Event date: July 4, 2025
Hundreds of rescuers searched central Texas after fast-rising floodwater killed at least 51 people, including 15 children, and left others missing. Kerr County suffered the largest confirmed loss of life, with 43 deaths reported as teams worked along the Guadalupe River and around communities damaged during the Independence Day holiday.
Particular concern centered on Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls beside the Guadalupe. Twenty-seven children from the camp remained unaccounted for in the immediate aftermath. Images showed buildings and belongings coated in mud after the river rose more than 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday, catching many people while they slept. Officials continued to describe the operation as search and rescue rather than recovery.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said crews would keep working until everyone was found. Rescue teams moved along both banks and through debris fields, looking for people carried downstream. Deaths were also confirmed outside Kerr County, including in Travis and Tom Green counties, indicating that the disaster extended beyond the most heavily covered stretch of the river.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott expanded a state disaster declaration to strengthen the response. He said authorities would remain focused on locating every person affected. President Donald Trump said the federal administration was coordinating with local officials. The response unfolded while additional flash-flood warnings remained in force, creating risks for search teams and residents returning to damaged property.
The National Weather Service forecast another two to five inches of rain in parts of central Texas, with isolated totals potentially reaching 10 inches in places already hit by the initial deluge. CNN reported that some areas received about a month's rainfall in only a few hours, producing multiple flash-flood emergencies. The prospect of more rain complicated access and raised the danger of renewed rapid rises in waterways.
Survivor accounts described the speed and force of the water. One property owner recalled hearing a family calling for help while clinging to trees, beyond rescuers' immediate reach. Elsewhere, residents returned to find foundations exposed, apartments filled with mud and possessions destroyed. Families at Camp Mystic and across the region waited for information as officials sought to reconcile missing-person reports.
The confirmed toll represented a snapshot from an active emergency, not a final count. Authorities were still searching multiple locations, and the number of people unaccounted for could change as survivors contacted relatives. The immediate priorities remained finding the missing, reaching isolated areas and keeping the public away from flooded roads and unstable riverbanks.
