The places where deadly Texas floodwaters have killed at more than 80 people
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Search teams are using helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims in flash floods that have torn across central Texas since the at the start of the July Fourth weekend. More than 80 people have died and many more are still missing, including at least 10 girls from a summer camp.At the center of the tragedy is the scenic Texas Hill Country, where volunteers and some families of the missing have searched the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Authorities in surrounding areas closer to Austin, the state capital, have also recovered victims from floodwaters.Here's a look at the known toll of dead and missing.Texas Hill Country Flash floods striking with the force to rip away concrete slabs and giant trees tore across Guadalupe River banks dotted with children's camps and campgrounds.Kerr County authorities had confirmed at least 68 deaths as of Sunday and said they had no way to total the number of missing across the county, the hardest-hit by the floods.Among Kerr County's confirmed dead are at least 28 children. The missing campers were from Camp Mystic , a riverside Christian camp for girls in the small town of Hunt Travis County Six people in Travis County died in the flooding, county spokesman Hector Nieto said Sunday evening. The flash floods along creeks carried away homes, trailers, cars and people in the northwest portion of the county.Travis County Judge Andy Brown, the top executive of the county, said earlier Sunday that some 50 people have been rescued by helicopter, in boats, and on foot. They've also sent resources to Kerr County, knowing that it was harder hit. While a flood watch remains in effect, officials say they have neutralized the initial emergency."Now we're going to be moving into recovery," said Eric Carter, chief Emergency Management Coordinator for Travis County.Burnet County Authorities in the largely rural county, which borders Travis County, reported three dead and five people missing in floodwaters that surged out of Cow Creek and other waterways.Other victims Two deaths were reported in both Kendall and Williamson counties, and there was one in Tom Green County.In Williamson County, in the north suburbs of Austin, the U.S. military at nearby Fort Hood helped evacuate 16 people people from a home for disabled children, County Judge Steve Snell said. The victim in Tom Green County was a woman whose body was found outside her submerged car in the city of San Angelo.
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Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Texas inspectors cleared Camp Mystic's disaster plan 2 days before flood
Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic's emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children. The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster. Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counsellor. Five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press do not offer any details of those plans at Mystic, raising new questions about the camp's preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in flood-prone Texas Hill Country. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch for the area on July 3 at 1.18 pm. That danger prompted at least one of the roughly 18 camps along the Guadalupe River to move dozens of campers to higher ground. Camp Mystic, established in 1926, did not do that and was especially hard hit when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes in the early morning hours of the disaster. Flooding on that stretch of the Guadalupe starts at about 10 feet (3 meters). A wall of water overwhelmed people in cabins, tents and trailers along the river's edge. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. The uncertainty about what happened at Mystic comes as local officials have repeatedly dodged questions about who was monitoring the weather and what measures were taken ahead of the flooding. At least 27 campers and counsellors died during the floods, and officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counsellor have still not been found. Among the dead was Richard Dick Eastland, the camp's beloved director described by campers as a father figure. The potential for heavy rains had put precautions in motion as the state activated an emergency response plan and moved resources into the central Texas area. The state inspected Camp Mystic on July 2, the same day the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources ahead of the anticipated flooding. The inspection found no deficiencies or violations at the camp in a long list of health and safety criteria. The camp had 557 campers and more than 100 staffers at the time between its Guadalupe and Cypress Lake locations. The disaster plans are required to be posted in all camp buildings but aren't filed with the state, said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. We do not have them, Anton wrote in an email. You'd have to get it from the camp. Camp Mystic did not respond to requests for comment on its emergency plan. In a statement on its website, the camp said it has been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls. Camp Mystic notes that it is licensed by the state and a member of the Camping Association for Mutual Progress, which says its goal is to raise health and safety standards for summer camps. Leaders of that association didn't return messages. The American Camp Association said Tuesday that Camp Mystic is not accredited with that organization, whose standards focus on safety and risk management. Spokesperson Lauren McMillin declined to say whether the camp previously had been accredited with the association, which describes itself as the only nationwide accrediting organization for all year-round and summer camps. One rain gauge located about 1,500 feet (460 meters) from Camp Mystic recorded 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) of precipitation July 4, according to Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority data. Another of the agency's gauges further south and to the west recorded 12.2 inches (31 centimeters) of precipitation. The authority told the AP that a review of its equipment found both were functioning during the flood event. However, at least four United States Geological Survey gauges along the Guadalupe River experienced some level of failure July 4. The gauges, located near Hunt and Kerrville, stopped collecting both river levels and the flow rate of water in the early morning hours of July 4. One gauge, about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) east of Hunt and 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Camp Mystic, recorded a level of 29.5 feet (9 meters) at 4:35 a.m. on July 4, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. It was the last recorded river level from the instrumentation until a USGS hydrologist installed a temporary gauge. At the time, the hydrologist measured the high water mark at 37.52 feet (11.44 meters), a preliminary estimate that could change. At that location, a river level of 32 feet (9.75 meters) could lead to disastrous life-threatening flooding, which could cover the roads of the lowest camps and resorts, according to NOAA.
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First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
Texas flash floods: Over 160 still missing, says Governor; death toll reaches 109
More than 160 people remain missing in Texas after flash floods over the July Fourth weekend killed over 100 people. Governor Greg Abbott said rescue efforts are ongoing, especially in the Hill Country region, as officials face questions about whether enough was done to warn residents before the disaster. read more Crews work to clear debris from the Cade Loop bridge along the Guadalupe River on July 5, 2025, in Ingram, Texas, US. File Image/AP More than 160 people are still missing in Texas, four days after devastating flash floods killed over 100 during the July Fourth weekend, Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday. Many of those missing had been staying in the Hill Country area, often in camps or campgrounds near the Guadalupe River, making it hard to track who might be unaccounted for. The number of missing rose sharply after authorities set up a hotline for families to report loved ones. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,' Abbott said while visiting Hunt, Texas, and surveying the damage from a helicopter. Most of the missing people are believed to be in Kerr County, where search teams have already recovered dozens of victims. President Donald Trump has promised to help Texas recover, saying he's deeply saddened, especially for 'all the little girls who have lost their lives.' Trump plans to visit Texas on Friday. Officials are facing tough questions about whether enough was done to warn people before the floods hit. Kerr County leaders, however, said their current focus is on finding victims rather than investigating the response timeline. 'Right now, this team is focused on bringing people home,' said Lt. Col. Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens during a tense news conference. Hope of finding more survivors is fading. No one has been found alive in the flood zone since Friday. Governor Abbott also plans to visit Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and staff died. As of Tuesday, five campers and one counselor remain missing. Scenes of destruction at the camp include mud-splattered blankets and colorful luggage scattered near the cabins. Among the victims were a young girl who loved pink sparkles, a 19-year-old counselor passionate about mentoring, and the camp's 75-year-old director. The floods struck suddenly before dawn Friday, as torrential rains sent water rushing into the Guadalupe River. The river rose 26 feet (8 meters) in under an hour, overwhelming cabins, tents, and trailers and sweeping people into the water. Survivors clung to trees or swam out of cabin windows to escape. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Some camps managed to move hundreds of children to higher ground in time, but many others were caught off guard. Experts say climate change may be making extreme weather events like this more likely, though it's hard to link any single storm directly to climate change. Questions continue about why there was no warning system in place. Kerr County officials said they lack an emergency alert system. A past attempt to secure nearly $1 million in federal funding for one was rejected, and local residents were unwilling to pay for it themselves. The floods have devastated large areas of central Texas, stretching for hundreds of miles all the way to near Austin. One survivor, Aidan Duncan, managed to escape the Riverside RV Park in Ingram after hearing evacuation warnings over a megaphone. Now, all his belongings, including his birdcage and sports cards, are sitting in mud outside his home. So far, officials have confirmed that 30 of the victims found in Kerr County were children. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Photos: Death toll hits 107 in Texas floods, Camp Mystic among worst-hit sites
The death toll from the deadly flash floods that swept across central Texas on Friday has risen to at least 107, with more than 160 people believed to be missing in Texas. Search and rescue efforts continued along mud-covered riverbanks, even as additional rain and thunderstorms threatened to complicate of the hardest-hit sites was Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian girls' summer camp, which was inundated by floodwaters on July 4. At least 27 campers and staff members died, and several others remain missing. Officials indicated that hopes of finding more survivors are fading as the disaster enters its fourth A Camp Mystic sign is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, (AP Photo)A sign for Camp Mystic is seen on a hill as a heavy-lift military helicopter flies by over the Guadalupe River (AP Photo)People remove debris from the Guadalupe River while inspecting an area at Camp Mystic(AP Photo)People react as they inspect an area outside sleeping quarters at Camp Mystic (AP Photo)An official looks out a helicopter while flying over Camp Mystic (AP Photo)Officials ride a boat as they arrive to assist with a recovery effort at Camp Mystic, Texas. (AP Photo)A Sheriff's deputy pauses while combing through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic,(AP Photo)Debris covers the area of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo)Camper's belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic's cabins (AP Photo)Military personnel carry a camp trunk salvaged down river from Camp Mystic (AP Photo)- Ends
