Flash floods like the one that swept through Texas are the nation's top storm-related killer
According to the National Weather Service , a flash flood is flooding that begins within six hours, and often in as little as three hours, of heavy rainfall.
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alabama 8-year-old among dozens killed as floods sweep Texas summer camp
(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.) An 8-year-old from Alabama is among dozens dead after floodwaters swept through a Christian girls camp July 4 in Texas. Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch confirmed the death of Sarah Marsh, a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary. "This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community," Welch said in a statement posted to Facebook. "Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her. "As we grieve alongside the Marsh family, we also remember the many others affected by this tragedy. In the days ahead, I know Mountain Brook will do what it always does which is come together with passion, strength, and unwavering support for the Marsh family." At least 43 were reported dead in the flooding (28 adults and 15 children), according to a Saturday evening press conference. Sheriff Larry Leitha said earlier in the day Saturday that at least 32 people died – 18 adults and 14 children. When the flash flood struck early on Friday, Camp Mystic was less than a week into its second four-week term with more than 700 children in residence, according to details provided Friday by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. At least 18 adults and nine children had been confirmed dead after flooding rains rapidly overwhelmed the Guadalupe River. Ongoing search and rescue efforts ran through the night Friday and into Saturday. More: Death toll rises in Texas flooding; over two dozen campers missing from Camp Mystic U.S. Sen. Katie Britt said in a statement posted to X that she was heartbroken over Sarah's death. "We continue to pray for the victims' loved ones, the survivors, those who are still missing, and our brave first responders as search and rescue efforts continue in Texas," Britt said. Camp Mystic for Girls is a Christian retreat about six miles south of Hunt, Texas, in Kerr County. That's within Texas Hill Country, about 80 miles northwest of San Antonio. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet during the flash flood, weather service data shows. USA TODAY reporters Jeanine Santucci, Joel Shannon and Eduardo Cuevas contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Texas flood: Alabama 8-year-old dies as floodwaters hit Camp Mystic
CBS News
38 minutes ago
- CBS News
Two Dallas sisters among at least 47 dead in Central Texas flooding
Two sisters from Dallas — 13-year-old Blair Harber and 11-year-old Brooke Harber — were among the dozens of lives lost in the catastrophic floods that swept through Central Texas early Friday. Their deaths were confirmed Saturday by St. Rita Catholic Community. Blair was preparing to enter eighth grade, and Brooke was set to begin sixth grade at St. Rita Catholic School. Sisters were not at Camp Mystic The sisters were not attending Camp Mystic — where up to 25 campers remain missing — but were in the area when the flooding occurred. In their memory, St. Rita held a prayer service at 4 p.m. Saturday to grieve and honor the lives of the two young girls. The girls were staying with their grandparents along the Guadalupe River, who remain unaccounted for, according to the church. Their parents were in a separate cabin and were not harmed. Blair Harber, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, were among the dozens who lost their lives in the catastrophic floods that swept through Central Texas early Friday. Harber family "Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief. May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead," said Fr. Joshua J. Whitfield, pastor, in correspondence with church members. Flooding death toll rises to 47 At least 47 people are dead in central Texas in what officials called a "mass casualty event" after devastating flash floods slammed Hill Country, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River. KERRVILLE, TEXAS - JULY 04: Trees emerge from flood waters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. Eric Vryn / Getty Images Camp Mystic hit hard by floodwaters Among the missing are up to 25 campers from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp that was severely impacted when the Guadalupe River surged unexpectedly. The river rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes after a stationary storm system dumped far more rain than forecasted over the river's North and South Forks. River reached near-record levels The flooding overwhelmed the region, including the city of Kerrville, where the Guadalupe River reached its second-highest level on record. Hundreds rescued by air and boat Emergency responders have rescued 850 people, including 160 by air. The U.S. Coast Guard has assisted in saving more than 220 lives. Search efforts continue using helicopters, drones, and ground teams. Federal and state response underway Officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have mobilized state and federal resources. President Trump has pledged full federal support. Communities face widespread damage Local leaders and residents described the destruction as unprecedented. Many areas remain without power or access, and families are still searching for loved ones. The emotional toll on survivors and first responders continues to grow as recovery efforts press on. CBS News Texas will provide updates as more information becomes available.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Terrain and timing conspired to cause 'horrifying' Texas rainfall
Texas Hill Country is prone to flooding, and climate change is making it more common. Texas Hill Country is no stranger to extreme flooding. In the rugged, rolling terrain it's known for, heavy rains collect quickly in its shallow streams and rivers that can burst into torrents like the deadly flood wave that swept along the Guadalupe River on July 4. The Guadalupe has flooded more than a dozen times since 1978, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the Independence Day flood is among the worst in its history. The raging river claimed at least 43 lives, officials said on July 5, and rescuers were still searching for missing children. Several factors came together at once – in one of the worst possible locations – to create the 'horrifying' scenario that dropped up to 16 inches of rainfall in the larger region over July 3-5, said Alan Gerard, a recently retired storm specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hill Country, the region in Central and South Central Texas, also is known colloquially as 'flash flood alley,' for its propensity for fast and furious flooding when extreme rain falls, Gerard, who is now CEO of weather consulting company Balanced Weather said. As bountiful moist air from the Gulf of America, renamed from the Gulf of Mexico, moves over the steep hills, it can dump heavy rains. On July 4, rain was falling at 3-4 inches per hour, with some locations recording a deluge of up to 7 inches of rain in just three hours, the National Weather Service said. Seven inches of rain is nearly 122 million gallons of water per square mile. Over seven square miles that's enough water to fill the AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The Guadalupe River quickly responded, skyrocketing more than 20 feet in a matter of hours in several locations as it rushed downstream toward Kerrville, a city of 24,000. What caused the huge rainfall? Terrain and timing were the biggest factors in the storms, said Gerard and Victor Murphy, a recently retired National Weather Service meteorologist in Texas. Thunderstorms that began on July 3 and continued through the morning of July 4 dropped as much as 10.33 inches of rain near Ingram, Texas, and widespread amounts between 3 to 7 inches in more than a half-dozen counties across South Central, Texas. Because of the region's proximity to the Gulf, it gets "very high rainfall rates," especially in the summer months, Gerard said. "The Gulf is warmer than normal and disturbances moving through that flow can focus thunderstorm activity on a particularly area," he said. On July 4, it was a case of everything focusing in "exactly the wrong place." An upper level disturbance in the atmosphere tapped into a deep plume of tropical moisture left over from Tropical Storm Barry, which made landfall in Mexico on June 29, Gerard said. It didn't help that the storms that formed on Independence Day moved in the same direction as the Guadalupe River, which only added to the rain flowing off the terrain. Hill Country is a 'semi-arid area with soils that don't soak up much water, so the water sheets off quickly and the shallow creeks can rise fast,' Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist and civil engineer at the University of Texas at San Antonio wrote in a July 5 post on The Conversation. The escarpment is a line of cliffs and steep hills created by a geologic fault, Sharif said. "When warm air from the Gulf rushes up the escarpment, it condenses and can dump a lot of moisture. That water flows down the hills quickly, from many different directions, filling streams and rivers below." A weather balloon remotely launched by the weather service Del Rio in West Texas, showed near-record moisture in the upper atmosphere, Murphy said. With that enormous amount of moisture serving as fuel, the winds hitting the escarpment in West Texas served as a kind of match that started the storms. 'Once the storms get going, they're self-sustaining," Murphy said. That's also why it continued to rain and flood in the region on July 5. What role did climate change play in the Texas flood? Warming temperatures over land and especially in the Gulf are stoking extreme rainfall events more often in an arc across the United States, from Texas up into the Northeast, extreme storm experts tell USA TODAY. The region has always seen occasional extreme rains, but today they occur more often, according to weather service data. Air holds 7% more water for every 1.8 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature. Waters in the Gulf are often 3, 4, or 5 degrees warmer than normal. At one point this year, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana were more than eight degrees above normal. "As has been shown time and time again, event after event, climate change is leading to wetter, more extreme precipitation events," Kevin Reed, an associate provost for climate and sustainability programming at Stony Brook University, previously told USA TODAY. Out of 140 years of U.S. weather records, more than half of the standing 24-hour rainfall totals have been set in the last 30 years. Hill Country's reputation for flooding A guide to Texas State Parks makes it clear flash floods are common and life-threatening. "In hilly terrain, flash floods can strike with little or no advance warning," the guide advises. "Be aware of changes in the weather and seek higher ground early." "Never camp on low ground next to streams, bottoms of canyons or deep arroyos since a flash flood can catch you while you're asleep," it states. Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, "and by a wide margin," Sharif said. 'Many of those flood deaths have been in Hill Country."Flooding occurred in the Hill Country on July 4-5, 2002, when six days of rain had dropped between 40-45 inches of rain in the region. The Guadalupe reached a record height at the Canyon Dam. Seven people died in flash flooding and damage was estimated at $250 million Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
