How drones are helping – and hurting – Texas flooding rescue efforts
A drone illegally operating in restricted airspace crashed into a helicopter involved in emergency operations on July 8, Kerr County officials said. The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing and is out of service 'until further notice,' according to the county. No injuries were reported.
'This was entirely preventable,' the city of Kerrville said in a statement. 'When you fly a drone in restricted areas, you're not just breaking the law – you're putting first responders, emergency crews, and the public at serious risk.'
More: Over 100 dead as search and rescue enters day 5 in Texas flooding: Live updates
After the helicopter landed, Kerville Police said several other private drones were spotted flying overhead, making the 'dangerous situation' worse. Some of those found illegally flying were "media-operated." The devices were interfering with official search and rescue drones, the department said in a Facebook post urging people to let "first responders do their job."
"We know that people want to volunteer, but what we are starting to see is personal drones flying," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a July 7 news conference. "These personal drones flying is a danger to aircraft, which then risks further operations."
The Federal Aviation Admission issued a Temporary Flight Restriction for flood-impacted areas of the Texas Hill Country until July 13, closing airspace to unauthorized aircrafts from Hunt, Texas to Canyon Lake, Texas while first responders work.
In some areas, emergency officials have used drones to scour the Guadalupe River for signs of life. The Texas Air National Guard deployed giant MQ-9 drones on June 6 to gather high-resolution images and assess the impact of the flooding in Texas' Hill Country.
Williamson County, Texas, said it has also used drones as part of its search and rescue efforts.
Rescue and recovery efforts for victims of the devastating Texas floods stretched into their fifth day July 8. More than 100 people have been found dead, including at least 27 children and counselors from a beloved Christian girls camp.
The flooding began in the early morning of July 4, as intense rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to surge more than 25 feet in an hour, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. Survivors were found clinging to trees and standing on rooftops.
"We will not stop until every missing person is found," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Crews comb flood-stricken Texas for 170 missing people
Search teams are sifting through mounds of debris in Texas Hill Country as hopes of finding more survivors dimmed five days after flash floods tore through the region, killing at least 119 people including many children. As of Tuesday evening, there were more than 170 people still unaccounted for, according to figures provided by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Searchers have not found anyone alive since Friday. Most of the fatalities and missing people were in Kerr County. The county seat, Kerrville, was devastated when torrential rains lashed the area early on Friday, dropping more than 300mm of rain in less than an hour and swelling the Guadalupe River to a height of nearly nine metres. Ordered Texas flags to half-staff until sunrise on July 14 to honor those whose lives were tragically lost in the recent stands united in God bring comfort to every family affected and strength to our first — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 9, 2025 The death toll in Kerr County was 95 as of Wednesday morning, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters at a briefing, including three dozen children. That figure includes at least 27 campers and counsellors from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' summer retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe. Authorities have warned the death toll will likely keep rising as floodwaters recede. Elsewhere on Tuesday, three people died in New Mexico, two of them young children, when a flash flood swept through the village of Ruidoso in mountains around 215km southeast of Albuquerque, the state's largest city. The flooding was sparked by heavy rain that fell on wildfire burn scars, causing a rapid runoff of water that saw the Rio Ruidoso River rise to a record 20 feet, five feet higher than its previous historical high, the village said in a statement. Public officials in Texas have faced days of questions about whether they could have warned people sooner, giving them time to move to higher ground ahead of the raging floodwaters. At Wednesday's briefing, the sheriff was again pressed to address questions about how long it took for officials to respond to "Code Red" alerts about the flash flooding during the early hours of July 4. He declined to respond directly, saying his focus was on finding the missing victims and that a full analysis of what went wrong with the response would come later. "We will answer those questions," he said. "I can't tell you when - a week or two, okay? We're going to get to them. We're not trying to deflect them." Scientists say climate change has made extreme flood events more frequent and damaging by creating warmer, wetter weather patterns. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice has said the amount of rainfall exceeded predictions and fell so fast that there was not enough time to order evacuations without further endangering people. Abbott said on Tuesday that the Texas legislature would convene a special session later in July to investigate the emergency response and provide funding for disaster relief.
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing
HUNT, Texas (AP) — In the frantic hours after a wall of water engulfed camps and homes in Texas, a police officer who was trapped himself spotted dozens of people stranded on roofs and waded out to bring them to safety, a fellow officer said Wednesday. Another off-duty officer tied a garden hose around his waist so he could reach two people clinging to a tree above swirling floodwaters, Kerrville officer Jonathan Lamb said, describing another harrowing rescue. 'This tragedy, as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse,' Lamb told a news conference, crediting first responders and volunteers with saving lives during the flash floods on the July Fourth holiday. More than 160 people still are believed to be missing and at least 115 have died in the floods that laid waste to the Hill Country region of Texas. The large number of missing suggests that the full extent of the catastrophe is still unclear five days after the disaster. The floods are now the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976, when Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon flooded, killing 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections. Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles along the Guadalupe River in the search of the missing. 'We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,' Gov. Greg Abbott told a news conference Tuesday. 'Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list.' Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made ahead of the flooding. 'Those questions are going to be answered,' Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. 'I believe those questions need to be answered, to the families of the loved ones, to the public.' But he said the priority for now is recovering victims. 'We're not running. We're not going to hide from anything,' the sheriff said. Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about funding and a lack of help from the federal government nixed a proposal to put up sirens. Raymond Howard, a city council member in Ingram, said it was 'unfathomable' that county officials did not act. 'This is lives. This is families,' he said. 'This is heartbreaking.' Number of missing has soared A day a earlier, the governor announced that about 160 people have been reported missing in Kerr County, where searchers already have found more than 90 bodies. Officials have been seeking more information about those who were in the Hill Country, a popular tourist destination, during the holiday weekend but did not register at a camp or a hotel and may have been in the area without many people knowing, Abbott said. The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found. Just two days before the flooding, Texas inspectors signed off on the camp's emergency planning . But five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press did not provide any details about how campers would be evacuated. Challenging search for the dead With almost no hope of finding anyone alive, search crews and volunteers say they are focused on bringing the families of the missing some closure. Crews fanned out in air boats, helicopters and on horseback. They used excavators and their hands, going through layer by layer, with search dogs sniffing for any sign of buried bodies. They looked in trees and in the mounds below their feet. They searched inside crumpled pickup trucks and cars, painting them with a large X, much like those marked on homes after a hurricane. How long the search will continue was impossible to predict given the number of people unaccounted for and the miles to cover. Shannon Ament wore knee-high rubber boots and black gloves as she rummaged through debris in front of her rental property in Kerr County. A high school soccer coach is one of the many people she knows who are still missing. 'We need support. I'm not going to say thoughts and prayers because I'm sick of that,' she said. 'We don't need to be blamed for who voted for who. This was a freak of nature — a freak event.' Trump plans to survey damage Friday President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover. He plans to visit the state Friday. Polls taken before the floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters. Catastrophic flooding is becoming a growing worry. On Tuesday, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people. Although it's difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change , experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make these type of storms more likely. ___ Lathan reported from Ingram, and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump confirms he will travel to Texas on Friday after fatal flooding
President Trump told reporters Monday that he plans to visit Texas on Friday after deadly flash floods swept through central Texas over the weekend. At least 100 people are dead across six counties, including more than two dozen counselors and young campers from a Christian summer camp for girls. 'That was a terrible event. Terrible event,' Trump said. 'Texas was just absolutely, so badly hurt by something that was a big surprise late in the evening.' It's not clear yet where exactly Trump will visit. The floods occurred along Texas's Guadalupe River, roughly an hour's drive northwest of San Antonio. Torrential rain from Thursday to early Friday morning resulted in deadly flash floods in Kerrville, Ingram, and Hunt, along with summer camps including Camp Mystic. Democrats have pointed to Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service as a potential reason why flood victims did not receive better warnings. The New York Times has reported that local officials had avoided installing more sophisticated warning systems due to cost and that several key nearby Weather Service offices were vacant at the time, although some staff openings predated the current administration. The White House said Monday that blaming Trump for the floods was a 'depraved lie.' Trump signed a disaster declaration Sunday, freeing up federal funds and programs to assist with the response. More rain was scheduled to hit the region Monday. The National Service extended its flood watch through Monday night for much of central Texas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
