Video: Father describes desperate search for missing daughter, friends in Texas
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texas flooding: Timelapse video shows Llano River flood in just minutes
The Brief Security footage shows how quickly the Llano River swelled with floodwater the afternoon of July 4 near Kingsland. Local authorities can be seen standing along the road in the video, slowly moving up as necessary to evade the rising water. Rescue operations continued across the state. Heavy rain and deadly flooding swept over Texas over the July Fourth holiday and into the weekend. Video perspective Timelapse video captured by Robert Ivey shows authorities blocking off a low water crossing area just before flash flooding completely inundated the area in just 10 minutes. Local authorities can be seen standing along the road in the video, slowly moving up as necessary to evade the rising water. Local perspective This area of flooding took place along the Llano River in Kingsland, which is located in Central Texas about 70 miles northwest of Austin and 100 miles north east of Kerr County. Kerr County was hit the hardest and had reported at least 59 deaths Sunday afternoon, many from an all-girls summer camp. LIVE UPDATES | Texas Flooding: At least 69 dead across state as rescue efforts continue Timeline The time stamp on the video begins at 5:10 p.m. local time on July 4th, and had risen to its highest point 20 minutes later at about 5:30. What they're saying "I record the crossing 24/7 with a security camera," Ivey told Storyful, a social media video licensing agency. "The river crossing is also known as 'the slab' and is a local swimming spot." RELATED: Texas flooding: 4 months worth of rain fell in hours Big picture view Unusually heavy rains quickly turned into flash flooding in the early morning hours of the Fourth of July in Central Texas and the Austin area, with heavy rains and some flooding risks carrying into the weekend. The flooding killed dozens of people, and dozens more are still unaccounted for. Hundreds more needed to be rescued, and rescue operations are ongoing. The Source Information in this article was taken from security footage taken July 4, 2025, along the Llano River in Texas. The video was obtained by Storyful, a social media video licensing agency. Background information about the flooding was taken from previous KTBC FOX 7 Austin reports.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Texas Flood Live Updates: At Least 80 Dead Including 28 Children
At least 80 deaths—including the deaths of 28 children—have now been confirmed in the central Texas flash floods, according to the latest update from officials, though at least 10 children from a summer camp remain unaccounted for as rescuers continued their search for survivors. Members of a rescue team look for missing people on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. AFP via Getty Images Rescue teams are searching for a group of 10 campers who were attending Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, as well as one counselor, Leitha said. More than 850 people have been rescued across Kerr County, which saw some of the worst flooding, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. 'We're seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down,' Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said Sunday, as search-and-rescue operations focused on finding the remaining missing campers. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County on Sunday morning, while Abbott declared Sunday a 'day of prayer.' W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, faulted the National Weather Service for not predicting 'the amount of rain we saw,' though alerts were issued beforehand and as it became clear the region was facing a flash flood emergency. The NWS issued a flash flood watch Thursday afternoon that noted Kerr County, where much of the flooding began early Friday morning, was a particularly vulnerable area, along with more urgent flash flood emergency alerts in the overnight hours as the disaster unfolded. The NWS was one of several federal agencies targeted by the controversial cost-cutting efforts of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, and has recently laid off nearly 600 employees—around the same amount of staffers it lost in the 15 previous years, the Texas Tribune reported. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration would 'honor' a federal disaster declaration from Abbott, who also declared Sunday a 'day of prayer' as first responders search for the missing campers. Authorities in Kerr County confirmed at least 59 people, including 21 children, were killed in the floods, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a press conference Sunday, with the death toll expected to rise. One woman was found dead in a submerged car in Tom Green County, the San Angelo Police Department confirmed on social media Saturday, while another person was found dead trapped underneath a vehicle in Williamson County, officials there confirmed Sunday. At least three more people were found dead in Burnet County, the Burnet County Sheriff's Office reported after search-and-rescue operations rescued over 50 residents, and at least four more bodies were recovered in Travis County, according to multiple reports, while officials in Kendall County confirmed in a Sunday morning update two residents died. Why Weren't Summer Camps Evacuated? Although the NWS issued warnings about the incoming weather system and the potential for massive flooding as early as Friday morning, it remains unclear why Camp Mystic and other summer camps in the area were not evacuated sooner. 'That is a great question,' Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said when pressed about this Sunday, but did not provide an answer. Instead, Dalton said the city was still focused on searching for the remaining missing children. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, when he was asked why camps along the Guadalupe were not evacuated, told reporters Friday, 'I can't answer that, I don't know,' before saying the county had 'no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here.' There is still a risk for more rain in central Texas. The NWS issued another flood watch for north-central Texas through Sunday evening, as well as a flash flood warning for parts of Bosque, Hill, Johnson and Somervell Counties as heavy rains inundate the region. Was The National Weather Service Properly Staffed? A representative for the union for NWS employees told CNN that the offices in Austin and San Antonio had 'adequate staffing and resources,' but also said the San Antonio office was missing a coordination meteorologist to work directly with emergency managers. When asked by a reporter from Kerrville if the government's preparedness was a 'failure,' Noem said the Trump administration was trying to 'upgrade' the technology the NWS uses to send alerts and notify the public about catastrophic weather events. 'For decades, for years, everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict, but also that the National Weather Service has done well,' Noem said at a press conference alongside Abbott. 'And at times we have all wanted more time, and more warning, and more alerts, and more notification.' Noem added the Trump administration is working to update what she called an 'ancient system' that 'has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.' How Has The Nws Been Impacted By Federal Funding Cuts? Some NWS field offices have reported the loss of around-the-clock staffing and reductions in weather balloon launches, which are crucial in collecting data on humidity, pressure, temperature and more elements needed to produce forecasts. Longtime meteorologist Troy Kimmel, who leads his own meteorological services company, told CBS Austin in May that local Texas offices such as the Austin/San Antonio office experienced some staffing shortages. The Austin/San Antonio office's website shows six vacancies across its meteorological, management, observations and technician teams, though it is not clear how many of the vacancies are a direct result of cuts engineered by the Department of Government Efficiency. Forbes has reached out to the NWS for comment. What Has Trump Said About The Flooding? Trump said Friday the deaths reported in Texas were 'shocking' and that the government would work with Abbott to provide federal aid. Trump has insisted states should play a larger role in handling their own weather disasters, saying last month his administration intends to 'wean' states off help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency following this year's hurricane season. Speaking alongside Abbott on Saturday, Noem seemed to double down on this idea. 'We recognize that when something like this happens to a community, happens to a state, that the best responders are those locally because it's your family members, it's your community members that are being impacted, and you can respond quickly,' she said at a press conference. Noem repeated the position that the state should 'run and manage' emergency responses, but said that the federal government would still 'be here for the support and extra resources on the ground.' FEMA has lost hundreds of employees since Trump took office and ended its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which awarded around $4.6 billion to communities throughout the U.S. in an effort to prepare them for future weather disasters. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for San Antonio and several neighboring cities, warning of two to four inches of additional rainfall and excessive runoff that may result in flash flooding for rivers and creeks, low-lying areas and low water crossings. What Do We Know About The Missing Children? The children considered missing as of Saturday were attending an all-girls Christian summer camp known as Camp Mystic. The camp has been around since 1926 and operates two sites along the Guadalupe River. The organization told parents in an email Friday morning it experienced 'catastrophic level floods.' according to The New York Times. Big Number Over 1,000. That is how many rescuers were deployed in Texas on Saturday morning, the Associated Press reported. Key Background The Guadalupe River has had a history of floods, with one of the most prominent incidents occurring in 1987, when five to 10 inches of rain fell in the upper headwaters of the river's basin. The river crested at 31.5 feet and flooding resulted in the deaths of 10 teenagers and 33 injuries. Inclement weather in Texas may continue in the coming months, as it and several other states are approaching the most active part of the 2025 hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting a range of 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 of which are forecast to become hurricanes.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Live Updates: Harrowing Tales Emerge in Texas as Rescuers Keep Searching for Missing
Eight years ago, in the aftermath of yet another river flood in the Texas Hill Country, officials in Kerr County debated whether more needed to be done to build a warning system along the banks of the Guadalupe River. A series of summer camps along the river were often packed with children. For years, local officials kept them safe with a word-of-mouth system: When floodwaters started raging, upriver camp leaders warned those downriver of the water surge coming their way. But was that enough? Officials considered supplementing the system with sirens and river gauges, along with other modern communications tools. 'We can do all the water-level monitoring we want, but if we don't get that information to the public in a timely way, then this whole thing is not worth it,' said Tom Moser, a Kerr County commissioner at the time. In the end, little was done. When catastrophic floodwaters surged through Kerr County last week, there were no sirens or early flooding monitors. Instead, there were text alerts that came late for some residents and were dismissed or unseen by others. The rural county of a little over 50,000 people, in a part of Texas known as Flash Flood Alley, contemplated installing a flood warning system in 2017, but it was rejected as too expensive. The county, which has an annual budget of around $67 million, lost out on a bid at the time to secure a $1 million grant to fund the project, county commission meeting minutes show. As recently as a May budget meeting, county commissioners were discussing a flood warning system being developed by a regional agency as something that they might be able to make use of. But in a recent interview, Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, said that local residents had been resistant to new spending. 'Taxpayers won't pay for it,' he said, adding that he didn't know if people might reconsider now. The idea of a flood warning system was broached in 2015, in the aftermath of a deadly flood in Wimberley, Texas, about 75 miles to the east of Kerrville, the Kerr County seat. Image A search effort for someone missing after the San Marcos River flooded in Texas in 2015. Credit... Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times Image Cleanup efforts in Wimberley, Texas, in 2015. Credit... Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times The Guadalupe River Basin is one of the most dangerous regions in the United States when it comes to flash floods. Ordinary floods from heavy rainstorms occur regularly, inundating streets and threatening structures as floodwaters gradually rise. The region is also prone to flash floods, which can occur with little to no notice. People living near the Guadalupe in Kerr County may have little time to seek higher ground, especially when flash floods come through late at night when people are asleep. Avantika Gori, a Rice University professor who is leading a federally funded project to improve flood resilience in rural Texas counties, said that flood warning systems are often simple networks of rain gauges or stream gauges that are triggered when rain or floodwaters exceed a certain level. The gauges can then be used to warn those at risk of flooding, whether by text message, which may not be effective in areas with spotty cellphone service; notifications broadcast on TV and radio; or sometimes through a series of sirens. More complex systems use forecasts from the National Weather Service to predict rainfall and model what areas might be subject to flooding, Professor Gori said. After the 2015 floods, an improved monitoring system was installed in the Wimberley area, and cell towers are now used to send out notices to all cellphones in the area. Mr. Moser, the former commissioner, visited Wimberley after its new system was in place, and then led efforts to have a flood warning system in Kerr County. His proposal would have included additional water detection systems and a system to alert the public, but the project never got off the ground, largely because of budget concerns. 'It sort of evaporated,' Mr. Moser said. 'It just didn't happen.' One commissioner at the time, H.A. 'Buster' Baldwin, voted against a $50,000 engineering study, according to a news account at the time, saying, 'I think this whole thing is a little extravagant for Kerr County, with sirens and such.' Mr. Moser said it was hard to tell if a flood warning system would have prevented further tragedy in Kerr County during the July 4 flood, given the extraordinary circumstance of the flooding, which came suddenly after an intense period of rain. But he said he believed that such a system could have had some benefit. 'I think it could have helped a lot of people,' Mr. Moser said. The death toll from the flooding, now at 80, includes at least 28 children, with several girls and a counselor from one of the camps along the river still unaccounted for. Image The Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, in May. Credit... Keith Parker Image The Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, as it flooded on July 4. Credit... Carter Johnston for The New York Times According to a transcript from a Kerr County Commissioners' Court meeting in 2017, officials discussed how even with additional water level sensors along the Guadalupe River, the county would still need a way to alert residents if water levels were rising dangerously fast. Sirens, which are used across Texas to alert residents about tornadoes, were considered by county officials as a way to alert people who live along the river about any flooding. 'With all the hills and all, cell coverage is not that great in some areas in Hill Country,' Mr. Moser said, adding that a series of sirens might have provided people in vulnerable areas sufficient time to flee. Mr. Moser retired as a commissioner of Kerr County in 2021. But he said this week's flooding there should be taken as a warning. 'I think there's going to be a lot of places in the United States that will look at this event that happened in Kerr County and determine what could be done,' Mr. Moser said. 'I think things should come out of this. It should be a lesson learned.' Current city officials on Sunday did not discuss the earlier deliberations over warning systems. Dalton Rice, the Kerrville city manager, sidestepped a question about the effectiveness of local emergency notifications, telling reporters at a news conference that it was 'not the time to speculate.' 'There's going to be a full review of this, so we can make sure that we focus on future preparedness,' he said. Professor Gori said that the decision not to install warning systems in the past has for many Texas counties come down to cost. 'If the county had a flood warning system in place, they would have fared much better in terms of preparedness, but most rural counties in Texas simply do not have the funds to implement flood warning systems themselves,' she said in an email. Some simpler systems, however, like those using stream or rain gauges, may still not have allowed enough time for evacuations, given how fast the water rose in Kerr County, she added. It is hardly unique in facing challenges. 'Rural counties are extremely data-scarce, which means we are essentially blind when it comes to identifying areas that are prone to flooding,' Ms. Gori said. Texas has a growing backlog of flood management projects, totaling some $54 billion across the state. The state flood plan of the Texas Water Development Board called on lawmakers to dedicate additional funding to invest in potentially lifesaving infrastructure. But lawmakers have so far allocated only a fraction of the money needed for flood projects through the state's Flood Infrastructure Fund, about $669 million so far, even as state lawmakers this year approved $51 billion in property tax cuts. Kerr County, in its earlier discussions about a warning system, had explored along with other members of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority the possibility of applying for financial support through the infrastructure fund. But the authority dropped the idea after learning that the fund would provide only about 5 percent of the money needed for the project. During last week's flooding, despite the text notifications that warned of rapidly rising waters, some residents were unsure how seriously to take the flood warnings because they are not unusual in that part of the state. Sujey Martin, a resident of Kerrville for the past 15 years, said she was awakened by an emergency alert on her phone at about 2 a.m. on Friday. She said she had glanced at it and went back to sleep. 'It's never this bad, so I didn't think much of it,' she said. Image A group gathered to pray for those missing and confirmed dead in Kerrville, Texas. Credit... Carter Johnston for The New York Times Image Crews searched for victims and cleared debris downriver from an R.V. camp in Kerrville, Texas. Credit... Carter Johnston for The New York Times It wasn't until about 5 a.m. that she became alarmed, when she realized that her power was out, and she started reading on Facebook about flooding and evacuations, some of them just a few streets over from her. 'It was raining really hard,' she recalled. Louis Kocurek, 65, who lives in Center Point, about 10 miles southeast of Kerrville, said that he had never received an official government text alert about the flooding. He had signed up for a private emergency alert service known as CodeRED, but by the time that alert came in, his power had gone out. At that time, he said, he had known about the situation for at least three hours, warned by his son-in-law at about 6:30 a.m. He had checked on the water level of the creek near his home and decided to stay put — even though the water in the creek rose 15 feet in 15 minutes at one point. His house sits at a higher elevation than the homes of some neighbors, and there were 11 people hunkering down at his house. Mr. Kocurek said the CodeRED alert came in at 10:07 a.m. 'At that point, you know, the roads were closed, no way to get out.' His house, ultimately, was not flooded. Linda Clanton, a retired schoolteacher who lives on the outskirts of Kerrville, said she did not know how bad the flooding had become until her sister called and woke her up with the news at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. The next day, she was among several people taking in the widespread destruction and piles of debris caused by the floodwaters at Louise Hays Park, along the Guadalupe River on the west side of town. She said she couldn't be sure that even sirens would have been useful in warning people about the fast-moving water. 'We are all spread out in these hills and the trees,' she said. 'If we had a siren here in town, nobody but town people would hear it,' she added. 'You'd have to have sirens all over the place, and that's a lot of money and a lot of things to go wrong.' And the danger was not over yet. Around 3 p.m. on Sunday, another emergency alert went out to people along the Guadalupe River, including the hundreds conducting searches, warning of 'high confidence of river flooding.' Move to higher ground, the alert urged. Christopher Flavelle and Anushka Patil contributed reporting.
