What to know about the flash floods in Texas that killed more than 80 people
The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.
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After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.
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Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain
Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.
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In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Sunday afternoon. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 79 as of Sunday evening.
Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.
For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.
Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.
'We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Saturday, citing the likely influx of visitors during the July Fourth holiday.
Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings
Survivors have described the floods as a 'pitch black wall of death' and said they received no emergency warnings.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that " nobody saw this coming." Various officials have referred to it as a '100-year-flood,' meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.
And records behind those statistics don't always account for human-caused climate change. Though it's hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.
Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.
Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.
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Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.
On Sunday, officials walked out of a news briefing after reporters asked them again about delays in alerts and evacuations.
Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort
The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.
'It's going to be a long time before we're ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it,' Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.
Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.
President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.
AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recover efforts.
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Chicago Tribune
10 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Hundreds gather at high school stadium to honor the many lost to Texas deadly floods
KERRVILLE, Texas — Several hundred people gathered for a worship ceremony at a high school stadium in Texas on Wednesday evening to remember the at least 120 people who died in the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth holiday, as well the many still missing. 'Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness,' Wyatt Wentrcek, a local youth minister, told the crowd in the bleachers of Tivy Antler Stadium in Kerrville. 'Middle of the night.' During a series of prayers for the victims and the more than 160 people still believed to be missing in hard-hit Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, people in the crowd clutched one another and brushed away tears. Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missingMany attendees wore blue shirts with the school's slogan, 'Tivy Fight Never Die,' or green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found. Ricky Pruitt, with the Kerrville Church of Christ, told the crowd that they gathered intentionally at a place where they had celebrated victories and experienced losses on the field. 'Tonight is very different than all of those nights,' he said. The event was held as search crews and volunteers continued to scour miles along the Guadalupe River for the people still missing. In air boats, helicopters and on horseback, crews looked in trees and mounds below their feet, while search dogs sniffed for any sign of buried bodies. With almost no hope of finding anyone alive, searchers said they were focused on bringing the families of the missing people some closure. 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. 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, Gov. Greg Abbott has said. Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha has said those questions will be answered, but the focus now is on recovering victims. The governor called on state lawmakers to approve new flood warning systems and strengthen emergency communications in flood prone areas throughout the state when the Legislature meets in a special session that Abbott had already called to address other issues starting July 21. Abbott also called on lawmakers to provide financial relief for response and recovery efforts from the storms. 'We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,' Abbott said in a statement. Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens. President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover, and is planning 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 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. After the ceremony in Kerrville on Wednesday, children and families mingled on the field, and some students formed prayer circles. Licensed counselors and therapists were also on hand to meet with people. Andrew Brown, who was at the vigil to honor a Tivy High School soccer coach who died in the flooding, said he believes a warning system with a siren would be helpful. 'I'm sure there are things that could have been different, and I'm sure there will be going forward,' he said. David Garza said he drove an hour and a half to the stadium to provide support for loved ones affected by the floods. 'I'm from here, and I was here in the '78 flood and the '87 flood,' Garza said. 'I just wanted to be a part of this.'
Fox News
27 minutes ago
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: In wake of Kerrville flood, locals ignore blame game
KERRVILLE, Texas – It didn't take long for Democrats to pounce on last week's tragic floods here with false allegations that the Trump administration had cut the National Weather Service, leaving the community vulnerable, but the locals are having none of it. With a death toll of over a hundred, many of whom are children, one might expect bitter anger and recrimination. But little of that is on display on the ground. Christian, an Uber driver in his 40's who grew up in Kerrville, said of the flood that "the system will never be perfect, it just came so fast, there's nothing you can do with 20 feet of water rising in a half hour." This was in the wake of aggressive questioning by reporters directed at local officials that almost seemed to be intent on finding blame, not explanations. There was a tinge of anger in Christian's voice as he added, "Now they're going after the mayor and the fire department,. It's not fair." This attitude was echoed by Rob, in his 50s who was newer to the area, but told me, "it was a perfect storm," not intending the pun. "It probably didn't help that it was the early morning hours of July 4th, but it was so fast, just a terrible tragedy." This attitude, which basically broke down to looking at the flash flood as an irrepressible act of God, stood in contrast to what I heard from victims of the North Carolina floods of last fall. But there, the anger was about the aftermath, not the lead-up. Locals in Hill Country were also unimpressed by arguments that the Trump administration's federal job cuts had left the National Weather Service ill-prepared to forecast, reporting that was quickly debunked, as it turns out the agency had extra staff working. Likewise, the ever-present left-wing argument that every weather incident in the country is the result of climate change and our inability to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels did not have much purchase. "They say that about everything," one woman told me, eyes rolling. One possible cause of the floods that I did hear about from several residents was cloud seeding. In fact, they were bringing it up to me on Monday, before it broke through as a national story. Experts seem to agree that nearby seeding operations did not cause the massive rainfall, but there was an understandable concern from those I spoke with about the practice of fooling around with the power of Mother Nature. One thing that came through with most of the people I spoke with was that when you live in such intimate proximity to powerful forces of nature, the risk of that is known and in large part accepted. Much as people who choose to live in cities often accept higher rates of violent crime, those who live in the pathway of common natural devastation understand the tradeoffs. There is no perfect safety. For all of our technology from space travel to the internet, in the face of enough fire or water, we remain more or less helpless. Just this year in Los Angeles, the fires raged until the wind died down. It could have been 1925, not 2025. There is no question that locals in Hill Country want the authorities to learn as much from this horrible event as possible, and to make changes where needed, such as calls for a siren system to alert residents of flooding. Even sirens, though, are not perfect. If used too often, they will eventually be ignored. If used too sparingly, they might fail to provide warning when water as fast as Kerr County saw last Friday moves in. Millions of Americans, for example, receive tornado warnings from their phones many times a year. Often they are ignored, usually with little harm done, but sometimes with tragic consequences. A final factor that helps the people of Hill Country focus on helping each other, rather than blaming each other or the Trump administration, is the powerful Christian faith held by so many here. It is not just that their faith allows them the comfort of knowing the lost are with God now; the churches themselves became powerful epicenters of volunteering and support. There will be time for answers about the lead-up to this flood. Thankfully, at least for now, all the focus of the locals is on aiding one another and continuing the life and growth of their communities even under a cloud of nature's dark power.
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Here are some things you can do to be better prepared for major flooding
Catastrophic floods can be difficult to prepare for. Sometimes evacuation is the right call, but if it's too late the best bet is to find higher ground nearby. The stakes can be high, because a flash flood may give those in its path only minutes or seconds to react. The right moves depend on the storm and the geography, said James Doss-Gollin, an assistant professor who teaches civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. For example, the advice won't be the same for people who live near a beach and those who live by a river, he said. 'Some places you're worried about the water moving really fast in the river. Some places you're worried about roads getting flooded, but the water might not be moving very fast. So often your local community is going to have the best information,' he said. Regardless of the storm or where it's happening, Richina Bicette-McCain, an emergency physician with Baylor College of Medicine, said preparation is key. 'One of my favorite phrases is if you stay ready, then you don't have to get ready," she said. Before the flooding starts If you live in the United States, make sure the National Weather Service's automatic weather alerts on your phone are activated. If you live in another country, find out what the weather agency and how they provide alerts. If you don't have a phone or it's not working, the weather service recommends NOAA Weather Radio, local news coverage and listening for the Emergency Alert System on TV and radio broadcasts. These alerts typically include a few key phrases that indicate how serious the threat is. Here's a quick glossary: 1. Flood watch: Hazardous weather is possible. Be prepared. 2. Flood advisory: Flooding is expected to be inconvenient, but not necessarily dangerous. Be aware. 3. Flood warning: Hazardous weather is imminent, or already happening. Take action. 4. Flash flood warning: Flooding is imminent or already happening, and the flood is especially sudden or violent. You might only have seconds to find higher ground. 5. Flash flood emergency: There's a severe threat to human life, and catastrophic damage is about to happen or is already happening. This is exceedingly rare, and at this point, officials are typically reporting evacuations and rescues. Doss-Gollin said before the National Weather Service issues a warning or emergency alert, it's important for people to know where the nearest high places are that will not flood, so evacuees can move quickly if needed. Bicette-McCain has her go-bag ready and refreshed every hurricane season that includes flashlights, spare batteries, food and water. And she said patients seeking medical care in flood emergencies typically face one of two problems: either they can't use their regular medications or medical devices once the power goes out, or they're dehydrated. So, she said, the most important items to throw in are medications, batteries and lots of drinking water. 'I don't know if you've ever been so thirsty that you're just desperate for a morsel of liquid to drink, but sometimes people get into that situation and they'll resort to drinking flood water. And if you survive the flood, the implications of drinking flood water may be what does you in,' she said. The National Weather Service, FEMA and American Red Cross all have emergency go-bag recommendations that include personal hygiene items, warm blankets and a whistle to signal for help. Doss-Gollin's go-bag includes diapers and milk for his baby, and a weather radio that's designed to pick up radio frequencies from far away in case the power is out or the local tower goes down. 'We have one that's hand-crank, which I really like because I'm not going to check the batteries on those every couple of months to make sure that they're working," he said. Once the storm has arrived Find out what local officials are recommending, and follow their instructions. If it's time to evacuate, do it before the storm comes. 'We see a lot of casualties from people attempting to stay at their home,' Bicette-McCain said. 'Don't be that person.' Bicette-McCain said it is never a good idea to touch the stormwater because it is impossible to know how contaminated it is. The only exception is if the space you're in is so dangerous that you have to trudge through water to get somewhere safer. In that case, she recommended finding an umbrella or big stick to judge how deep the water is or whether there is debris in front of you. 'We're talking very turbulent, very putrid waters that you can't see through,' she said. If it's too late to evacuate, don't. Trying can be fatal. Just 6 inches (15 centimeters) of moving water can knock a person down, and a foot of moving water can move a car. 'Very often the people that die during floods ... are driving across bridges or they're trying to drive through water,' Doss-Gollin said. 'The one piece of advice that everyone will give you is don't drive through floodwaters, ever.' ___
