Texas flooding live: At least 91 dead - as new pictures show devastation at children's camp

Sky News

07-07-2025

18:50:26
'It was an act of god - not the administration's fault'
More to bring you from the White House now.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the flood alerts being sent out while people were sleeping.
There have been a number of questions over the flood alerts - whether they were sent quickly and widely enough, and if Donald Trump's cuts hampered the National Weather Service.
Leavitt said: "The alerts were sent out before the flood when people were sleeping because the flood hit in the very early hours of the morning.
"People were sleeping in the middle of the night when the flood came, that was an act of god, not the administration's fault.
"But there were early and consistent warnings."
She outlined when and who sent these warnings.
18:24:59
At least 91 dead in Texas floods
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is holding her regular news briefing in the White House now.
She started by confirming that 91 people have now died in the floods - one more than we previously knew.
Leavitt talked up US President Donald Trump's response to the floods, and said the administration was "working hand in glove" with state and local officials.
"The situation on the ground remains dangerous, and there could be additional public safety threats with additional incoming heavy rain," she said.
'Depraved lie'
After laying out the updated death toll, Leavitt took aim at Trump's critics.
She said it was a "depraved lie" that he was responsible for any issues responding to the flash floods.
"Any person who has deliberately lied about the facts around the catastrophic event, you should be deeply ashamed," Levitt added.
Trump to visit 'later in the week'
She also said that Trump was going to visit Texas "later in the week."
Previously, Trump said it was likely he would visit on Friday.
Brian Glenn, read more on the right-wing reporter here, asking the first question, asked Leavitt about the US president's travel plans to head to Texas.
Leavitt said: "The White House is currently arranging those travel plans, we hope that it will be later this week, likely on Friday.
"But we want to do it for the most appropriate time on the ground for state and local officials, we don't want ot interrupt the local efforts.
"We're planning tentatively for Friday."
'Depraved and despicable'
Glenn then asked questions over whether Trump's cuts to the National Weather Service affected its forecasting and warning ability.
Leavitt described such claims as "depraved and despicable".
Such fierce criticism is something we often hear from her when targeting the media and Trump's political enemies.
"It is not [a political game], it is a national tragedy," Leavitt said.
The press secretary also claimed, contrary to some weather bases being understaffed, one place actually had "too many people".
18:22:47
In pictures: Destruction inside Camp Mystic where dozens died
Here are some of the latest pictures from Texas.
At Camp Mystic, at least 27 people died in the flash floods.
Photographers have managed to access the site today, where the scale of the damage is becoming clear.
Floodwater almost reached the tops of windows, and the colourful belongings of campers can be seen outside of the cabins.
17:48:05
Flood risk upgraded in parts of Texas
A special update from the Weather Prediction Centre has upgraded the flood risk in parts of Texas.
Areas in Texas Hill Country have been upgraded from Level 2 to Level 3 flash flood risk - out of four.
It was found that conditions were forming that could bring more heavy rain and storms to the region.
In the update, it warned that as much as three inches of rain would continue to fall an hour, with these rates climbing.
"Any storms that move across this extremely vulnerable region will rapidly cause flash flooding," the Weather Prediction Centre said.
The decision was made after the centre consulted with forecasters in San Antonio and San Angelo.
17:31:11
Bodies could be 'buried beneath 20ft of mud, trees and debris' - as another death confirmed
Another news conference to bring you now, this time from Williamson County.
Officials confirmed another person had died, our partner network NBC News reported.
This means the death toll for the entire state has risen to 90.
One official warned that debris was posing a threat to rescuers out searching for bodies.
"The bodies that we're looking for could be hidden beneath 20ft of mud, trees and debris," an official said.
Warnings 'were enough'
One common thread throughout the aftermath of the flooding has been questions over whether warnings came early enough to save lives.
When questioned on this, one Williamson official said that 1,500 notices had gone out to residents.
He added: "In areas... the sheriff's office went door to door to warn citizens that the water's coming and you need to evacuate."
The county made a "concerted effort" to warn people of the flash floods, he added.
Snakes, skunks and fridges
An official said that rescuers had to tread carefully with so much debris left by the flash floods.
This, reporters were told, included branches and trees which were "unstable and very dangerous", and additional debris like "refrigerators, parts of mobile homes, cars, all kinds of dangerous things in the river, including snakes and skunks".
He asked people to keep away from the floodwater.
Of the more than 100 first responders trying to recover bodies, they were said to be in a "very dangerous situation".
Rain hampering response efforts
The weather continued to play a role, officials said.
The clouds and rain were hampering ongoing response and rescue efforts.
"Please stay away from the river, please do not drive around barricades, we have everyone focusing on the missing, we do not need to add to that."
17:17:49
Watch: Stricken areas of Texas are 'flash flood alley'
Parts of Texas are "flash flood alley", a Texan meteorologist has told Sky News.
Dan Schreiber described it as a "devastating time" in central Texas.
Speaking to Sky News presenter Jayne Secker from the US state, he said the area was a "flash flood alley".
"Central Texas is known as flash flood alley," he said.
He added that the timing of the flash floods, late at night, and their speed, combined to make it so fatal.
Watch the full interview below:
16:56:30
What you need to know after news conference from 'grieving' Texas
Here are the main developments from the news conference that wrapped up earlier this afternoon.
Scroll down for the full reporting, and catch up on the latest here.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, Senator Ted Cruz and city manager of Kerrville, in Kerr County, Dalton Rice, spoke and answered questions from reporters.
Here are the main takeaways:
Seven more people were confirmed to have died in Kerr County;
This brings the Texas-wide total from 82 to 89 - including at least 27 children;
Sheriff Leitha said 15 of the 89 were still unidentified;
Cruz warned against "partisan" finger-pointing and said some people blamed Donald Trump for natural disasters like the flooding;
The US president has come under fire over cuts to the National Weather Service as part of Elon Musk's DOGE efforts;
But it isn't clear if these actually hit the service's running;
The senator also said "Texas was grieving" and told people to "go and hug your kids";
Meanwhile, Rice called the floods "unprecedented" and asked volunteers to keep "out of the way" of official rescue operations;
And he also warned against "crying wolf" with overly preemptive flood warnings - amid questions over whether the alerts came soon enough.
Stick with us throughout the evening for any further updates.
16:35:21
'Just go and hug your kids'
Ted Cruz says there's a "time to have political fights" but says now is not that time.
The Texas senator says those wanting to help should volunteer with the Salvation Army or their local church.
"You know what I'd do? What I did when this happened? Just go hug your kids," he says.
"Because I've got to tell you, I hugged my girls with tears in my eyes."
The news conference has now finished, we'll bring you a summary of what happened shortly.
16:33:34
'We don't want to cry wolf' with evacuation warnings, official says - as he reveals how first responders were 'swept away'
Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville in Kerr County, is taking a question next.
When pressed on whether there could have been evacuation warnings earlier, he said they didn't want to "cry wolf" by sending them out unnecessarily.
He said: "It's very tough to make those calls because we also don't want to cry wolf.
"You know, we want to make sure that we activated [it] at the right time."
"We had first responders getting swept away, responding to the first areas of rainfall. That's how quick it happened," he added.
"They were driving to these areas and one of them got swept off the road."