Texas floods latest: 119 dead and over 170 missing as country singer reveals multiple family members killed
Officials fear that the death toll could soar as search and rescue efforts entered their sixth day Wednesday, as hundreds of local, state and federal emergency responders sift through debris for survivors.
Country singer Pat Green and his wife Kori Green revealed several of their relatives were swept away in the deadly Texas floods. The singer's 'little brother John, his wife, Julia, and two of their children were swept away in the Kerrville flood,' Kori wrote on social media.
Questions also remain over whether officials could have done more to prepare residents for the disastrous floods. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has criticized state officials for their response, arguing 'something went wrong' at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 children and staff members died.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also called for an investigation into whether potential vacancies at the nearby National Weather Service offices contributed to poor communication with local officials.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha says officials are 'in the process' of assembling a timeline of the actions local officials took ahead of the floods.
Key Points
Death toll rises to 119
Country singer Pat Green confirms 'multiple family members' died in Texas flooding
With more than 170 still missing, hopes of finding survivors fade
Camp Mystic's emergency plan was signed off two days before disaster
In pictures: Search and rescue efforts continue in flood aftermath
Search and rescue efforts in Central Texas continued Wednesday after flash flooding along the Guadalupe River devastated communities.
A least 119 people have been killed and more than 170 are still missing.
Here are some photos of the aftermath:
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 04:20
Governor Abbott shares how Texas workers can get unemployment assistance after devastating floods
Governor Greg Abbott shared a resource for Texas workers struggling after flash floods devastated Central Texas on July 4.
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 04:00
A Texas firefighter pleaded for an alert amid rising flood waters. It took an hour to go out
As floodwaters in Texas rose in the early morning of July 4, a local firefighter petitioned for an emergency alert to quickly be sent out, but local officials do not appear to have followed his request until about an hour later, according to leaked audio.
The reported early-morning request raises questions about the timeline of events offered by local officials, who have said they had little advanced warning and no county system in place to alert residents about the floods, a disaster now responsible for at least 119 deaths, with even more still missing.
According to audio obtained by KSAT, at 4:22am, a fireman with the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department reportedly called into emergency dispatch to warn that the Guadalupe River appeared to be rapidly overshooting its banks. Around that time, the river rose as much as 26 feet in 45 minutes, according to state officials.
The firefighter urged officials to authorize a CodeRED alert, an emergency system that would send warning messages to the cellphones of people who had previously signed up for the service.
Texas firefighter pleaded for alert amid rising flood. It took an hour to go out
Leaked audio provides new alert timeline as officials face scrutiny over when residents first learned of rising flood waters
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 03:41
Ex-FEMA official responds to Kristi Noem's calls to eliminate agency
Deanne Criswell, former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under former President Joe Biden, has responded to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's calls to eliminate FEMA.
Noem said on Wednesday: 'Federal emergency management should be state and locally led rather than how it has operated for decades.
It has been slow to respond. At the federal level, it has even been slower to get the resources to Americans in crisis, and that is why this entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists and remade into a responsive agency.'
Criswell told CNN's Kaitlan Collins Wednesday night in reaction to Noem's comments: 'A core principle of emergency management has always been locally executed, state managed, and federally supported. FEMA does not run these incidents; they never have, and they come in only at the request of the state in order to support them when it exceeds their capacity.
When we look at a state like Texas, the most capable state probably in the country, that also needed to ask for assistance first through state-to-state mutual aid, and then FEMA, if they need that kind of assistance, what is that gonna say for every other state or small jurisdiction out there when they have a big event and they don't have the federal government that they're used to depending on.'
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 03:20
Texas floods mapped: Here are the affected areas as death toll rises
Texas floods mapped: Here are the affected areas as death toll rises
At least 173 people are still missing in Central Texas, with the governor warning that 'there could be more added to that list'
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 03:00
New Mexico resident said she was in 'absolute shock' when her best friend's home was washed away by floodwaters
Kaitlyn Carpenter of Ruidoso, New Mexico, was in 'absolute shock' when she saw her best friend's family home being swept away in floodwaters.
' We had saved her house last year from the flood, so to see it just be taken up in the flood was just, it was horrific. I have no words. It was so surreal,' Carpenter told CNN's Erin Burnett Wednesday night.
A flash flood in New Mexico on Tuesday killed three people, including two children, and damaged dozens of homes, the Associated Press reported.
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 02:40
Showers and storms weaken as they try to move across Hill Country
The National Weather Service wrote on X Wednesday night: 'Showers and storms are continuing to weaken and decrease in coverage as they try to move across the Hill Country.'
Hill Country was devastated by flash floods on July 4.
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 02:25
ICYMI: Texas officials provide death toll update in Kerr County after devastating floods
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 02:20
Ex-Camp Mystic counselor calls flash floods an 'act of God,' insists no one is to blame
A former Camp Mystic counselor said the July 4 flash floods along the Guadalupe River were 'an act of God' and insists no one is to blame for the deaths of 27 young campers and staff.
Dr. Holly Lacour told NBC News, 'That was an incredible act of nature, an act of God, and there's nothing anybody could have done.'
Lacour has been involved with the camp for 15 years, but was not a counselor this summer. When she was a counselor, Lacour said she underwent emergency training before campers arrived for the summer.
She called Camp Mystic her 'favorite place in the world.'
'I don't think there are any words to describe how terrible it feels and how hard you pray afterward.'
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 02:00
Texas forest service shares photos of crews clearing debris in flood aftermath
Texas A&M Forest Service shared photos of crews clearing debris Wednesday after flash floods on July 4 devastated Central Texas.
Rachel Dobkin10 July 2025 01:40
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Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Critical mistake made by county officials during Texas floods that could have saved countless lives
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Daily Mail
11 hours ago
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Melania makes rare public statement with tribute to Camp Mystic girls
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