Death toll in Texas rises to 78, with 10 campers still missing
Texas governor Greg Abbot said at least 41 people were confirmed to be missing. This included ten camps and a counsellor from a Christian summer camp. Abbot pledged to keep searching until 'everybody is found' from Friday's flash floods.
He also warned that further heavy rainfall expected to last until Tuesday could lead to more dangerous conditions in the area.
Volunteers and some families of the missing drove to the most heavily hit regions to search the riverbanks for survivors despite being asked by officials not to do so.
US President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for the affected region Kerr County on Sunday. 'These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,' he said on social media.
Following the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Leo expressed "sincere condolences" to all those who lost loved ones in the devastating flash floods.
The Guadalupe river surged more than eight metres in just 45 minutes on Friday, destroying homes, camps and vehicles. The disaster unfolded as heavy rains continued across Texas into the weekend, prompting more flash flood warnings.
Texas authorities used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and rescue stranded people. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours.
Authorities face growing scrutiny over whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. They defended their actions, stating that they had not expected such an intense downpour, which was equivalent to months' worth of rain for the area.
The hills along the Guadalupe in central Texas are dotted with youth camps and campgrounds. The area is especially popular around the 4 July holiday, making it more challenging to determine how many are missing.
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Euronews
08-07-2025
- Euronews
More than 100 killed after catastrophic Texas floods
The death toll from catastrophic flash floods in central Texas surpassed 100 late Monday, as search and rescue teams continued to look for survivors and more rain threatens to swamp the region. The operators of Camp Mystic — an all-girls Christian summer camp in Texas Hill —Country announced they lost 27 campers and counsellors in the floods. At least 10 campers and one counsellor are still missing. 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,' a statement on the camp website read. 'We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected,' the statement added. Searchers have recovered the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County — home to several summer camps. The number of missing persons from nearby camps has not yet been released. The Guadalupe River rose 8 metres in just 45 minutes following an intense downpour north of San Antonio in the early hours of Friday. The sudden surge triggered raging flash floods — among the nation's worst in decades — which slammed into camps and homes, pulling sleeping people from their cabins, tents, and trailers, and dragging them past floating trees and cars. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said. Authorities investigate warning systems Officials warned that the death toll is likely to rise as additional rain and flood warnings threaten the region. They vowed to investigate whether sufficient emergency warnings were issued ahead of the flooding and ask why camps failed to evacuate or move to higher ground in the flood-prone area. That will include a review of how weather warnings are sent out and received. One of the challenges is that many camps and cabins are in places with poor cellphone service, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. 'We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,' Rice said. 'We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.' Local officials have faced questioning over what kind of flood warning and evacuation systems were in place in the area. Senator Ted Cruz denied allegations that recent government spending cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service delayed warnings to the campers. '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. Some residents say they never received any warnings. Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official, said "nobody saw this coming." US President Donald Trump, who signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, announced he plans to visit the state on Friday, a week after the deadly floods took place.
Euronews
06-07-2025
- Euronews
Death toll in Texas rises to 78, with 10 campers still missing
Authorities said on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 78 following flash floods in Texas which ripped apart the area and washed homes off their foundations. Texas governor Greg Abbot said at least 41 people were confirmed to be missing. This included ten camps and a counsellor from a Christian summer camp. Abbot pledged to keep searching until 'everybody is found' from Friday's flash floods. He also warned that further heavy rainfall expected to last until Tuesday could lead to more dangerous conditions in the area. Volunteers and some families of the missing drove to the most heavily hit regions to search the riverbanks for survivors despite being asked by officials not to do so. US President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for the affected region Kerr County on Sunday. 'These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,' he said on social media. Following the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Leo expressed "sincere condolences" to all those who lost loved ones in the devastating flash floods. The Guadalupe river surged more than eight metres in just 45 minutes on Friday, destroying homes, camps and vehicles. The disaster unfolded as heavy rains continued across Texas into the weekend, prompting more flash flood warnings. Texas authorities used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and rescue stranded people. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours. Authorities face growing scrutiny over whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. They defended their actions, stating that they had not expected such an intense downpour, which was equivalent to months' worth of rain for the area. The hills along the Guadalupe in central Texas are dotted with youth camps and campgrounds. The area is especially popular around the 4 July holiday, making it more challenging to determine how many are missing.
LeMonde
06-07-2025
- LeMonde
Texas floods: Desperate search for missing as death toll rises
Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday, July 6, to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 68, as forecasters warned of new deluges. Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials on the ground and in helicopters to search for the missing, including 11 girls and a counselor from a riverside Christian summer camp where some 750 people had been staying when disaster struck. In a terrifying display of nature's power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins in Camp Mystic as girls slept overnight Friday, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation. Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings ended up caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling Sunday, as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere in Kerr County rose to at least 59. "We expect that to go higher, sadly," Patrick told Fox News Sunday. He told stories of heroics, such as a camp counselor smashing a window so girls in their pajamas could swim out and walk through neck-high water. "These little girls, they swam for about 10 or 15 minutes. Can you imagine, in the darkness and the rushing waters and trees coming by you and rocks come on you? And then they get to a spot on the land," Patrick said. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster." "We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," he said in a post on social media platform X after a visit to the site. Officials and US media say nine people died in other Texas counties, for a total of 68. Officials had earlier said 27 girls were missing from the camp. Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice told a news conference Sunday morning that the figure is now 11. He did not explain the sharp drop in the number. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened more flash floods over the saturated ground of central Texas. The flooding began at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept. The Guadalupe surged some 26 feet, more than a two-story building, in just 45 minutes. 'Washed away' President Donald Trump, at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, signed a major disaster declaration that freed up resources for the state. Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. The region of south and central Texas where the weekend's deluge occurred is known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley." But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense. People from elsewhere in Texas converged on Kerr County to help look for the missing. Texans also started flying personal drones to help look but Rice urged them to stop this, saying it is a danger for rescue aircraft. One of the searches focused on four young women who were staying in a house that was washed away by the river.
