A look at some of the deadliest floods in the US in the last 25 years
Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue stranded people in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads.
Hurricane Helene, 2024
Hurricane Helene struck Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia in September 2024. The storm caused about 250 deaths, according to the National Weather Service.
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Many of those who died in Helene fell victim to massive inland flooding, rather than high winds. Helene was the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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The storm decimated remote towns throughout the Appalachians and left millions without power, cellular service and supplies. In North Carolina alone, Helene was responsible for 108 deaths, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services.
Kentucky, 2022
Raging floodwaters in eastern Kentucky in late July of 2022 led to 45 deaths, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys said Saturday.
The floods destroyed homes and businesses and caused significant damage to schools, roads, bridges and water systems. The disaster robbed thousands of families of all their possessions.
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Tennessee, 2021
Twenty people were killed when creeks near the small Middle Tennessee town of Waverly overflowed after more than more than 17 inches (43 centimeters) of rain fell in the area in less than 24 hours in August 2021.
Homes were washed off their foundations, cars were wrecked and businesses were demolished. The dead included twin babies who were swept from their father's arms.
Hurricane Harvey, 2017
Hurricane Harvey barreled into Texas in August 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm. Harvey hovered for days as it trudged inland, dumping several feet of rain on many Gulf Coast communities and the Houston area.
Harvey killed at least 68 people, according to a National Hurricane Center report. All but three of the Harvey deaths were directly attributed to freshwater flooding, which damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.
West Virginia, June 2016
A rainstorm that initially seemed like no big deal turned into a catastrophe in West Virginia, trapping dozens of people during the night and eventually leaving 23 people dead around the state.
Superstorm Sandy, 2012
Superstorm Sandy was a late fall freak combination of a hurricane and other storms that struck New York and surrounding areas in October 2012.
Sandy killed 147 people, 72 in the eastern U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center. More than 110 deaths were attributed to drowning, Roys said.
Mississippi River, 2011
Heavy rainfall in several states, plus a larger-than-normal slow melt, led rivers in the Mississippi River Basin to swell and flood in 2011.
Flash floods associated with these storms caused 24 deaths across Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee in April and May, according to the National Weather Service.
Hurricane Ike, 2008
Hurricane Ike struck the southeast Texas Gulf Coast in September 2008, creating a storm surge as high as 20 feet (6 meters) in the island city of Galveston.
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Ike then poured more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of rain on
In all, Ike was responsible for more than 100 deaths, many caused by flooding.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Hurricane Katrina is the deadliest flood event in the U.S. in the past 25 years.
The storm crashed into the Gulf Coast and caused devastating flooding when levees failed in New Orleans, where people had to be rescued by boat and helicopter from rooftops.
The costliest storm in U.S. history, Katrina caused nearly 1,400 deaths and an estimated $200 billion in damages.
Tropical Storm Allison, 2001
Tropical Storm Allison caused 41 deaths, mostly attributed to flooding caused by 40 inches (101 centimeters) of rain that fell in Texas and Louisiana, Roys said.
Allison remained a threat for days as its remnants lingered after making landfall in June 2001, causing major flooding in Houston.
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Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Texas flood highlights deadly climate risk at crucial moment
The tragic Fourth of July flash flood in Texas that has killed at least 78 people is shining a spotlight on the nation's growing vulnerability to climate disaster. As rescue crews continue their frantic search for missing children along the Guadalupe River, experts warn that similar incidents could continue to happen as the federal government slashes funding for weather forecasting, shutters climate websites and databases, lays off scientists and researchers and weakens disaster response capabilities at a moment when climate change is increasing the frequency of such events. That includes California, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its subsidiary, the National Weather Service, are reeling from cutbacks ordered by the Trump administration. In May, at least two California offices of the NWS said they no longer have enough staff to operate overnight: Hanford and Sacramento, which together cover nearly all of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains, some of the state's most fire-and-flood-prone areas. Nationally, more than 600 scientists and meteorologists have already been laid off or taken a buyout from NOAA this year. The Trump administration is planning to cut thousands more employees next year — approximately 17% of its workforce — and slash the agency's budget by more than $1.5 billion, according to the fiscal 2026 budget request. The president has said the changes will help reduce federal waste and save taxpayers money. Yet these and other changes come as human-caused climate change contributes to larger and more frequent floods, wildfires and hurricanes, among other worsening disasters. The Texas flood, in particular, was marked by the type of extremely intense, highly localized downpour that is becoming much more common due to global warming. Portions of the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than an hour, state officials said. 'This is one of the hardest things to predict that's becoming worse faster than almost anything else in a warming climate, and it's at a moment where we're defunding the ability of meteorologists and emergency managers to coordinate,' said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. 'That trifecta seems like a recipe for disaster.' Indeed, just how frequently such events occur will soon become harder to tell, as the Trump administration has already eliminated NOAA's database for tracking billion-dollar disasters. Its last update before the shutdown confirmed that there were 27 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each in the United States in 2024. In the 1980s, the nation averaged just 3.3 such events per year, adjusted for inflation, the database shows. The administration last week shut down the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website, which housed congressionally mandated reports and research on climate change. Meanwhile, the weather service has begun halting weather balloon operations at multiple locations due to staffing shortages, reducing the amount of data that's available. Details about the Texas incident are still unfolding. Some state officials were quick to point the finger at the National Weather Service — including Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, who said forecasts did not adequately predict the amount of rain that fell on the area. Agency officials said they did their job — issuing multiple warnings in advance of the incident, including some that advised of potentially catastrophic conditions. A timeline provided to The Times by the National Weather Service indicated that an expanded flood hazard outlook was issued on the morning of July 3, and that multiple, increasingly urgent alerts followed. 'The National Weather Service is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County,' agency spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said in an email, adding that the NWS 'remains committed to our mission to serve the American public through our forecasts and decision support services.' However, the local area office was also short several key positions, including a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, the New York Times reported Sunday. Also absent was the office's warning coordination meteorologist — the person who acts as the liaison between the weather service and the public and emergency management officials — who took Trump's buyout earlier this year. On Sunday, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro called for an investigation into whether staffing shortages at the agency played a role, telling CNN's 'State of the Union' that 'not having enough personnel is never helpful.' In a statement, the White House did not address staff reductions but said no funding cuts have yet occurred at the National Weather Service. 'The timely and accurate forecasts and alerts for Texas this weekend prove that the NWS remains fully capable of carrying out its critical mission,' a spokesperson from the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, said in an email. While the precise circumstances that surrounded the Texas tragedy will continue to be studied in the days and weeks ahead, experts say it is clear that such climate hazards will continue to happen. 'With a warmer atmosphere, there is no doubt that we have seen an increase in the frequency and the magnitude of flash flooding events globally,' said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist with AccuWeather. Porter credited the weather service with issuing warnings in advance of the flash flood, but said there was a breakdown when it came to local officials' response to the information. 'The key question is, what did people do with those warnings that were timely, that were issued?' Porter said. 'What was their reaction, what was their weather safety plan, and then what actions did they take to based upon those timely warnings, in order to ensure that people's lives were saved?' Yet even efforts to enhance coordination between the weather service, the government and the general public could soon be on the chopping block. NOAA has been researching better ways to communicate disaster warnings, including improved public education and early warning systems, at its Oceanic and Atmospheric Research division, which is facing a hefty 74% budget cut if not complete elimination. The president's proposed 2026 budget would also reduce funding for specialized, high-resolution thunderstorm models that have been developed for just this type of event, according to Swain of UC ANR. He noted that it's an area of research that was pioneered by the U.S. government, in large part because the country has some of the most extreme thunderstorm weather in the world. 'Nearly all of the research in the world, historically, toward understanding these types of storms and predicting them has been sponsored by the U.S. federal government, and nearly all the advances we have made have been U.S. taxpayer-dollar funded,' Swain said. 'Other countries aren't going to do that on behalf of the U.S. ... So if we don't do it for ourselves, we aren't going to have access to that.' The Texas flood 'is representative of precisely the kind of nightmare scenario that is going to become more likely with the further extreme cuts that are proposed, and likely to be implemented to some degree,' he added. Notably, the changes at NOAA and the NWS are meeting with other new priorities from the president, including a renewed investment in oil and gas drilling — fossil fuel industries that are among the top contributors to global warming. In southeastern states such as Florida, officials are also grappling with reduced hurricane forecasting capabilities at the height of hurricane season. And in California, where multiple wildfires are currently burning, state officials are also facing reduced firefighting capabilities as Trump deploys National Guard firefighting troops in Los Angeles and reduced forest management and firefighting staffing at the U.S. Forest Service. The administration has also expressed interest in disbanding FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as early as this fall.
Business Insider
36 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Photos show scenes from the Texas floods and the summer camp where 11 children remain missing
During a press conference on Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said there are 59 confirmed deaths in Kerr County and an additional 10 deaths in the broader central Texas area. Abbott said 11 children from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp along the Guadalupe River, remained unaccounted for. In areas affected by the flooding across the state, there are 41 known missing people, Abbott said. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes on Friday as torrential rain battered the region. The National Weather Service said the river reached the second-highest height on record. The agency on Sunday extended a flood watch for parts of central Texas through 7 p.m. local time. Here are some images showing the impact of the flooding and ongoing search and rescue efforts. Debris rests on a bridge over the Guadalupe River in Texas after flooding on July 5 Boerne Search and Rescue teams navigate upstream in an inflatable boat on the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Comfort, Texas. Flood waters left debris, including vehicles and equipment, scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5 in Kerrville.
Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
Texas Officials Question Weather Service Warning Amid Floods
Texan communities are dealing with the impact of the deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River, which have killed at least 67 people so far. Search and rescue efforts continue for those unaccounted for, including girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said was "horrendously ravaged' by the flood waters. As authorities and locals assembled to deal with the impact, some Texas officials raised concerns about the warnings they received from the National Weather Service (NWS), saying the predictions had underestimated the incoming rainfall and did not adequately prepare local authorities for what was to come. Texas Division of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd told reporters at a press conference on Friday that NWS advisories and forecasts 'did not predict the amount of rain we saw.' When asked about the severity of the warnings he did see, Kidd said: '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. The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts.' Kidd was not the only Texas official to call into question the weather notices. Dalton Rice, the city manager for Kerrville, said it 'dumped more rain than what was forecast.' Meanwhile, Kerr County judge Rob Kelly told reporters: 'We didn't know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time… when it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever.' Kelly also said he did not know what kind of warning, if any, the leaders at Camp Mystic would have received ahead of the flash floods. Read More: Rescuers Search for Girls From Texas Camp as Flooding Death Toll Rises The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses the NWS, is among the agencies that have experienced mass layoffs under the Trump Administration, with firings of probationary employees starting just weeks after Trump returned to the White May, the former directors of the NWS published an open letter to 'the American people,' warning that Trump's cuts leave 'the nation's official weather forecasting entity at a significant deficit—down more than 10% of its staffing—just as we head into the busiest time for severe storm predictions like tornadoes and hurricanes.' The authors of the letter highlighted their fears, saying: 'Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life. We know that's a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines—and by the people who depend on their efforts.' Rick Spinrad, the former administrator of NOAA, has addressed the current concerns, saying that while many of the weather forecast offices are not currently operating with a full staff, it's too soon to tell if that impacted how the floods were forecast and dealt with."A lot of the weather forecast offices now are not operating at full complement of staff, which means that you're really putting an extra burden on these folks. I don't know how much that was a factor in what happened in Texas this weekend," he said on Saturday. "Without research, without staff to do the work, we can assume that the predictions, and not just hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, wildfires, tsunamis, for that matter, are undoubtedly going to degrade. And that means that people's ability to prepare for these storms will be compromised." The NWS San Antonio office on Monday predicted a potential for 'downpours' and heavy rain, which then escalated to a forecast of up to 7 inches of rainfall in isolated areas. On Thursday, the office issued a broad flood watch for parts of south-central Texas, including Kerr County, though the most severe warnings started when the NWS issued a 'life-threatening flash flooding' warning in Kerrville at 1:14 a.m. local time on Friday. The alert triggered the Emergency Alert System, which would have sounded the alarm on cell phones throughout the area, providing people had service and had not turned off their emergency alerts. The alert was issued roughly three hours before the first reports of flooding came in. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined Gov. Abbott at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, where she defended the agency against suggestions that its warnings fell short, but also said that Trump is currently overseeing an upgrade of the technology used to deliver weather alerts to the public. 'We know everybody wants more warning time and that's why we're working to update the technology that has been neglected for far too long,' she said. Meanwhile, meteorologists have said the NWS did all it could in regards to the forecasts issued prior to the floods. On Saturday, meteorologist John Morales took to social media to defend the NWS, stating that the local officials 'blaming NWS are wrong.' 'I don't see any evidence that cuts to NOAA/NWS caused any degradation in the anticipatory weather warnings ahead of this Texas tragedy,' Morales said, sharing data from the NWS. Morales later said that while nothing more could have been done prior to the flooding, he is of the opinion that unfilled positions at the NWS San Antonio station—some impacted by DOGE-driven cuts and others pre-dating Trump's second term—could have impacted the NWS' ability to effectively coordinate with local officials after the floods struck. 'The relationship between emergency managers, media, and [the] NWS is cultivated over years. It is a three-legged stool that can age well as long as it's maintained with good comms and practice,' Morales said. 'Having NWS managers—Meteorologist in Charge, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, and Science Operations Officer—missing would break the stool, but slowly.' TIME has reached out to the National Weather Service for comment. Read More: Mass Layoffs at NOAA Spark Concerns Over Weather, Climate Research Other meteorologists have also come out and said that the NWS did all it could have done prior to the floods. Meteorologist Chris Vagasky told Wired that it is incredibly difficult for a meteorologist to actually say how much rainfall will occur. 'The signal was out there that this is going to be a heavy, significant rainfall event,' Vagasky said. 'But pinpointing exactly where that's going to fall? You can't do that.' While meteorologist sensed a weather event of some sort was on the horizon, the timing of the flash flood warnings left people with little time to act. In a press conference on Sunday morning, Kerrville City manager Rice was asked about why summer camps were not evacuated, despite the warning days earlier that a storm could occur. In response, Rice said: 'That, that is a great question, but again, we want to make sure that we continue to focus. We still have 11 missing children that we want to get reunited with our families.'
