The desperate search for more than 170 people still unaccounted for after catastrophic flash floods swept through Central Texas entered its seventh day on Thursday, as the confirmed death toll climbed to at least 120. The flooding, triggered by an unprecedented rise in the Guadalupe River, has devastated entire communities, with Kerr County—located in the flood-prone Hill Country region—bearing the brunt of the destruction.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed that 161 individuals remain missing in the county alone, while at least 10 others are still unaccounted for elsewhere in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott reaffirmed the figures, stating that search operations remain active as local, state, and federal teams continue combing through debris and waterways.
President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration at Abbott’s request, enabling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct assistance. Rescue efforts have been complicated by additional storms following the initial flood event.
Camp Mystic Tragedy Claims Dozens
A particularly devastating loss occurred at Camp Mystic, a popular girls’ summer camp located along the river near Hunt, where at least 27 campers and staff members died after floodwaters surged through the property. Survivors described waking up to find water pouring through windows. Sheriff Leitha confirmed Wednesday that search crews are still looking for five missing campers and one counselor.
“It’s very tragic whenever you see human life. But to see a child in that loss of life is extremely tragic,” Texas Game Warden Ben Baker said during a press briefing, referencing the toll on emergency responders.
Governor Abbott also noted that a child not affiliated with the camp remains missing. Inspection records dated July 2, just two days before the flood, show that Camp Mystic housed around 650 individuals—approximately 550 of them children. Though the camp had a written disaster response plan, it did not evacuate ahead of the storm, unlike some other camps in the area.
Officials have explained that evacuating rural Hill Country areas is not always feasible. Many communities rely on single-lane “low water crossings” that quickly become impassable. Kerrville Police Department’s Johnathan Lam explained how these crossings create isolated pockets of land when flooded.
“In Hunt, Highway 39 crisscrosses the Guadalupe again and again,” Lam said. “All of those crossings create islands where you can’t get in or out—trapping people in their homes or vehicles. That’s what happened on the morning of July 4.”
A makeshift rescue crew, composed of two Kerrville officers, an ER doctor, and volunteer firefighters, operated for 13 hours until emergency teams could reach them later that day.
Warnings and Forecasts Under Fire
A growing controversy centers on whether residents were adequately warned about the storm’s severity. Kerr County officials declined to respond to related questions during Tuesday’s news conference. Critics have pointed to recent cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the Trump administration as a possible factor in limited forecasting capacity.
Still, a CBS News analysis found that 22 warnings were issued by the NWS in advance of the floods, though residents said they either didn’t receive alerts or failed to grasp the urgency. Notably, the San Antonio office of the NWS, which oversees the area, currently has 10 staff vacancies—including its warning coordination meteorologist, a key link between forecasters and emergency response agencies.
Dalton Rice, city manager of Kerrville, said that the storm delivered more rainfall than predicted.
“The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts,” added Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Judge Rob Kelly of Kerr County revealed that the area does “not have a warning system” for severe weather, despite prior discussions around implementing one. Former commissioner Tom Moser noted that a past grant application for a public siren system was denied due to funding constraints.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick signaled state-level support moving forward.
“If they can’t afford to do it, then let us do it,” Patrick said. “We can take that up in the special session starting two weeks from today. If there had been a siren, maybe that would have sparked people to say, ‘Oh, we have a massive disaster five minutes away.’”
When asked about emergency preparedness, Governor Abbott assured that the Legislature will review all aspects of the disaster response.
“We’re going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure we have the systems in place to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future,” he said.
River Reaches 26 Feet in 45 Minutes
Officials say the Guadalupe River rose to an astonishing 26 feet within just 45 minutes in Kerr County—a rate that overwhelmed emergency services and caught many residents by surprise. The river, which spans 230 miles between Austin and the Gulf Coast, is notorious for flash floods due to the region’s hilly terrain.
Beyond Kerr County, fatalities have also been confirmed in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Williamson, and Tom Green counties.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. informed Governor Abbott that a public health emergency would be declared for the region to allow out-of-state health professionals to offer support.
As search crews press on and the community begins the painful process of recovery, Texas officials now face mounting pressure to reassess emergency preparedness protocols, upgrade communication systems, and invest in critical infrastructure to prevent a recurrence of such a devastating tragedy.
