08-07-2025
Texas floods latest: At least 104 dead as search for victims continues amid new weather warnings
Life threatening flash floods are forecast to remain a threat as storms continued across central Texas throughout Monday evening.
It's the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have killed at least 104 people in the region since late last week.
Dozens more people remain missing. Hundreds of local and state responders, dive teams, helicopters, drones, and volunteers on horseback are combing the area.
A Christian summer camp said Monday that 27 girls and staff members had been killed in the disaster along the Guadalupe River.
'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,' Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp, said in a statement on its website.
The disaster dates back to the early hours of July 4, when heavy rainfall in western Kerr County caused the Guadalupe River to swell almost 24 feet in under an hour.
Texas state lawmaker regrets voting against disaster response bill after floods
Amid questions about whether emergency systems could've done more to warn residents of central Texas about last week's flood, one state lawmaker says he regrets voting against an emergency preparedness bill earlier this year.
The legislation, House Bill 13, would have established a statewide plan to improve Texas's disaster alert systems, as well as provided grants to buy new communications equipment and installing infrastructure like radio towers.
'I can tell you in hindsight, watching what it takes to deal with a disaster like this, my vote would probably be different now,' Representative Wes Virdell told Texas Tribune.
Texas officials feared for riverbank camps. A warning system was rejected
Camp Mystic, the Christian girl's camp, reported that 27 campers and staffers had been killed in last week's flash flooding
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 04:00
Drone collision grounds rescue helicopter
City officials in Kerrville are warning residents not to use their drones until the search and rescue operations in the area are complete, after a collision with a drone in restricted airspace temporarily grounded an emergency helicopter flight.
'The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing, and a critical piece of response equipment is now out of service until further notice. This was entirely preventable,' the city said in a statement on Facebook.
'When you fly a drone in restricted areas, you're not just breaking the law -- you're putting first responders, emergency crews, and the public at serious risk,' the statement continued.
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 03:00
WATCH: San Antonio holds candlelight vigil for victims of deadly Texas floods
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 02:54
'She did all she could to save the lives of the girls in her cabin'
A group of 11 are still missing from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp hit hard by the central Texas floods last week.
That includes Katherine Ferruzzo, 19, a counselor at the camp and an incoming student at the University of Texas.
'Katherine has a fierce and loving spirit, and we have no doubt she did all she could to save the lives of the girls in her cabin,' her family told The New York Times.
Texas camp confirms flood deaths of 27 girls and staff in 'unimaginable tragedy'
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 02:01
Mayor in hard-hit city of Kerrville never got direct warning about floods
Scrutiny is mounting over whether officials did enough to alert the public before deadly floods hit central Texas last week.
Joe Herring, Jr., the mayor of hard-hit Kerrville, told CNN he never got a flood notification or an individual warning from government forecasters before the disaster struck.
The first time he learned the extent of the threat was early Friday morning, when the city's emergency manager called him to say a park had been flooded, Herring told CNN.
"It all happened upriver at the worst possible place. And I think everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr County, wishes to God we had some way to warn them. To warn those people. I've lost two friends. We loved them and they're gone," he said. "You know they're gone. Everyone here, if we could've warned them, we would have done so. And we didn't even have a warning. We did not know."
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 01:30
Photos: Texas state troopers assist in recovery effort
The Texas Department of Public Safety was one of numerous agencies who sent personnel to central Texas to assist with recovery efforts after devastating floods late last week killed over 100 people.
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 01:00
Netanyahu offers prayers for Texas ahead of Trump meeting in Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the world leaders who have offered prayers and condolences after the devastating floods in central Texas.
'My wife Sara and I and all of Israel are praying for the Great State of Texas,' the US ally wrote on X. 'Israel knows disaster—we've lived through war, fire, and flood. Dear friends, we stand with you!'
Netanyahu is slated to dine with President Trump in Washington on Monday.
Bel Trew had this preview of what's at stake in the meeting.
A glimmer of hope in Gaza? Inside the fragile push for an Israel ceasefire deal
After months of deadlock, talks resume this week over Trump's 60-day ceasefire proposal – with Netanyahu in Washington, Bel Trew examines whether this time is any different
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 00:40
Rescue teams from Florida, Pennsylvania, Mexico to assist in Texas flood recovery
Rescue teams from far and wide are assisting Texas in the aftermath of deadly flooding late last week.
Crews from Florida, Pennsylvania, and even Mexico have been sent to join in the response effort.
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 00:20
Series of obstacles may have stopped Texas weather warnings from reaching population
As first responders work to rescue the living and recover the dead from last week's flooding in central Texas, officials and experts are scrutinizing whether more could've been done to warn the public about the Friday floods, potentially averting some of the more than 100 deaths that followed.
A review from NBC Dallas-Fort Worth found that National Weather Service alerts went out about the coming floods in Kerr County on Thursday, about 12 hours before the floods actually hit.
'The National Weather Service office did everything they should do from everything I can tell,' Jeff Masters, a former hurricane scientist with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters, told USA Today.
Nonetheless, the county lacks weather sirens, and making matters worse, a lack of cell phone coverage and weather radios in the area may have further prevented such warnings from reaching residents.
What's more, numerous summer camps are in the area, some of which don't allow children to carry cell phones.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Monday that flood-warning sirens could've saved lives in communities near the swollen Guadalupe River, and promised the state will 'step up' and help pay for such infrastructure to be in place by next summer.
Texas officials feared for riverbank camps. A warning system was rejected
Josh Marcus8 July 2025 00:00
PHOTOS: Rescues and repairs continue after Texas floods
Josh Marcus
