Texas flood: 27 children and counselors killed at Camp Mystic, several people still missing. Here's all you need to know
'Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River,' the camp said in a statement posted to its website.
'We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from the community, first responders, and officials at every level.'
Flash floods swept through central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, killing at least 82 people and leaving dozens more missing, including several girls who were attending a summer camp along the Guadalupe River.
The torrential rain struck the Texas Hill Country overnight Friday into Saturday, dropping nearly 12 inches of rain in hours. The Guadalupe River surged more than 26 feet in less than an hour, reaching treetops and sweeping through riverside cabins as people slept. Blankets, toys, and furniture were left buried in mud, while shattered windows and debris testified to the force of the water.
The floods struck in the dark early hours of Friday, when a powerful storm dumped nearly a foot of rain across the Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River surged more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes, quickly engulfing cabins and homes.
'Across the state, in all the areas affected by flooding, there are 41 known missing,' Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Sunday.
More than 17 helicopters were dispatched to help locate missing children and adults. Volunteers and residents joined the effort, though officials asked civilians to stop flying personal drones to avoid endangering rescue aircraft.
Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County confirmed at least 68 deaths in his jurisdiction alone—40 adults and 28 children.
Survivors described the floods as an unstoppable torrent.
'It was a pitch black wall of death,' one camper's parent said. 'People had no chance to get out in time.'
Many said they did not receive emergency alerts before water levels rose to treetops.
Questions have mounted over why evacuation alerts were issued only around 4 a.m.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said, 'Nobody saw this coming,' referring to the deluge as a '100-year flood.'
Officials acknowledged a proposal for a more robust flood warning system had stalled over concerns about the cost.
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India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Texas flash floods kill 89, dozens missing including children at Camp Mystic
At least 89 people have been confirmed dead due to catastrophic flash floods in Texas. Torrential rain swept through Kerr County and surrounding areas, particularly along the Guadalupe River, causing widespread devastation. Among those missing are several girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in the RAINFALL HITS OVERNIGHTAs reported by the Associated Press, the flooding began in the early hours of Friday, catching many residents off guard while they were asleep. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch Thursday afternoon, followed by an urgent warning around 4 a.m. In just 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River rose by 26 feet after over a foot of rain fell overnight. The Texas Hill Country's dry and compact soil, unable to absorb water quickly, worsened the climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area. Officials in Kerr County reported 75 fatalities, including 27 reported by Reuters, A Christian all-girls camp in central Texas said on Monday that 27 campers and counsellors were among those who perished in the catastrophic flooding over the July 4 weekend, while emergency responders still searching for dozens of missing people faced the prospect of more heavy rains and Greg Abbott confirmed on Sunday that 41 individuals were officially listed as missing statewide. Local authorities are facing tough questions about the timing of flood alerts. Survivors described the event as a 'pitch-black wall of death' and said no emergency warnings reached them before the waters surged. Officials acknowledged communication gaps, citing power outages and limited cell coverage in rural are now underway to evaluate the region's emergency alert systems and potentially implement a more robust flood warning protocol. The flooding destroyed infrastructure, homes, and entire search for missing people along the banks of the Guadalupe River after recent flooding on Sunday.'It will take a long time to clean up, let alone rebuild,' said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly. Relief efforts have begun, and President Donald Trump has announced plans to visit the affected area on Friday.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Girls camp grieves loss of 27 campers and counselors in Texas floods that killed nearly 90 people
Flash flood warning systems: Crews picked through mountains of debris and waded into swollen rivers Monday in the search for victims of catastrophic flooding that killed nearly 90 people over the July Fourth weekend in Texas, including more than two dozen campers and counselors from an all-girls Christian camp. With additional rain on the way, more flooding still threatened in saturated parts of central Texas. Authorities said the death toll was sure to rise as crews looked for many people who were missing. Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said they lost 27 campers and counselors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River. 'We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls,' the camp said in a statement. Authorities later said that 10 girls and a counselor from the camp remain missing. The raging flash floods — among the nation's worst in decades — slammed into riverside camps and homes before daybreak Friday, pulling sleeping people out of their cabins, tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and automobiles. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators, coolers and canoes now litter the riverbanks. Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment near Kerrville to remove large branches while volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece by piece. In the Hill Country area, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Fourteen other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials. Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. Authorities vowed that one of the next steps will be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in areas long vulnerable to flooding. Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area said Monday that more than 1,000 volunteers had been directed to an area of hard-hit Kerr County. Families were allowed to look around Camp Mystic beginning Sunday morning. A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks. One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage. Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her. 'Then they were able to reach their tool shed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their tool shed, and they all rode it out together,' Brown said. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at the camp, and the director of another camp up the road. Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing Sunday after their cabin was swept away. Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe, but the girls' grandparents were unaccounted for. On Thursday the National Weather Service advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare step that alerts the public to imminent danger. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months of rain. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said one of the challenges is that many camps are in places with poor cellphone service. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday. He said it wasn't the time to talk about whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency and added that he doesn't plan to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending cuts. 'This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it,' the president said. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said recent cuts to FEMA and the National Weather Service did not delay any warnings. 'There's a time to have political fights, there's a time to disagree. This is not that time,' Cruz said. 'There will be a time to find out what could been done differently. My hope is in time we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood.'
News18
4 hours ago
- News18
Timelapse Footage Shows Flash Flood Swallowing Texas Road In Under An Hour
Last Updated: The video shows floodwaters rising quickly, eventually submerging the elevated road A timelapse video captured the speed at which deadly floodwaters engulfed a causeway in Kingsland, Texas, in under an hour. Filmed by an eyewitness during the catastrophic July 4 weekend floods, the footage spans approximately 50 minutes, based on the on-screen timecode. The video shows floodwaters rising quickly, eventually submerging the elevated road. A few onlookers are visible at first, but they leave the area as the water begins to rise. A timelapse video shows the speed at which deadly floodwaters rose over a causeway in Texas. The video recorded the scene for around 50 minutes, according to the timecode — Reuters (@Reuters) July 7, 2025 Friday's catastrophe, which struck during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, shocked the US, with weather forecasters warning of further flooding as rain continues to fall on already saturated ground. The disaster claimed over 80 lives, including 48 adults and 27 children, mostly in Kerr County. Torrential rain turned the normally peaceful Guadalupe River into a raging current that swept through Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old girls' Christian retreat. Authorities are still combing mud-laden riverbanks and surveying the area from the air, hopeful of finding survivors despite grim odds. US President Donald Trump has said he may visit Texas this week and described the event as a '100-year catastrophe". He defended his administration's weather forecasting funding, despite critics warning that cuts may have weakened warning systems. First Published: July 07, 2025, 23:13 IST
