Kerrville, Kerr County issue new update day after fatal flooding
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
‘Today will be a hard day’: Search ongoing for missing kids, adults in Kerrville
Officials say 27 people have been found dead. Of those, 18 were adults and nine were children. Six adults remain unidentified, as well as one child. Water began to recede Saturday morning, and there were now hundreds of state, federal and local resources supporting the community. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said that so far, more than 850 people have Been evaluated and are uninjured, the sheriff’s office said. The mayor of Kerrville said a fund has been set up by the Community Foundation of Texas Hill Country to help those who are still missing after Friday’s flooding in Kerrville and Kerr County. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details.
As of 8:55 a.m. Saturday, officials said 27 people have been found dead. Of those, 18 were adults and nine were children. Six adults remain unidentified, as well as one child.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. said a fund has been set up by the Community Foundation of Texas Hill Country.
“People need to know today will be a hard day…it will be a hard day,” Herring said.
Rescue teams continue working to find those missing after flooding (Kerrville Police Department photo)
Searches continue along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville on July 5, 2025 (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez)
Searches continue along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville on July 5, 2025 (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez)
Searches continue along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville on July 5, 2025 (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez)
Rescue teams continue working to find those missing after flooding (Kerrville Police Department photo)
Rescue teams continue working to find those missing after flooding (Kerrville Police Department photo)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said water began to recede Saturday morning, and there were now hundreds of state, federal and local resources supporting the community.
Search and rescue operations will continue until all people are accounted for, according to officials. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said that so far, more than 850 people have been evaluated and are uninjured.
On Friday evening, Governor Abbott announced at least 24 confirmed fatalities during a press event. Prior to the announcement, Acting Governor Dan Patrick said approximately 20 children were also unaccounted for from a camp in the area.
U.S. House Representative Chip Roy said during a news conference Saturday, lives were lost saving people, including camp directors.
On Saturday morning, the Kerrville Police Department said rescue teams worked throughout the night and would continue until everyone is found.
“Hundreds of first responders are here with resources from throughout the state to help us,” KPD said. “Our thoughts remain with those who are unaccounted for and their loved ones. They are our focus and will remain so.”
Frantic search for dozens of missing girls from Camp Mystic after historic flooding in Texas Hill Country
Camp Mystic is an all-girls Christian summer camp located along the Guadalupe River, 18 miles from Kerrville in Hunt, Texas. The main access roads had washed out, leaving access difficult for rescue teams. 27 people were found dead across the county, with the number expected to rise as an unknown number of people are still missing. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Kerr County and 14 other counties in Texas Hill Country amid the flooding.
Camp Mystic is an all-girls Christian summer camp located right along the Guadalupe River, 18 miles from Kerrville in Hunt, Texas.
Historic flooding ripped through Kerr County on Friday morning, as a “deadly flood wave” moved down the Guadalupe River, the National Weather Service said.
KERRVILLE SLAMMED BY HISTORIC FLOODING AS SEARCH AND RESCUE CREWS SCRAMBLE TO FIND MISSING CHILDREN, ADULTS
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in a press conference on Saturday morning that 27 girls from Camp Mystic were still unaccounted for.
The camp was hosting 750 girls when the flooding happened.
Camp Mystic said in a note to parents on Friday that parents whose daughters were missing would be personally contacted.
“Please continue to pray and send any help if you have contact to do so,” the camp said to parents.
The camp was without power, water or Wi-Fi during search and rescue efforts on Friday. The main access roads had washed out, leaving access difficult for rescue teams.
CATASTROPHIC FLOODING LEAVES AT LEAST 24 DEAD, DOZENS MISSING AS ‘DEADLY FLOOD WAVE’ SWEPT CENTRAL TEXAS
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Kerr County officials said in a Friday evening press conference that 27 people were found dead across the county, with the number expected to rise as an unknown number of people are still missing.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Kerr County and 14 other counties in Texas Hill Country amid the flooding.
“We will not stop,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said, “until we find every last person.”
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said more than 850 people had been evacuated so far in Kerr County.
Catastrophic flooding leaves at least 27 dead, dozens missing as ‘deadly flood wave’ swept central Texas
NEW: Rescue crews have saved 850 uninjured people and another eight with injuries. Among those still missing are 27 children who were attending a summer camp. Search crews are still spanned out across both sides of the Guadalupe River. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster declaration for more than a dozen counties in the Texas Hill Country.”People need to know today will be a hard day,” Kerville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. says..com: Flooding in Kerr County, Texas, has been declared a state of emergency. The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days, officials say. The state has deployed more than 1,000 state responders and more than 800 vehicles and equipment. The storm system that caused the flooding is moving out of the area, a National Weather Service meteorologist says. The National Hurricane Center has issued a flood warning for parts of Texas and New Mexico, the weather service says. It’s not clear when the storm system will move out, the NHC says.
And local officials said the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said Saturday the death toll includes 18 adults and nine children so far. Rescue crews have saved 850 uninjured people and another eight with injuries in addition to finding 27 bodies.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones,” Leitha said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster declaration for more than a dozen counties in the Texas Hill Country.
“This is a catastrophic flooding event in Kerr County,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.
Among those still missing are 27 children who were attending a summer camp. A letter to parents from Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls located 18 miles from Kerrvile in Hunt, said they had experienced “catastrophic level” floods. While two of the groups have been fully accounted for, the letter stated “if your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified.”
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“People need to know today will be a hard day,” Kerville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said. “Please pray for our community.”
Abbott says the state has deployed more than 1,000 state responders and more than 800 vehicles and equipment, and more than 15 state agencies are currently responding to the flooding threat across the state.
Search crews are still spanned out across both sides of the river, but are finding conditions extremely difficult with roads destroyed and debris strewn across the area.
City manager Dalton Rice said they have to comb over 10 miles of flood-ravaged grounds.
“They are going to be in very debris(-filled) terrain, very difficult, challenging contours along the riverbanks,” Rice said.
‘The devastation – you could hear it’
FOX Weather Meteorologist Bayne Forney stood along a portion of that damaged area in Kerrville on Saturday morning.
“It’s catastrophic, the damage that we’re already seeing,” she said. “Even though the water has been receding, we’re now seeing a lot more of that damage opening up. Just behind me is the foundation of what used to be a home. The entire home was swept away. All that is left is the foundation and the front porch. That’s it. It’s a scene we’re seeing all across this town… it’s just devastating.”
Tim Tompkins told FOX Weather he didn’t have any idea of the impending disaster.
“Nothing – the power was out, that’s all I thought was wrong. I didn’t know anything until I saw (neighbor) Larry outside, and they were all staring in the wrong direction,” Tompkins said. “I looked and the water was right up to my house. And the devastation, you could hear it.”
Jesse Tompkins said he heard from them and raced to the scene.
“It was a complete shock. (Tim) texted me and I woke up,” Jesse said. “I jumped out of bed, threw on the first pair of jeans and shirt that I had. And I came driving down here as fast as I could. And turning that corner, it was just crazy to look down here, to see all the houses missing. It’s just the foundations left. And I’ve never seen anything like it.”
‘We didn’t know the flood was coming’
Those along the river had little indication of the upcoming destruction or much time to act. A cluster of thunderstorms sat parked over the region Thursday night into early Friday morning, dumping 12-15 inches of rain in just hours around San Angelo and triggering a Flash Flood Emergency. Mason reported 15.60 inches while San Angelo registered 12.72 inches.
Heavy rains crawled to the south and east, eventually pouring 5-8 inches of rain across the Guadelupe River basin, sending torrents of water downstream.
“Automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned in issuing their Flash Flood Emergency Friday morning. “Flash flooding is already occurring. This is a Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale. This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!”
WHAT FLOOD WATCHES, FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCIES MEAN
River gauges showed incredible rises in water levels along the Guadalupe. The surge measured 20 feet in just an hour at Kerrville and nearly 27 feet in Comfort, Texas in just 45 minutes, taking the river from normal levels to historic levels not seen in nearly a century before many had time to react.
“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said during a late Friday morning press conference. “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”
The torrential rains led to damaging flooding in other nearby counties. San Angelo in Tom Green County reported a 2-mile-wide area of town that had been “greatly affected” by catastrophic flooding. Their emergency dispatchers received over 100 calls for help and water rescues in just an hour early Friday morning. The town of Brady in McCulloch County also reported numerous water rescues.
“Surreal is the best word that I could put to it,” Jesse Tompkins said. “You know, it was so normal the day before, and then just gone the next day.”
Slow-moving storm still wreaking havoc
While the rains subsided in Kerr County on Saturday morning, the storm is still dumping life-threatening amounts of rain in central Texas.
Three-hour radar loop.
(FOX Weather)
Flash Flood Emergencies were in effect Saturday morning for parts of Burnet, Williamson and Travis Counties, just north of the Austin area. Another 6-14 inches of rain fell in the area overnight, with rain falling at rates of 3-6 inches per hour, the National Weather Service in Austin said. A gauge along Cow Creek near Bertram reported 14.44 inches since midnight. The Burnet County Sheriff reported widespread flooding issues and said they had been on 10 water rescue calls by late morning.
In Georgetown, Texas, police were evacuating multiple buildings, including three apartment complexes, an animal shelter and a crisis center along the San Gabriel River as waters were rising to dangerous levels.
Another inch of rain was likely on Saturday.
Much like Friday’s warnings, the NWS is urging people to seek higher ground as the storms present a “particularly dangerous situation.”
And slow-moving thunderstorms with heavy rains remain in the forecast for Central Texas Saturday. While the storms had drifted east on Saturday morning, there are some indications more thunderstorms could return to the hard-hit areas later Saturday, with some areas under threat of another 3 inches of rain or more.
NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has the area in a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk, and Flood Watches remain in effect in Central Texas into Saturday evening.
Worst flooding in the region in 38 years
The latest catastrophic event is similar to flash flooding that impacted the region more than 35 years ago.
Slow-moving thunderstorms in mid-July 1987 caused significant flooding along the Guadalupe River, which resulted in the deaths of around a dozen people, with dozens of others injured.
The crests of the Guadalupe River exceeded those levels on Friday.
Live updates: Texas flooding death toll rises to 24; search underway for Camp Mystic campers
At least 27 people, including nine children, are dead after torrential rain triggered flash flooding in parts of central Texas. Authorities say more than 20 girls are unaccounted for at Camp Mystic in Kerr County. More than 850 people have been rescued or evacuated as of this morning.
• Urgent search for campers: Authorities say more than 20 girls are unaccounted for at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, which is located along a river that rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours. As a desperate search continues, the mother of a 9-year-old camper told CNN she learned her daughter has died.
• All-night rescue effort: First responders worked through the night to save victims of the flooding. More than 850 people have been rescued or evacuated as of this morning, many by helicopter, according to authorities.
• One-in-100-years intensity: Parts of central Texas saw a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours, prompting multiple flash flood emergencies. Hunt, a town near Kerrville, received about 6.5 inches in just three hours early Friday, which is considered a one-in-100-years rainfall event for the area.
Dozens dead in Texas after devastating flash floods slam Hill Country, officials say
Dozens of people are dead in central Texas in what officials called a “mass casualty event” Between 23 and 25 people are still missing from Camp Mystic, a children’s summer camp. The Guadalupe River at Hunt reached its second-highest height on record, higher than the famous 1987 flood, the city said, citing the National Weather Service. Between 5 and 11 inches of rain have fallen in northwestern Hill Country, Central Kerr County, Northeastern Green County, East Green County and West Kendall County, according to the NWS. President Trump said his administration was working with state and local officials and that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would be arriving in Texas shortly. “Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy,” Mr. Trump wrote in a tweet on Saturday. “Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLess TEXAS!” He added that “if you do not live in area, do not come”
At least 27 fatalities have been reported so far, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said in an email Saturday morning. The dead include 18 adults and 9 children. Six of the adults and one child remain unidentified, Leitha said. Officials have conducted more than 160 air rescues, Leitha said. In total, 850 uninjured and 8 injured people have been rescued as of Saturday, he said.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a news briefing on Friday that there hadn’t been “a drop of rain until the tragedy struck” earlier in the day, and that the Guadalupe River had risen about 26 feet in 45 minutes. An alert went out around 4 and 5 a.m. local time, he said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and several other officials also appeared at the news conference.
Speaking to reporters late Friday night aboard Air Force One, President Trump called the floods a “terrible thing.”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump said his administration was working with state and local officials and that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would be arriving in Texas shortly. DHS oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”
Damaged vehicles and debris are seen roped off near the banks of the Guadalupe River after flooding in Ingram, Texas, Friday, July 4, 2025. Michel Fortier/The San Antonio Express-News via AP
Onlookers survey damage along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
How did the Guadalupe River flood so quickly?
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, explained how the Guadalupe River flooded so quickly.
“When you look at the headwaters of the Guadalupe… there’s a north and a south fork,” Rice said Friday night. “Since 1987, under normal conditions, if you can call it that, you’ll hit water in one of those areas, and those two forks will converge into the Guadalupe, which comes through the city of Kerrville.”
“This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks,” Rice continued. “When we got the report, it was about 7 feet or so on the south fork, and within a matter of minutes it was up to 29 feet, and all of that converged at Guadalupe.”
The Guadalupe River at Hunt reached its second-highest height on record, higher than the famous 1987 flood, the city said, citing the National Weather Service.
A raging Guadalupe River leaves fallen trees and debris in its wake, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
The Texas Division of Emergency Management had multiple meetings since Thursday to prepare, but the National Weather Service “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” officials said, adding that the original estimate was up to 8 inches of rain.
Officials said they were still concerned about the weather, adding that “if you do not live in area, do not come.”
Kerr County judge Rob Kelly said the area does “not have a warning system” and said that authorities were shocked by the ferocity of the floods.
“We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be any, anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever,” Kelly told CBS Evening News.
A man surveys damage left by a raging Guadalupe River, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
People are reunited at a reunification center after flash flooding hit the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
Texas issued flash flood emergencies in five counties in West Texas on Friday as Hill Country continued to be slammed by severe rain and flooding. Between 5 and 11 inches of rain have fallen in northwestern Bandera County, Central Kerr County, Northeastern Tom Green County, East Central Kerr County and West Central Kendall County, according to the National Weather Service.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing
There are hundreds of people on the ground from various units helping with search and rescue operations, officials said, which include drones and helicopters.
“We brought in over 100 troopers this morning,” Col. Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said during Friday night’s news briefing. “And they’ve worked all day, rescues, high water vehicles, boats, rescue divers, seven rescue helicopters with hoist capabilities.”
The governor signed a disaster declaration for several counties during the news conference Friday night, saying it “ensures all the counties will have access to every tool, strategy, personnel that the state of Texas can provide to them, which will be limitless.”
“We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane, whatever is needed, is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensure everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for,” Abbott said.
Earlier Friday, Abbott asked that Texas residents “heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas.”
A helicopter flies over the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
First responders scan the banks of the Guadalupe River for individuals swept away by flooding in Ingram, Texas, Friday, July 4, 2025. Michel Fortier/The San Antonio Express-News via AP
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in a statement posted to social media that he had spoken to Mr. Trump, as well as other state officials.
“President Trump committed ANYTHING Texas needs,” Cruz said.
Lorena Gullen, who owns a restaurant right next to an RV park that was affected by the floods, said “raging water” swept away vehicles, some with people still inside. Residents at the park had been celebrating the Fourth of July.
“You could also see vehicles coming from up the river with the lights on and hear somebody honking, and they were washiing away but they kept going,” she told CBS Evening News. “It was impossible.”
“Between 23 to 25” people still missing from Camp Mystic
“We don’t have an estimate” on how many people are missing, Sheriff Leitha said Friday night, adding that somewhere “between 23 and 25” campers were still believed to be missing from Camp Mystic.
Earlier Friday, Patrick addressed parents of children at Camp Mystic, where there were about 750 children at summer camp when the floods hit. The lieutenant governor, who was acting as governor while Abbott was on vacation, said they are praying for all those missing “to be found alive.”
“If they are alive and safe, we will find them and bring them home to you,” Patrick said during an afternoon news conference.
Families line up at a reunification center after flash flooding it the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
First responders deliver people to a reunification center after flash flooding in the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
The camp said in a statement, read by Patrick, that there has been a “catastrophic level” of flooding.
Patrick said Camp Mystic is an all-girls summer camp in the area that has several camps with thousands of children attending for the summer. The camp said they have no power, no water and no Wi-Fi , adding that “the highway has washed away, so we are struggling to get more help.”
“Please pray for everyone in the Hill Country, especially Camp Mystic,” Cruz said in his social media statement.
The summer camp sits on a strip known as “flash flood alley,” Austin Dickson, the CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, told the Associated Press. The foundation is 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.”
A flood gauge marks the height of water flowing over a farm-to-market road near Kerrville, Texas, on Friday, July 4, 2025. Eric Gay / AP
A man surveys damage left by a raging Guadalupe River, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
13-year-old Elinor Lester told the Associated Press that she and her cabinmates were evacuated by helicopter. Her cabin was on elevated ground, but younger campers bunk in cabins situated along the riverbank, she said. Those were the first to flood. Younger campers came up the hill for shelter.
“The camp was completely destroyed,” she told the Associated Press. “It was really scary. Everyone I know personally is accounted for, but there are people missing that I know of and we don’t know where they are.”
Her mother, Elizabeth Lester, told the Associated Press her son was at Camp La Junta, a nearby summer camp, and also survived after a counselor woke up, saw rising water and helped the boys swim out through a window. Camp La Junta and another camp on the river, Camp Waldemar, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe.
“My kids are safe, but knowing others are still missing is just eating me alive,” Elizabeth Lester told the Associated Press.