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Flash floods kill 80 in Texas as questions mount over ignored warnings
The worst-hit area was Kerr County, where 28 children were among the deceased. A girls' summer camp became the scene of heartbreak as floodwaters inundated the site overnight. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told CBS News that the magnitude of the flood came without warning.
'We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever,' Kelly said.
Timeline of flood warnings
The flooding began late Thursday and carried into early Friday. Within 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River swelled by 26 ft, breaching its banks and sweeping through towns and campsites.
According to official records, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated an emergency response due to expected flooding in West and Central Texas on Wednesday. Then on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood watch for Kerr County. On Friday at 1:14 am, a flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County. At 4.03 am and 5.34 am the same day, emergency flood warnings were issued as river levels surged, BBC reported.
Despite these alerts, evacuations did not follow, and some residents were caught completely off guard.
Texas floods: Communication and infra gaps
Governor Greg Abbott said Texans are accustomed to flash flood warnings but emphasised the exceptional nature of this event. 'But there's no expectation of a water wall of almost 30ft high,' he said.
Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd cited technical challenges. 'You have areas where there is no cell phone coverage... it doesn't matter how many alert systems you sign up for, you're not going to get that,' Kidd said, as quoted by BBC.
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said he underestimated the danger while jogging near the river early Friday. 'By 5.20 am, the water had risen so fast we almost weren't able to get out of the park,' he said.
Judge Kelly added that Kerr County lacks a local flood alert system due to high infrastructure costs. A river warning system had been considered six years ago but was never implemented.
NWS defends its warnings amid criticism
The National Weather Service (NWS) said it issued timely alerts and held briefings on July 3. 'Flash flood warnings were issued... giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met,' it said.
Texas floods: Staffing and budget cuts under scrutiny
The floods reignited concerns over staffing shortages and budget cuts at the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Reports mention fewer weather balloon launches and unfilled forecasting positions.
Tom Fahy, legislative director of the NWS Employees Organisation, said, 'The WFOs had adequate staffing and resources as they issued timely forecasts and warnings.'
Asked about systemic failures, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem emphasised the challenge of weather prediction. She said President Donald Trump is committed to modernising the country's alert systems. 'We know that everybody wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technologies,' she said, as quoted by BBC.

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India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Texas flash floods kill 89, dozens missing including children at Camp Mystic
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India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Texas floods: 27 campers, counsellors dead at Christian all-girls camp
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The waters tore through Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian girls' retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe River."Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," the camp said in a statement on "Dick" Eastland, 70, the co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died trying to save the children at his camp during the flood, multiple media including the Austin American-Statesman and his wife Tweety Eastland have owned the camp since 1974, according to the camp's website."If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for," Eastland's grandson, George Eastland, wrote on Hill Country where the worst flooding occurred, 2 to 4 inches of more rain were expected to fall, with isolated areas getting up to 10 inches of rain, said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, said that the potential new floods could be particularly dangerous because of the water-saturated soil and all the debris already in and around the weather service issued a flood watch through 7 p.m. on Monday in the emergency management officials had warned on Thursday, ahead of the July Fourth holiday, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of heavy showers and flash floods based on National Weather Service OF DISASTERBut twice as much rain as was predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, City Manager Dalton Rice and other public officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, said the circumstances of the flooding, and the adequacy of weather forecasts and warning systems, would be scrutinised once the immediate situation was brought under the meantime, search-and-rescue operations were continuing around the clock, with hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground contending with a myriad of challenges."It's hot, there's mud, they're moving debris, there's snakes," Martin told reporters on Suelzar, adjutant general of the Texas Military Department, said airborne search assets included eight helicopters and a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft equipped with advanced sensors for surveillance and reconnaissance said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, some clinging to trees, after the sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain across the region, about 85 miles (140 km) northwest of San Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on Sunday and was deploying resources to Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said. US Coast Guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue BACK FEDERAL DISASTER RESPONSETrump said on Sunday that he would visit the disaster scene, probably on Friday. He has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government's role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to shoulder more of the burden experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA director Rick Spinrad pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the Weather Service under Trump's oversight."That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden setup," he said, referencing his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. "But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either. I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe".Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Fox News on Monday that there did not appear to be a specific breakdown in the National Weather Service systems."The alerts went out several hours in advance, but the rise in the level of water, and how quickly that happened, just really was unprecedented for this area," she said.- EndsMust Watch


Economic Times
5 hours ago
- Economic Times
Texas underwater: Where floodwaters are raging now, and which cities were hit the hardest?
People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Synopsis The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that rainfall on July 4 reached extreme levels, with parts of Central Texas receiving up to 7 inches within a span of just three hours. A relentless convergence of thunderstorms and saturated river basins brought widespread devastation to Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, claiming at least 82 lives and prompting continued evacuations in flood-stricken areas. The most severe impact was seen along the Guadalupe River, where rapidly rising waters inundated towns, summer camps, and key infrastructure, marking one of the worst natural disasters the region has faced in decades. ADVERTISEMENT The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that rainfall reached exceptional levels on July 4, with some regions in Central Texas recording as much as 7 inches in just three hours. According to meteorological data, the Guadalupe River near Kerrville swelled from under two feet to over 34 feet in just over an hour—an extraordinary and deadly rise. Also Read | Texas Floods Miracle: Two girls found alive, clinging to a tree for over a day — 'Six miles downriver, 27 feet in air' Though Kerrville registered over 11 inches of rain across three days, other surrounding towns between San Antonio and Austin received nearly double that total, further exacerbating the situation. Officials described the flooding event as 'catastrophic,' with Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County confirming the grim discovery of 59 bodies in his jurisdiction alone—including 21 children. The majority of these deaths occurred near summer camps and low-lying NWS issued a Flash Flood Emergency on Sunday for Hunt, Ingram, and Kerrville in Kerr County, where continuous rainfall and surging rivers turned streets into torrents. Among the most severely hit was Hunt, a rural community near Camp Mystic, where the river crested at nearly 30 feet following 12 to 13 inches of rainfall. Several girls from the camp remain missing as emergency crews search the Ingram, flooding of the Guadalupe River destroyed homes and critical roadways, including a key bridge on Cade Loop, while in Kerrville, the county seat, 34-foot river surges overwhelmed parks and residential neighborhoods, forcing evacuations from Louise Hays Park and adjacent homes. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, although not under current emergency orders, Comfort in Kendall County and Center Point in Kerr County were among the earlier impacted towns, with Comfort recording a peak river crest of 34.76 feet—well beyond flood-stage magnitude of the rainfall has shocked both officials and residents alike. According to the NWS, some locations witnessed rates of 3–4 inches per hour. A staggering 7 inches of rain equals approximately 122 million gallons of water per square mile—enough to fill the AT&T Stadium in Arlington multiple times over when spread across 7 square miles. ADVERTISEMENT The sudden deluge caught many by surprise during early morning hours, trapping families inside homes and cabins. Camp Mystic, a girls-only Christian summer camp near Hunt, was the site of multiple fatalities. Several campers remain unaccounted for, despite ongoing efforts by emergency responders utilizing helicopters, boats, and Greg Abbott has declared a disaster across multiple counties, enabling rapid response resources to flow into affected regions. On Sunday, the governor confirmed that 41 individuals remain missing statewide, adding that the numbers may rise as further assessments are conducted. ADVERTISEMENT Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Kerr County, thereby authorizing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to aid recovery and rescue NWS has maintained a Flood Watch for a wide swath of south-central Texas, including Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Lee, Llano, Medina, Travis, and Williamson counties. However, the Flash Flood Emergency remains specific to Hunt, Ingram, and Kerrville due to the extreme river conditions. ADVERTISEMENT In its latest bulletin, NWS Austin/San Antonio warned that 'a very dangerous flash flooding event is ongoing' and that an additional 1–5 inches of rain could fall in the coming hours, posing continued threats to lives and property along the Guadalupe urged residents in low-lying areas to immediately evacuate and seek higher ground. 'Don't wait,' one official said. 'The water is rising faster than anyone can predict.'In a community gathering filled with grief and prayer, residents recounted terrifying scenes—cabins swept away, bridges collapsing, and streets turning into torrents. Amid growing frustration over limited escape routes and slow communications, search-and-rescue teams pressed on, even as muddy conditions and debris hampered their the death toll mounting and rescue operations still underway, officials have emphasized the need for patience, vigilance, and cooperation. The Texas Floods, driven by one of the heaviest rainfall events in recent memory, have affected hundreds of families, decimated infrastructure, and left entire communities in weather forecasters predict additional storms in the days ahead, the full scale of destruction and loss remains unknown. But for now, Central Texas faces a long and painful road to flooding was triggered by a rare convergence of intense thunderstorms and already-saturated river basins. Some areas received up to 7 inches of rain in just three hours, with the Guadalupe River rising from under 2 feet to over 34 feet in little more than an of the latest update, at least 82 people have died, including 21 children, with 59 fatalities confirmed in Kerr County alone, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. NEXT STORY