite the scale of devastation, there has been little public reckoning over climate breakdown or the erosion of essential public services. Instead, conspiracy theories have abounded. To understand how this catastrophe unfolded and the political response to it, I spoke to Oliver Milman, the Guardian US environment reporter. That's after the headlines. Israel-Gaza | An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 10 people, including six children, who were waiting to collect water in Gaza, Palestinian health officials have said. Dozens of others were killed in Gaza over the weekend in a separate strike that hit a home and a shooting near a food aid distribution site. Health | Health officials have urged people to come forward for the measles vaccine if they are not up to date with their shots after a child at Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool died from the disease. UK news | Charlotte Church, veteran peace campaigners, Trade unionists, activists and politicians, are among hundreds who have signed a letter describing the move to ban the group Palestine Action as 'a major assault on our freedoms'. Spain | Several people were hurt in a second night of anti-migrant unrest in the town of Torre Pacheco in south-east Spain after a pensioner was beaten up, authorities said. NHS | Health secretory Wes Streeting will meet representatives from the British Medical Association this week as he looks to avert five days of strikes by resident doctors. The devastating floods began in the early hours of 4 July, Independence Day in the US. Oliver Milman told me that what started out as a seemingly small storm stalled in an area where two rivers in central Texas meet, and dumped an enormous amount of rain. 'It caused the river to burst its banks, swept away homes, cars, flooded rivers and, most tragically, caught up on Camp Mystic,' Oliver said. 'There's still hope that some people could be rescued, but it's certainly going to be one of the biggest, deadliest natural disasters in recent US history.' Oliver said there are several factors that could explain why this flood was so devastating. We also get into the responses from elected officials and other players. How much of this is down to the climate crisis? As the planet gets hotter, mostly because of humans burning fossil fuels, the atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. One meteorologist told Oliver that the Earth's atmosphere is now like a giant sponge. 'You've got more moisture in the atmosphere, and more energy because it's getting hotter, and therefore you're getting more of these extreme precipitation events happening in several places around the world, including parts of the eastern US. But the western half of the US seems to be getting more drought,' Oliver said. 'So, very crudely speaking, half the country's not getting enough rain, and the other half is getting too much in these intense downpours.' He pointed to some interesting statistics from the Environment Protection Agency: of the 10 heaviest precipitation single-day events in US history going back to 1910, nine have happened since 1995. 'We're clearly getting more and more of these events. There's been research done showing they're becoming more common in Texas and will continue to as the world heats up,' Oliver added. The geography of central Texas also made the floods more catastrophic. 'It's hilly and has these canyons, lots of rivers, and not much topsoil. So when rain hits, it flies off the ground very quickly. It's known as 'Flash Flood Alley' in some places, so that was a factor. The rain hit, and the devastation followed.' What impact have Donald Trump's cuts had? The other factor, which Oliver likened to a toxic cocktail, is the political situation in the US. 'The Trump administration has essentially tried to gut the federal workforce: firing scientists, firing weather forecasters, trying to eliminate large sections of the scientific agencies that deal with climate change. So you had a situation where a lot of National Weather Service offices, which track storms and issue warnings, were critically understaffed,' Oliver explained. Democrats have called for an investigation into whether the sweeping cuts introduced by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), once led by Elon Musk, played any role in the disaster. The Trump administration has dismissed any suggestion that its policies had an impact. 'The Trump administration has pushed back quite hard and said this was an act of God, there were adequate resources, and so on,' Oliver said. Yet, understaffing was an issue and there was a disconnect between the meteorologists issuing warnings and the emergency services, he said. 'The National Weather Service issued a warning about dangerous flood conditions at 1.14am [on 4 July], but there wasn't – and it's still unclear why – coordination with emergency services to evacuate people, to mobilise resources in enough time. A lot of people are pointing fingers at the cuts Trump has made to the coordination services usually handled by the federal government.' And it's not just Trump that people are focusing on. The week before the floods, Texas senator Ted Cruz, ensured that the 'big, beautiful bill', a Republican spending bill pushed through and signed by Trump on Independence Day, would include particular cuts. 'It does a lot of things: cuts the social safety net, people lose health care, gives tax breaks to the wealthy, removes food assistance, guts support for clean energy,' Oliver said. 'But one thing it also did was remove a $150m fund to improve weather forecasting at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cruz personally inserted the language to cut that and then, tragically, just days later this storm hit his home state and killed many people. So there are a lot of questions being asked about his role and whether those cuts played a significant role.' Republicans have largely fallen into line on the Texas floods, lavishing praise on Trump, while avoiding questions around the effect of Doge. Has this moved the dial on the climate emergency? In Texas, the reaction on the ground has been one of disbelief and devastation, Oliver said. 'There's a lot of 'thoughts and prayers' rhetoric in Texas right now, a sense of rallying to help those in need. People are mainly stunned rather than immediately pointing fingers, although local officials are raising questions about how much warning they got from the National Weather Service. There are also concerns about the local government's actions. There had been a plan to install an early-warning flood system along the river, but the idea was ditched because it was considered too expensive. So you've got this local angle, too.' Far-right players have descended on central Texas in a stunt they claim is part of a 'disaster relief' effort. In a video posted by one group, they say their so-called 'activists' are distributing supplies to survivors, but make clear that they are prioritising 'their people' and 'European peoples' in those operations. As is now common when disaster strikes, conspiracy theories are being spread, Oliver said, by rightwing influencers and elected representatives such as Marjorie Taylor Greene. 'They have questioned the cause [of the flood], whether it's weather modification, cloud seeding, some nefarious machine. There's this irony: we are modifying the weather – it's called climate change. But it's not the kind of weather modification they're talking about.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Oliver isn't surprised by this reaction. 'People are now able to live in their own realities, sealed off from facts,' he said. 'Whatever people believed before the storm, the storm just reinforced it. That's become a recurring theme, not just in disasters but in politics more broadly. People are very entrenched here. I know that's also an issue in the UK and Europe, but in the US things feel paralysed. I don't know if this will move anyone's opinion.' 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A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad Social media can be brutal, but Brenda Allen is doing her bit to make it more benign. The 95-year-old, who lives in Cheshire, has proved a huge hit on TikTok. Her videos, in which she talks through her collection of Jellycat soft toys, have garnered more than 2m views, along with a flood of requests in the comments from people asking to adopt her as their gran. Brenda is now planning to auction her collection of Jellycats in aid of a children's hospice. Her daughter Julie said that the family had been 'blown away' by her moment of internet fame. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
