Texas flash flooding kills at least 13 people, leaves 20-plus young campers missing
The U.S. National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for parts of Kerr County, located in south-central Texas Hill Country, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of San Antonio, following heavy downpours measuring up to a foot of rain.
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerville, the county seat, told reporters the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing any evacuation orders.
"This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time that could not be predicted, even with the radar," Rice said. "This happened within less than a two-hour span."
The Kerr County Sheriff's Office reported 13 people were found dead in "catastrophic flooding" in the area.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a late-afternoon news conference that authorities were searching for 23 girls listed as unaccounted for among more than 700 children who were at a summer camp when it was swept by floodwaters at around 4 a.m. local time.
Most of the campers were safe, authorities said, but they could not immediately be evacuated because roads were made impassable by high waters.
"Everybody is doing everything in their power to get these kids out," Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top elected local official, said at a news briefing on the disaster hours earlier.
He said scattered residential subdivisions, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds were hardest hit.
Patrick said the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 m) in 45 minutes in the midst of heavy downpours deluging the region. Search teams were flying 14 helicopters and a dozen drones over the area, in addition to hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground conducting rescues from trees and swift-flowing water.
"Additional rain is forecast in those areas," Patrick said. "Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas. There is an ongoing threat for possible flash flooding from San Antonio to Waco for the next 24 to 48 hours in addition to the continued risks in west and central Texas."
Personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were activated to assist local authorities in confronting the crisis, officials said.
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The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Texas floods: search continues with dozens dead or missing
Update: Date: 2025-07-06T11:30:53.000Z Title: Camp Mystic Content: Hundreds of rescuers searching for those missing in devastating floods including girls from , a Christian youth camp Texas continues grim flood recovery Yohannes Lowe Sun 6 Jul 2025 13.30 CEST First published on Sun 6 Jul 2025 10.47 CEST From 10.47am CEST 10:47 We are restarting our live coverage of the devastating Texas floods. Hundreds of rescuers are desperately searching for people missing in central Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 51 people, including 15 children. The total number of missing people is not yet clear, but officials say that 27 of them are girls who had been attending , a Christian youth camp located along the River Guadalupe in Kerr County, the area worst affected by the flood. The river rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours overnight into the July 4 holiday. The flooding in Kerr County killed at least 43 people, including 15 children, and at least eight people died in nearby counties, including Travis County and Tom Green County. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Authorities said about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 1,700 people involved in the search-and-rescue operation. Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. In a post on X, he wrote that was 'horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster' and vowed that rescuers would find 'every girl who was in those cabins'. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates on the floods throughout the day. 1.30pm CEST 13:30 Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private weather forecasting company that uses National Weather Service data, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities. In a statement, he said: People, businesses, and governments should take action based on flash flood warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast. As we mentioned in a previous post, local officials in Texas have said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. 'We know we get rains. We know the river rises,' said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. 'But nobody saw this coming.' As much as 10 inches of intense rainfall fell within a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the Guadalupe River's banks to burst at about 4am local time. 1.13pm CEST 13:13 Pope Leo has sent condolences to the families of devastating floods in Texas which killed at least 51 people and left nearly 30 others missing, many of them children. Following Angelus prayers, the pontiff said: I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in a summer camp in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas. We pray for them. 12.30pm CEST 12:30 Here are some of the latest images coming out from Texas after devastating floods forced authorities to launch one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in the state's recent history: Updated at 12.31pm CEST 12.02pm CEST 12:02 US president Donald Trump addressed the deadly floods on Saturday. On his Truth Social platform, he said his administration was working with state and local officials on the ground in Texas to respond 'to the tragic flooding' that occurred a day before. 'Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly,' Trump wrote. Speaking at a press conference alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Saturday, Noem pledged that the Trump administration would use all available resources to help the state in its rescue efforts, including by bringing in more fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to aid with operations. She said the government would make it a priority to upgrade National Weather Service technology used to deliver warnings. Noem said: We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technology that's been neglected for far too long to make sure families have as much advance notice as possible. For context: Some state and local officials have said the NWS failed to provide accurate forecasts ahead of Friday's destructive flooding. 'The original forecast that we received Wednesday from the National Weather Service predicted 3-6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley and 4-8 inches in the Hill Country,' Texas emergency management chief W. Nim Kidd told journalists on Friday. 'The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts.' 11.35am CEST 11:35 The father of Blair, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, confirmed to CNN yesterday that his daughters had died in the Texas flooding after having gone missing in Kerr County. RJ Harber told CNN that Blair 'was a gifted student and had a generous kind heart' and that Brooke 'was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment'. Neither Blair or Brooke were at when they went missing. Updated at 11.39am CEST 11.03am CEST 11:03 Questions have arose as to why the severity of the flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many officials by surprise. Here is an extract from a story by my colleagues Oliver Milman, José Olivares and Robert Mackey who have looked into the preparations for the flood and examined how federal policy may have impacted local projection capabilities: Officials defended their preparations for severe weather and their response but said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was, in effect, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. One National Weather Service (NWS) forecast this week had called for only 3-6in (76-152mm) of rain, said Kidd, of the Texas division of emergency management. 'It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,' he said. Saturday's deaths renewed questions about whether it was wise for the Trump administration to implement deep budget and job cuts at the NWS – among other federal government agencies – since his second presidency began in January. Updated at 11.06am CEST 10.54am CEST 10:54 , a nearly century-old Christian girls camp, had 700 girls in residence at the time of the flood, according to Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Early Friday morning, shortly after the deluge hit, over 100 game wardens and an aviation group tried to access the camp, but they weren't able to enter to start rescuing children until after midday, CNN reports. One of the girls attending the camp, Renee Smajstrla, who was nine years old, was confirmed to be among the dead by her uncle. 'Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly,' Shawn Salta wrote on Facebook. 'We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life.' said in an email to parents of the campers that if they had not been contacted directly, their child had been accounted for. Another girls' camp in the area, Heart O' the Hills, said on its website that co-owner Jane Ragsdale had died in the flood but no campers had been present as it was between sessions. Updated at 11.06am CEST 10.47am CEST 10:47 We are restarting our live coverage of the devastating Texas floods. Hundreds of rescuers are desperately searching for people missing in central Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 51 people, including 15 children. The total number of missing people is not yet clear, but officials say that 27 of them are girls who had been attending , a Christian youth camp located along the River Guadalupe in Kerr County, the area worst affected by the flood. The river rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours overnight into the July 4 holiday. The flooding in Kerr County killed at least 43 people, including 15 children, and at least eight people died in nearby counties, including Travis County and Tom Green County. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Authorities said about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 1,700 people involved in the search-and-rescue operation. Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. In a post on X, he wrote that was 'horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster' and vowed that rescuers would find 'every girl who was in those cabins'. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates on the floods throughout the day.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding - five members of one man's family among missing
At least 51 people have died after heavy rain caused flash flooding, with water bursting from the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas. An unknown number of people remain missing, including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River. Xavier Ramirez told NBC News, Sky's US partner network, that five members of his family - his mother, stepfather, uncle, aunt and cousin - were missing following the floods, while another cousin had been found in a tree 20 miles down river from the campground outside the town of Ingram where they had all been staying. Mr Ramirez, 23, from Midland in central Texas, said his uncle had been "lost" to the waters but his mother, stepfather and cousin managed to reach higher ground. One of the trucks the group had taken shelter in was found "in Ingram, against a tree, crushed and flipped, not far from the campground," he said. Rescuers have already saved hundreds of people and would work around the clock to find those still unaccounted for, Texas governor Greg Abbott said. The overflowing water began sweeping into Kerr County and other areas around 4am local time on Friday, killing at least 43 people in the county. This includes at least 15 children and 28 adults - among those are five children and 12 adults pending identification - Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference. In nearby Kendall County, one person has died. At least four people were killed in Travis County, while at least two people died in Burnet County. Another person has died in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County. But as rescue teams are searching for the missing, Texas officials are facing scrutiny over their preparations and why residents and summer camps for children that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate. AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas. The NWS later issued flash flood emergencies - a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. "These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety," AccuWeather said in a statement that called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings. But one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw," he said. Officials said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain, equivalent to months' worth in a few short hours, insisting that no one saw the flood potential coming. One river near Camp Mystic rose 22ft in two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the NWS's Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29.5ft. "People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast," Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement. "We know we get rain. We know the river rises," said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. "But nobody saw this coming." Judge Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the Guadalupe River that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because "the public reeled at the cost". Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked during a news conference on Saturday whether the flash flood warnings came through quickly enough: She said: "We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that is why we are working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long." Presidential cuts to climate and weather organisations have also been criticised in the wake of the floods after Donald Trump 's administration ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the NWS, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods. A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress. Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were "devastating".
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Deadly Texas floods: What were the warnings?
Why you can trust Sky News Questions have been raised over extreme weather warnings in Texas, after heavy rain caused fatal flash floods along the Guadalupe River. At least 51 people have died from the flooding in Texas, with an unknown number of people - including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County - still missing. As rescue teams continue to search for the missing, local and federal officials have come under fire over their flood preparations and about why those along the river weren't warned of the risks sooner. What happened? As much as 10ins (25cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst at around 4am local time. Homes were washed out and vehicles swept away by the downpour - equivalent to months' worth of rain - while 27 girls staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, went missing when the fast-rising floodwaters hit. The death toll stands at: • At least 43 people, including 15 children and 28 adults, in Kerr County, • One person in Kendall County, • At least four people in Travis County, • At least two in Burnet County, • And one person in the city of San Angelo. 1:20 What flood warnings were there? Private forecasting company AccuWeather said it and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before it began, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas. The NWS also issued flash flood emergencies - a rare alert notifying of imminent danger - at 4.23am local time. In a statement, AccuWeather said that "these warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety". It also called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings. However, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd said that one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain. "It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw," he said. 3:35 Were they enough? Locals have told various news agencies that while there had been phone alerts late into the night, forecasts headed into Friday evening did not predict the extreme conditions. Christopher Flowers, who was staying at a friend's house along the river when the flooding started, told the Reuters news agency: "What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now." Kerrville resident Darryl Huffman told Sky's US partner network NBC News that he did not believe the storm would pose such danger before its arrival. "I looked out the window and it was barely sprinkling outside," he said, "so I had no indication that the river was going to be right outside my driveway". Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities. He said in a statement: "People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast." Separately, the NWS's union told NBC News the agency's offices in central Texas were well-staffed and had issued timely warnings, "giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met". What have officials said? Local and federal officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain and insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official, said: "We know we get rain. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming." "We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," he said, adding: "We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever." Mr Kelly separately noted that while the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, "the public reeled at the cost". At a news conference with the Texas governor, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday that "everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict" before saying "we have all wanted more time and more warning and more alerts and more notification" from the NWS. She said a "moderate" flood watch issued on Thursday by the NWS had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system. Will forecasting get better? While Ms Noem said technology for the NWS would be upgraded, the White House has previously been criticised after Donald Trump 's administration ordered 800 job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - the parent organisation of the NWS. A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress. Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were "devastating".
