Texas flash floods: 27 campers and counselors killed in Camp Mystic
The camp in the community of Hunt in Kerr County is a Christian girls' camp that opened in 1926.
"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.
The catastrophic flash floods that struck Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend killed at least 82 people, with others still missing, including the girls attending summer camp.
The risk of life-threatening flooding still lurked over central Texas as more rain was forecast for the region. Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that additional rounds of heavy rainfall lasting into Tuesday could bring more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.
Abbott said that 41 people were still unaccounted for across the state, fearing that more could be missing. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that in the Hill Country area, searchers found bodies of 68 people, including 28 children.
Ten other deaths were also reported in the Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said.
ALSO READ | Camp Mystic flooding: Republican lawmaker reunites with his two daughters after deadly Texas floods
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was also activated late on Sunday after President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, saying that he would likely visit the flood-hit region on Friday. "I would have done it today, but we'd just be in their way," he told reporters.
Trump further said, "It's a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible."
Earlier at Campy Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope thrown to them by rescuers as they tried to walk across a bridge with water running over their legs.
An 8-year-old girl from Alabama's Mountain Brook, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road, were among those confirmed dead.
A row also erupted over residents and people present in the area not receiving the flood alert earlier. The National Weather Service first advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings early on Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies, which is a rare alert to notify of imminent danger.
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said authorities are committed to a full review of the emergency response.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
Dramatic timelapse video shows floodwater swallowing Texas bridge in minutes
A timelapse video recorded in Texas's Kingsland during the devastating July 4 weekend floods shows the shocking speed at which floodwaters overwhelmed a local causeway. The 30-minute footage, filmed by an eyewitness, reveals rising waters submerging the elevated road in just 10 minutes.A few onlookers visible at the start of the video are seen retreating as the water quickly becomes dangerously high. Take a look –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, 2025advertisementThe flash floods, described as among the worst in the US in decades, have left at least 104 people dead, with the toll expected to rise. Search-and-rescue operations continued Monday across central Texas, where teams used boats and heavy machinery to sift through wreckage and search for the missing. Authorities said that 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a historic all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County, were swept away by floodwaters early Friday morning. Officials have recovered 84 bodies, including 28 children, so Guadalupe River, swollen with relentless rainfall, tore through cabins, tents and trailers before dawn on July 5, dragging people from their beds and sweeping them for miles survivors were found clinging to trees. Debris which litters the riverbanks include tree trunks, coolers, volleyballs, canoes and personal items like family President Donald Trump, who signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, is scheduled to visit Texas on Friday. On Sunday, he stated the flooding caught everyone by surprise and said: 'This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it.'White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended emergency services and said that both federal and local agencies provided sufficient weather warnings ahead of the floods.- Ends IN THIS STORY#United States of America
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Texas flash flood death toll surpasses 100 as 5 million in central Texas remain under flood watch
The death toll from the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth weekend in central Texas has surpassed 100 on Monday as search and rescue teams plodded through muddy riverbanks and flew aircrafts to look for survivors as hopes dimmed of finding the dozens still missing from a disaster that has devastated the Texas Hill Country. Three days after a torrential downpour which started at midnight and transformed the Guadalupe River into a raging, killer torrent, officials of Camp Mystic, a century old Christian girls' summer camp confirmed that flash floods killed 27 campers and counselors. Officials from Kerr County said that at least 10 campers and one counselor still remain missing. Texas authorities, overseeing the search for flood victims, avoided the questions about weather warnings and said they will wait to address the issues as to why some summer camps did not evacuate ahead of the flooding that killed at least 104. Texas is working tirelessly to assist local officials with recovery and rescue operations. Heavy rain continues to be a threat. Texans should be weather aware. Texas will not stop until every missing person is found. More info: — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 7, 2025 Officials further informed that bodies of 84 people were found, including 28 children and 56 adults in the county home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps. Central Texas still remains at the edge as additional rains have been predicted and more flooding could ravage parts of the US state. Authorities have warned that the death toll could rise. On Sunday, state and local authorities said 12 other flood related deaths have been reported across five neighboring south-central Texas counties and 41 other people have been reported to be missing outside Kerr County. Hope to find some of the survivors alive are diminishing as time passed while authorities continued to search. 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,' Camp Mystic said in a statement. According to an NBC News report, five million people in central Texas still remain covered by flood watches, including residents of San Angelo, Killeen, Kerrville, San Antonio and Austin.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Death toll from flooding in Texas over July Fourth weekend crosses 100
The number of deaths reached 104 on Monday. In hard-hit Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children AP The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has surpassed 100 as the massive search continues for missing people. The number of deaths reached 104 on Monday. In hard-hit Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, Kerr County officials said. Authorities overseeing the search for flood victims in Texas said they will wait to address questions about weather warnings and why some summer camps did not evacuate ahead of the catastrophic flooding. The officials spoke only hours after the operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, announced that they lost 27 campers and counselors to the floodwaters. Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams carried on with the search for the dead, using heavy equipment to untangle trees and wading into swollen rivers. Volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece by piece, in an increasingly bleak task. 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. The announcement by Camp Mystic confirmed the worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River. 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 cars. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers now litter the riverbanks. The debris included reminders of what drew so many to the campgrounds and cabins in the Hill Country a volleyball, canoes and a family portrait. Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials. Among those confirmed dead were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home. Their daughters were still missing. Calls for finding why warnings weren't heard Authorities vowed that one of the next steps would be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in a place long vulnerable to flooding that some local residents refer to as flash flood alley. That will include a review of how weather warnings were sent out and received. One of the challenges is that many camps and cabins are in places with poor cellphone service, said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice. We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things, he said. We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete. Some camps, though, were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said recent government spending cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency 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. The weather service first advised of potential flooding on Thursday 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. Some residents said they never received any warnings. President Donald Trump, who signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County and plans to visit the area, said Sunday that he does not plan to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it, the president said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said local and federal weather services provided sufficient warnings. That was an act of God. It's not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did, but there were early and consistent warnings, Leavitt said. More than three dozen people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing, Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday. Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area said Monday that more than 1,000 volunteers had been directed to Kerr County. Little time to escape floods 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 neighbour was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her. Then they were able to reach their tool shed up higher ground, and neighbours throughout the early morning began to show up at their tool shed, and they all rode it out together, Brown said. Elizabeth Lester, a mother of children who were at Camp Mystic and nearby Camp La Junta during the flood, said her young son had to swim out his cabin window to escape. Her daughter fled up the hillside as floodwaters whipped against her legs. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
