Texas flooding deaths hit at least 80: Here's how you can help
The search for victims intensified July 6, as 11 children and a camp counselor remain missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp at the river's edge.
The National Weather Service said Kerr County, located in Texas Hill Country, was inundated by as much as 15 inches of rain triggered by intense thunderstorms − half of the total the region sees in a year. The Guadalupe River rose more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes, Weather.com reported.
The area is known for being especially vulnerable to floods, earning it the nickname "flash flood alley," and it has experienced several major flood events in the past two decades.
President Donald Trump said in a statement Sunday that he signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, days after the flooding swept through Texas Hill Country.
It remains unclear how many people in total were still missing in the communities along the Guadalupe, where local officials say thousands of people came from out of town to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend.
Here's how you can help.
Texas flooding deaths reach at least 70: 11 young campers missing as rescuers race time
How to help in the aftermath of flooding in Texas
The Red Cross
The Red Cross has opened shelters in affected areas as well as two reunification centers, according to a post on X.
The organization is taking donations on its website.
World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen, the non-profit founded by chef José Andrés, deployed to Texas on July 4.
The organization provided food to stranded campers at Camp La Junta that have since been evacuated, according to a July 4 X post.
WCK is taking donations on its website.
Kerr County Relief Fund
The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has started a Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.
The fund will provide aid to vetted organizations in Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort that are providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance, according to the foundation.
The fund is accepting donations on its website.
Austin Pets Alive!
The Austin animal shelter reported that it has taken in over 50 animals from Kerr and Williamson counties as of July 5.
In a July 6 update, the shelter said that they are coordinating a volunteer search and rescue group to find animals along the riverbank. The shelter also said it is seeking donations to provide support to families that have lost pets, including body recovery and cremation services.
The shelter is accepting donations on its website.
GoFundMe
Crowdfunding website GoFundMe has a page for verified fundraisers connected to the flooding in Central Texas.
The page will be updated as fundraisers are verified, according to GoFundMe.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army Kroc Center in Kerrville is coordinating and accepting donations of nonperishable goods, personal hygiene items, diapers and other items while providing regular updates on its Instagram page.
The Salvation Army of Texas has also deployed a deployed a mobile kitchen and team, according to a July 5 statement.
"The community was waking to celebrate the July 4th holiday and has suddenly been faced with historic and tragic flooding," Major Phil Swyers, of The Salvation Army in Kerrville, said in the statement. "The Salvation Army is here to help and will support those impacted by this disaster."
This story has been updated with new information and to fix a typo.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, Susan Miller, Christopher Cann, Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY
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Quick action by one Texas summer camp leads to timely evacuations ahead of deadly flood
It was about 1 a.m. on the Fourth of July when the facilities manager at a central Texas summer camp saw water from the Guadalupe River steadily rising amid a deluge of rain. Aroldo Barrera notified his boss, who had been monitoring reports of the storms approaching Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, a recreation destination where an intercultural youth conference had been called off early just hours earlier. Despite an absence of warning by local authorities, camp officials acted quickly on their own, relocating about 70 children and adults staying overnight in a building near the river. With the kids safe, camp leaders including President and CEO Tim Huchton were able to avoid the catastrophe that hit at least one other camp near Hunt, where the 500-acre Mo-Ranch is located. 'They helped them pack up,' Lisa Winters, communications director for Mo-Ranch, told The Associated Press on Sunday. 'They got them up, they got them out, put them up on higher ground.' Other places fared much worse. Flash floods that roared through Texas Hill Country before dawn on Friday decimated the landscape near the river, leaving at least 79 dead and many others unaccounted for. As of Sunday, 10 girls from nearby Camp Mystic remained missing, officials said. Rescue and recovery teams combed the area for them and others still unaccounted for days after the flood. The decision to leave added to the mounting accounts of how camps and residents in the area say they were left to make their own decisions in the absence of warnings or notifications from the county. Local authorities have faced heavy scrutiny and at times have deflected questions about how much warning they had or were able to provide the public, saying the reviews will come later. For now, they say they're focusing on rescues. Officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. Mo-Ranch suffered no loss of life, said Winters, adding that the camp received no direct information from county officials about flooding that could — and did — take lives. 'We had no warning this was coming," Winters said, adding that it would have been 'devastating' had camp officials not been looking at weather reports and the rising river waters. Mo-Ranch 'saw it coming well in advance and they did something about it,' she said. By about 7 a.m. Friday, camp staff began contacting children's parents, telling them their kids were safe. 'They knew that those parents would wake up and just see all this media footage of kids lost, or the river,' Winters said. 'They're like, 'tell your parents you're OK' … We made sure every single guest, every single kid, was accounted for.' The camp, which sits on higher ground than some in the area, suffered some damage, but not as significant as others, Winters said. 'The buildings don't matter,' she said. 'I can't imagine losing children, or people.' She said a sturdy aluminum kayak was wrapped around a tree 'like a pretzel.' 'That just shows you the sheer power of the water. I don't know how any people could survive. We're blessed,' she said. The camp remained closed Sunday and Mo-Ranch was working on ways to help other camps affected by the flood. 'We're in a difficult place because others are really suffering,' said Winters, who became emotional during an interview. 'We're a sisterhood of camps. We take care of each other.'
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34 minutes ago
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Texas flooding live updates: Death toll rises to more than 80 as dozens remain missing; Camp Mystic confirms 27 died in flash floods
At least 82 people have died and more than 40 others are missing in Texas after flash flooding ravaged the state over the Fourth of July weekend. Across the state, rescuers continue their efforts to search for the dozens still missing, including 10 campers and one counselor at an all-girls camp located along the Guadalupe River, near San Antonio, which rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours. Camp Mystic confirmed that 27 campers and counselors died during the weekend floods. Parts of central Texas are bracing for another day of localized flash flooding threats caused by slow-moving thunderstorms in the flood-ravaged area, according to weather officials. The storms could produce another 2 to 4 inches of rain, with an isolated total of up to 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service's Austin-San Antonio office. Nearly 5 million people, including those in the disaster areas, are under a flood watch that has been extended until 7 p.m. local time. 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Texas officials will provide the latest updates on the deadly flooding that has killed at least 81 people in the state since Friday on Monday morning, July 7. USA TODAY is providing live coverage of the news conference, beginning around 11 a.m. EST. You can watch the news conference at the embedded video at the top of the page or on USA TODAY's YouTube Channel. At least 27 children and counselors from a beloved all-girls summer camp died in the flash floods, the camp said in a statement Monday, as a search for those still missing entered its fourth day. It is unclear how many of the 27 fatal victims were children and how many were counselors. "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," the private Christian camp, Camp Mystic, said in a statement on its website. "We are praying for them constantly." On Sunday, local authorities in Kerr County, where the worst of the flooding occurred, said 10 children and a counselor were among the many people still missing. It's unclear if that number had changed. "We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls," the statement said. There were about 700 children at the camp when relentless rain caused the nearby Guadalupe River to surge over 26 feet in less than an hour on Friday, said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Photos taken at the scene show a building where some of the children slept with broken windows and a blown-out wall. Among the mud-covered debris were pink blankets and stuffed animals. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
