Officials have recovered at least 24 bodies after rains overwhelmed the Guadalupe River in Texas on Friday, causing it to rise as much as 26 feet in less than two hours in the dark, predawn morning.

Frantic parents were desperate for news about a group of as many as 25 campers who remain missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp at the river’s edge.

An extensive water rescue and search effort was still underway in central Texas’ Kerr County, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Friday evening. “Everyone needs to know that this is 24/7.”

Kerr County is located about 90 miles northwest of San Antonio. The area is home to multiple camps, but only campers from Camp Mystic were missing, Abbott said.

By the evening of July 4, the Texas National Guard had rescued or evacuated 237 people, 167 by helicopter, said Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, the commander of the guard.

A flood that came with terrifying swiftness

The flooding began sometime after 4:00 a.m., when extreme rains of as much as 12 inches an hour hit, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said in a press conference Friday afternoon.

The National Weather Service issued had issued a flood watch for parts of south-central Texas, including Kerr County, on Thursday. It warned that a slow-moving system could potentially bring major storms to the area.

The rain that fell was even more intense.

At 2:03 a.m. the National Weather service issued its fifth warning of the evening, each of which had been more strident than the last.

This one said “This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW! Life threatening flash flooding of low water crossings, small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.”

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said he had been jogging along the Guadalupe River trail at 3:30 a.m. and saw only light rain and no signs of flooding.

By 5:00 a.m. officials were beginning to get phone calls, and he and the area fire chief went to a local park to survey the scene.

“Within an hour and a half, [the river] had already risen over 25 feet,” Rice said. “Within a matter of minutes it was up to 29 feet.”

Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci explained in a post on X that rainfall in the area totaled over 10 inches, but “annual rainfall for this region is about 28-32 inches.”

“Imagine 4 months’ worth of rain falling in a 6-hour window,” he said.

The stretch of the Guadeloupe River near Bergheim, Texas, located about 35 miles north of San Antonio “rose 40 FEET IN 3 HOURS,” he added.

‘We don’t need people just showing up’

In some areas, search and rescue efforts were being hampered by sightseers and those who hoped to help with the effort, officials said.

Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County begged area residents not to “self-deploy” to aid in the search efforts. “We don’t need any more drones or helicopters. We don’t need people just showing up,” he said. “Stay at home with your families, that’s the right thing to do, to stay out of this area.”

President Trump offers support

Patrick told reporters Friday that his office has been in contact with the White House multiple times as flooding rocked the area. President Donald Trump told state officials “whatever we need, we will have,” Patrick said.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, in a post on X, said “President Trump committed ANYTHING Texas needs.”

‘A devastating event for our community’

In a late afternoon Facebook post, the Kerrville, Texas’ police department said “We will continue until all of our citizens are accounted for. This is a devastating event for our community but we are strong together. We are humbled by the outpouring of support and assistance we have received and continue to receive.

“For now, we ask you to please stay off the streets as much as possible and we will provide updates as we are able. Our thoughts are with all who have been impacted by this tragic event in our community,” the department shared.

Kerr County reports ‘catastrophic flooding’

“This is a catastrophic flooding event in Kerr County. We can confirm fatalities but will not release further information until next of kin are notified,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said. “The entire county is an extremely active scene.”

Residents were urged to shelter in place and not attempt to travel. Anyone along creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River should seek higher ground, the sheriff’s office said.

The area was under a flash flood warning and between 5 and 11 inches of rain had already fallen by about 9 a.m., the National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio said. Another 1 to 2 inches could fall before the rain threat dissipates later in the day, the weather service said.

“This is a very dangerous and life-threatening flood event along the Guadalupe River! Move to higher ground!” the weather service there said.

Earlier in the morning, the Guadalupe River at Hunt in western Kerr County had already reached the second-highest level on record at over 29 feet, surpassing levels of the 1987 Guadalupe River Flood at that spot, the weather service in Austin and San Antonio said. The 1987 flood killed 10 teenagers on a church camp bus and van on July 17 near Comfort, Texas.

In San Angelo, Texas, about 150 miles from Kerrville in the central part of the state, the weather service shared a photo of a flooded-out intersection with water reaching the level of road signs. The weather service office in San Angelo said it had received multiple reports of flooded roads and homes in Tom Green County, calling the conditions “life-threatening.”

Heavy rain, flooding remains in the forecast

West-central Texas will continue to see flooding into the weekend, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said on the afternoon of July 4.

A weather system across parts of Texas has “dropped several inches of rainfall across the region from Thursday night and this afternoon,” the prediction center said. “Saturated soils and river flooding make this area sensitive to more rainfall.”

“The forecast calls for locally heavy rainfall to persist into tomorrow (Saturday July 5).” A flood watch remained in effect through late in the day on July 4 for much of the region.

The weather service in San Antonio warned that “pockets of heavy rain are still possible and may result in flooding of low-lying areas, rivers/creeks, and low water crossings. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible across the flood watch area through the period. Can’t rule out up to 5 inches of rainfall over portions of the Hill Country through the flood watch period.”

Was this flooding a surprise?

The National Weather Service had placed Kerr County and other counties in the region under a flood watch ahead of the flooding on July 3, but Kelly said the extent of the flooding was a surprise.

“No one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said, adding that Kerr County doesn’t have a warning system that could have alerted residents the night of July 3.

“We deal with floods on a regular basis,” he said. “We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here.”

Mandatory evacuations along Guadalupe River

Officials in Comfort, Texas, issued mandatory evacuations for residents along the rapidly rising river, according to a post at about 8 a.m. local time.

“We regret to inform everyone that the flood situation in Comfort is not improving,” the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said in an update at 11 a.m. “We have sounded the flood sirens and urge all residents in low-lying areas of town to evacuate immediately.”

Residents were instructed to bring necessary documents, medications, clothing and important valuables with them as they escape to higher ground.

Police and firefighters in Kerrville were helping residents evacuate, with a reunification center set up at a local Walmart and a shelter at a church.

Contributing: Reuters

(This story was updated to include video.)

Tragedy overshadows 4 July celebrations

Angélica Casas

Reporting from Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas, as they say, including celebrations for 4 July, the US Independence Day holiday.

Local parks and neighbourhoods throughout the state host big community events with food and live entertainment that culminate with the traditional fireworks display show.

Many events in Central Texas, though, had to be cancelled last-minute as a result of the rainfall. And even where gatherings still took place, the tragedy in Kerr County – and the uncertainty of so many people still missing – overshadowed the festivities.

The rain is expected to continue here overnight and through Sunday.

• Rising death toll: At least 24 people are dead after torrential rain triggered flash flooding in parts of central Texas early Friday, according to officials.

• Campers unaccounted for: 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. It “does not mean they are lost,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick cautioned.

• All-night rescue effort: Searches to find those unaccounted for “will continue in the darkness of night,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. Around 237 people have been rescued or evacuated so far, many by helicopter, authorities said.

• One-in-100-years intensity: Parts of central Texas saw a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours overnight into Friday, 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. Heavy rain is expected to continue Saturday.

Texas floods kill 24 people and leave many missing from girls’ summer camp

2 hours ago Share Save Angélica Casas BBC News Reporting from San Antonio, Texas Nadine Yousif BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Kerrville resident Leighton Sterling watches flood waters along the Guadalupe River in Texas

A major search and rescue operation is continuing through the night in Texas after flash floods killed at least 24 people and left many girls missing from a Christian summer camp. There was little warning as the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (7.9m) in less than an hour and flooding that followed swept away mobile homes, vehicles and holiday cabins where people were spending the 4 July weekend. Rescue crews are still searching for up to 25 children who were among the 750 girls attending the Camp Mystic just outside the town of Kerrville 104km (64.0 miles) north-west of San Antonio. A state of emergency has been declared in several counties where several roads have been washed away and phone lines are down.

US President Donald Trump called the tragedy “shocking” and “terrible” as the White House pledged additional assistance. Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.

Watch: Flood water rushes through Kerr County, Texas

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said: “Within 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet and it was a destructive flood, taking property and sadly lives.” He also informed parents that if they had not been contacted, their child was accounted for. “That does not mean [the missing children] have been lost. They could be out of communication,” Patrick added. According to Camp Mystic’s website, children become eligible to attend after completing second grade.

Officials said search and rescue operations, involving helicopters, drones and boats, would continue until everyone had been accounted for. The camp said they had no power, no water and no Wi-Fi , adding that “the highway has washed away, so we are struggling to get more help”. On Friday morning, flash flooding in the state prompted disaster declarations for the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions.

Getty Images Children had been attending an all-girls summer camp near the Guadalupe River, just outside the town of Kerrville

Kerr County’s most senior official, Judge Rob Kelly, was asked during a news conference as to why camps along the Guadalupe River had not been evacuated in advance. “We didn’t know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no-one knew this kind of flood was coming,” Kelly said. He then added “we do not have a warning system” in the area. Kelly added what happened on Friday far surpassed a flood in 1987, which killed 10 teenagers on a church camp bus near the town of Comfort, south of Kerr County.

Getty Images A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is part of the search and rescue operations

According to the BBC’s US partner CBS News, the Texas Division of Emergency Management had multiple meetings on Thursday to prepare, but officials said the National Weather Service “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw”. Original estimates were of up to 8 inches (20cm) 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 Sheriff’s Office told residents near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground.

The scenes in Kerrville, Texas, and surrounding Kerr County were filled with anxious waiting, and some relief, on Friday.

After at least 20 people were reported missing — many of them young girls — parents on social media circulated photographs of their daughters who were unaccounted for, pleading for help locating them.

In Kerrville, some people huddled inside a church’s activity center, and others looked distraught, shivering under blankets. Brian Eads, 52, was hoping for information about his wife, Katherine, after aggressive floodwaters ravaged their trailer at around 3:30 a.m.

“I have no idea if she’s made it,” Mr. Eads said. “We both got swept away, and then I lost her.”

The couple were awakened by rushing waters, and managed to escape with a man driving a recreational vehicle. But the water caught up with them about 20 feet away, Mr. Eads said, and the vehicle’s engine died. Both he and his wife were swept underwater. He tried to swim toward her voice, he said, but lost her when he was struck in the head by debris. He survived by holding onto a tree and making his way to dry land.

Outside Ingram Elementary School, about seven miles west of Kerrville, people hoped to find missing loved ones, including girls who were staying at Camp Mystic nearby. Some hugged each other outside the main entrance, while others stood waiting to hear from their relative.

Randy Bush, 59, said he had not heard from his fiancée Charlotte Huff, 55, since last night. He had already been at a local Walmart, where others were searching for relatives.

“I have no idea what happened to her,” he said.

His fiancée lives at an R.V. park in the Kerrville area. As soon as he heard about the floods, he rushed to the park, but was stopped by road closures and emergency vehicles.

“When I was there this morning, they were doing water rescues with helicopters,” Mr. Bush said. “From what I saw that park was gone,” he added as he made his way to the school. “It was just all water. It didn’t look like there was anything there. That whole park was done.”

Image A helicopter flying over the flooded Guadalupe River in Kerrville on Friday. Credit… Carter Johnston for The New York Times

Parents of campers were hoping for the best Friday afternoon. Betty Gerlach, whose 14-year-old grandson is a camper at Camp La Junta, a boys camp about five miles along the river from Camp Mystic, said the boys camp had informed families that all campers were safe and fed. But an evacuation plan was still in development, and would not begin until at least 7 p.m. local time on Friday.

The camp asked families from Houston, the Dallas-Fort Worth area and out of state to begin traveling to the area. But families in nearby Austin and San Antonio were told to “stay put for now,” to avoid overcrowding.

With several camp building washed away in the flooding, the campers had taken shelter in two small cabins while they waited for evacuation, Ms. Gerlach said.

By midafternoon, emergency crews had started to bring some of the stranded girls to Ingram Elementary. One man saw his daughter sitting in the passenger seat of an emergency vehicle and ran after it with a smile.