Latest news with #CommunityFoundationoftheTexasHillCountry
Business Upturn
7 days ago
- Climate
- Business Upturn
Texas floods leave 51 dead, 27 girls missing as rescuers continue search in devastated Kerr County
A catastrophic flash flood in central Texas has left at least 51 people dead and 27 girls still missing, as search and rescue operations continue across Kerr County and surrounding areas. The disaster struck overnight Friday (July 4–5, 2025), with waters rising at unprecedented speed and engulfing homes, camps, and vehicles in what officials have called a once-in-a-century flood. The flooding has claimed the lives of at least 43 people in Kerr County alone, including 15 children, and more fatalities have been reported in nearby counties. Many of the missing are girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River, which was completely destroyed when floodwaters rose 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes before dawn on Friday. Search and rescue under way Rescue crews, aided by helicopters, drones, and boats, are scouring the devastated landscape for survivors. More than 850 people have been rescued in the past 36 hours, but the fate of many remains unknown. Families and friends of the missing have posted desperate pleas and photographs on social media, hoping for information. Governor Greg Abbott declared Sunday a day of prayer for Texas and vowed to keep rescue efforts running around the clock. 'I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,' he said. Camps and homes swept away Survivors described scenes of chaos as water tore through the hills and campsites. Elinor Lester, a 13-year-old camper at Mystic, recalled how the girls were evacuated across a bridge as water whipped around their legs. 'It was really scary,' she said. In Ingram, Erin Burgess and her son clung to a tree for an hour after floodwaters overwhelmed their home, while Barry Adelman's family, including a 94-year-old grandmother and a 9-year-old grandson, fled to their attic to escape the rising water. Questions over preparedness The scale of destruction has raised questions about whether adequate warnings and preparations were made. The National Weather Service and private forecasters say they issued flood warnings hours in advance, but many residents and camp organizers said they were caught by surprise. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly acknowledged the community's shock. 'We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming,' he said. Relief and recovery efforts begin Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in Kerr County to oversee relief efforts and pledged federal support. The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has begun collecting donations to assist victims and rebuild the devastated communities. As water levels slowly recede, officials are shifting focus from rescue to recovery, but the task ahead remains daunting. 'The rescue has gone as well as can be expected,' said Kelly. 'Now it's getting time for the recovery — and that's going to be a long, toilsome task for us.' Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Hamilton Spectator
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Texas families plead for information on more than 20 girls missing from summer camp after floods
Texas parents frantically posted photos of their young daughters on social media with pleas for information as more than 20 campers from an all-girls summer camp were unaccounted for Friday after floods tore through the state's south-central region. At least 13 people were dead Friday and dozens missing after months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. The flood-prone region is dotted with century-old summer camps that draw thousands of kids annually from across the Lone Star State. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian camp along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, were unaccounted for Friday afternoon. Search teams were working to conduct helicopter and boat rescues in the fast-moving floodwaters. 'I'm asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon — on-your-knees kind of praying — that we find these young girls,' Patrick said. Dozens of families shared in local Facebook groups that they received devastating phone calls from safety officials informing them that their daughters had not yet been located among the washed-away camp cabins and downed trees. Camp Mystic said in an email to parents that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for. The camp sits on strip known as 'flash flood alley,' said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a charitable endowment that is collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. 'When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil,' Dickson said. 'It rushes down the hill.' Camp leaders said they are without power, Wi-Fi and running water, and the highway leading to the camp has washed away. Two other camps on the river, Camp Waldemar and Camp La Junta, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Texas Families Plead for Information on More Than 20 Girls Missing from Summer Camp after Floods
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas parents frantically posted photos of their young daughters on social media with pleas for information as more than 20 campers from an all-girls summer camp were unaccounted for Friday after floods tore through the state's south-central region overnight. At least 13 people were dead Friday and dozens missing after months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. The flood-prone region is dotted with century-old summer camps that draw thousands of kids annually from across the Lone Star State. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian camp along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, were unaccounted for Friday afternoon. Search teams were working to conduct helicopter and boat rescues in the fast-moving floodwaters. Texas Game Wardens said Friday evening that they had arrived at Camp Mystic in trucks and were starting to evacuate campers. They did not immediately provide an update on the missing girls. 'I'm asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon — on-your-knees kind of praying — that we find these young girls,' Patrick said. Dozens of families shared in local Facebook groups that they received devastating phone calls from safety officials informing them that their daughters had not yet been located among the washed-away camp cabins and downed trees. Some were waiting to hear if their children could be evacuated by helicopter. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used in the search, Patrick said. Camp Mystic said in an email to parents that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for. Safety officials said there were roughly 750 campers. At an elementary school in nearby Ingram that was being used as a reunification center, more than a hundred people milled around a courtyard with hopes of seeing their loved one step out of buses dropping off those who had been evacuated. One young girl wearing a Camp Mystic T-shirt stood in a puddle in her white socks, sobbing in her mother's arms as she rubbed her hands together and watched the buses arrive. Many families hoped to see loved ones who had been at campgrounds and mobile home parks in the area. Camp Mystic sits on a strip known as 'flash flood alley,' said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a charitable endowment that is collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. 'When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil,' Dickson said. 'It rushes down the hill.' Decades prior, floodwaters engulfed a bus of teenage campers from another Christian camp along the Guadalupe River during devastating summer storms in 1987. A total of 10 campers from Pot O' Gold Christian camp drowned after their bus was unable to evacuate in time from a site near Comfort, 33 miles (53 kilometers) east of Hunt. Leaders at Camp Mystic said they are without power, Wi-Fi and running water. Campers were sheltering in buildings on higher ground while they waited to be evacuated. Two other camps on the river, Camp Waldemar and Camp La Junta, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe. Flood turns Camp Mystic into a horror story Chloe Crane, a teacher and former Camp Mystic counselor, said her heart broke Friday morning when a fellow teacher shared an email from the camp about the missing girls. 'To be quite honest, I cried because Mystic is such a special place, and I just couldn't imagine the terror that I would feel as a counselor to experience that for myself and for 15 little girls that I'm taking care of,' she said. 'And it's also just sadness, like the camp has been there forever and cabins literally got washed away.' Crane said the camp, which is split into two neighboring sites, is a haven for young girls looking to gain independence. She recalled happy memories teaching her campers about journalism, making crafts and competing in a camp-wide canoe race at the end of each summer. Now for many campers and counselors, their happy place has turned into a horror story, she said. Cabins housing the youngest campers, who can start attending at age 8, are situated at water level along the banks of the river and were likely the first to flood, Crane said. Teen campers stay in cabins higher up on the hillside.
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Camp Mystic flooding: Families 'pray', plead for information after 23 girls go missing
Texas parents frantically posted photos of their young daughters on social media with pleas for information as more than 20 campers from an all-girls summer camp were unaccounted for Friday after floods tore through the state's south-central region overnight. First responders scan the banks of the Guadalupe River for individuals swept away by flooding in Ingram, Texas,(AP) At least 13 people were dead Friday and dozens missing after months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. The flood-prone region is dotted with century-old summer camps that draw thousands of kids annually from across the Lone Star State. Also Read: Camp Mystic missing girls' first rescue photo surfaces amid Guadalupe River flooding Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian camp along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, were unaccounted for Friday afternoon. Search teams were working to conduct helicopter and boat rescues in the fast-moving floodwaters. 'I'm asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon — on-your-knees kind of praying — that we find these young girls,' Patrick said. Dozens of families shared in local Facebook groups that they received devastating phone calls from safety officials informing them that their daughters had not yet been located among the washed-away camp cabins and downed trees. Some were waiting to hear if their children could be evacuated by helicopter. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used in the search, Patrick said. Camp Mystic said in an email to parents that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for. Safety officials said there were roughly 750 campers. At an elementary school in nearby Ingram that was being used as a reunification center, more than a hundred people milled around a courtyard with hopes of seeing their loved one step out of buses dropping off those who had been evacuated. One young girl wearing a Camp Mystic T-shirt stood in a puddle in her white socks, sobbing in her mother's arms as she rubbed her hands together and watched the buses arrive. Many families hoped to see loved ones who had been at campgrounds and mobile home parks in the area. Camp Mystic sits on a strip known as 'flash flood alley,' said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a charitable endowment that is collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. 'When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil,' Dickson said. 'It rushes down the hill.' Camp leaders said they are without power, Wi-Fi and running water, and the highway leading to the camp has washed away. Two other camps on the river, Camp Waldemar and Camp La Junta, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe.
New Indian Express
05-07-2025
- Climate
- New Indian Express
Texas families plead for information on more than 20 girls missing from summer camp after floods
KERRVILLE: Texas parents frantically posted photos of their young daughters on social media with pleas for information as more than 20 campers from an all-girls summer camp were unaccounted for Friday after floods tore through the state's south-central region overnight. At least 13 people were dead Friday and dozens missing after months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. The flood-prone region is dotted with century-old summer camps that draw thousands of kids annually from across the Lone Star State. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian camp along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, were unaccounted for Friday afternoon. Search teams were working to conduct helicopter and boat rescues in the fast-moving floodwaters. "I'm asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon — on-your-knees kind of praying — that we find these young girls," Patrick said. Dozens of families shared in local Facebook groups that they received devastating phone calls from safety officials informing them that their daughters had not yet been located among the washed-away camp cabins and downed trees. Some were waiting to hear if their children could be evacuated by helicopter. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used in the search, Patrick said. Camp Mystic said in an email to parents that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for. Safety officials said there were roughly 750 campers. At an elementary school in nearby Ingram that was being used as a reunification center, more than a hundred people milled around a courtyard with hopes of seeing their loved one step out of buses dropping off those who had been evacuated. One young girl wearing a Camp Mystic T-shirt stood in a puddle in her white socks, sobbing in her mother's arms as she rubbed her hands together and watched the buses arrive. Many families hoped to see loved ones who had been at campgrounds and mobile home parks in the area. Camp Mystic sits on a strip known as "flash flood alley," said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a charitable endowment that is collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. "When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil," Dickson said. "It rushes down the hill." Decades prior, floodwaters engulfed a bus of teenage campers from another Christian camp along the Guadalupe River during devastating summer storms in 1987. A total of 10 campers from Pot O' Gold Christian camp drowned after their bus was unable to evacuate in time from a site near Comfort, 33 miles (53 kilometers) east of Hunt. Leaders at Camp Mystic said they are without power, Wi-Fi and running water, and the highway leading to the camp has washed away. Two other camps on the river, Camp Waldemar and Camp La Junta, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe.
