Tears in Texas, As Flash Flood Claims 109 Lives, Dozens Still Missing

Tragedy has struck the Texas Hill Country as powerful flash floods have claimed the lives of at least 109 people, with dozens more still unaccounted for.

The flooding was most severe along the Guadalupe River, which surged to the height of a two-story building early Friday morning, prompting frantic water rescues and leaving behind devastation across several counties.

Among the hardest-hit areas is Kerr County, where 87 fatalities have been confirmed. In Hunt, Texas, Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp nestled along the Guadalupe River, suffered immense losses.

The camp reported on Monday that 27 of its campers and counselors perished in the flooding.

“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy.

“We are praying for them constantly,” the camp said in a statement.

“We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.

“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders and officials at every level.”

According to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic are still missing.

When the flooding began, approximately 750 children were at the camp, he added.

President Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County following a request from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who visited the camp on Saturday and described the scene as “horrendously ravaged.”

“Today I visited Camp Mystic.

“It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster,” Abbott posted on social media.

“The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking.

“We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins.”

Abbott noted that 41 people remain unaccounted for statewide but cautioned that the true number may be higher due to unregistered visitors camping or staying in RVs near the riverbanks.

“There are people that are not known, confirmed missing because we do not know yet who they are,” he explained.

Rescue efforts continue throughout the Guadalupe River system, with officials urging the public to report missing loved ones.

President Trump announced plans to visit Texas on Friday, noting he delayed his trip initially to avoid interfering with emergency operations.

At the Vatican, Pope Leo offered prayers during Sunday Mass:

“I express my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States.”

Beyond Kerr County, at least 21 additional deaths have been reported in five other counties.

Travis County, home to Austin, confirmed seven fatalities.

Burnet County reported five more, while Kendall and Williamson counties confirmed six and two deaths respectively.

In Tom Green County, a 62-year-old woman, Tanya Burwick, died after her vehicle was overtaken by floodwaters.

Sheriff Leitha stated that more than 160 air rescues have taken place, and overall, 850 uninjured and eight injured individuals have been safely recovered.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem credited the U.S. Coast Guard with saving 223 lives, highlighting Petty Officer Scott Ruskan for rescuing 165 victims in his first-ever mission.

“This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene,” Noem said, calling him “an American hero.”

Dalton Rice, Kerrville’s city manager, described the chaos: “We’ve been rescuing people out of these camps by the hundreds, you know, all day,” he said.

“There’s a lot of folks that are shelter in place, so we leave them in place to make sure that we get them food, water.”

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly shared the personal toll the disaster took: “We didn’t know. We knew we’d get rain, we know the river rises, but nobody saw this coming.”

He added, “It’s gonna be a long time before we’re ever going to be able to clean it up, much less rebuild it.”

The rapid flooding left many questioning the warning systems in place.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick noted the river rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes.

“There hadn’t been a drop of rain until the tragedy struck,” he said.

Nearby, the Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly summer camp successfully evacuated around 70 campers and staff after their facilities manager noticed the river rising.

“Although camp leadership said they had not received evacuation guidance from local authorities, they quickly relocated” those near the river, said spokesperson Lisa Winters.

Meteorologists believe the flooding was fueled by an unusual convergence of storms and residual moisture from former Tropical Storm Barry.

Dalton Rice explained the mechanics behind the river’s surge: “This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks.”

The National Weather Service said the Guadalupe River at Hunt reached its second-highest level ever recorded.

Original forecasts predicted up to 8 inches of rain, but the totals far exceeded expectations.

“We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be any, anything like what’s happened here.

“None whatsoever,” said Judge Kelly.

Camp Mystic sits in what’s known as “flash flood alley,” where hard, dry ground from previous drought conditions worsened the flooding by preventing water absorption.

“When it rains, water doesn’t soak into the soil.

“It rushes down the hill,” explained Austin Dickson of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

Thirteen-year-old camper Elinor Lester recounted her harrowing experience:

“The camp was completely destroyed.

“It was really scary.”

One younger camper was swept six miles downriver but survived after being pulled through a cabin window by rushing waters.

Other camps along the Guadalupe River, such as Camp La Junta and Camp Waldemar, confirmed all campers and staff are safe.

At Camp La Junta, young Brock Davis described climbing from his bunk to the rafters as floodwaters rose.

His mother, Keli Rabon, spoke of the emotional toll.

“It’s almost like you have this sense of survivor’s guilt… you still know that so many people are hurting and desperately looking for theirs,” she said.

Texas continues to grapple with the fallout from this catastrophic event, as search and recovery operations press on.

As Governor Abbott declared, “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.”

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