Read more
Flash floods in Texas claimed over 80 lives, including 27 girls and counselors at Camp Mystic. Rescue efforts continue.
A volunteer looks for missing people, following severe flash flooding that occured during the July 4 holiday weekend, in Hunt, Texas, on July 6, 2025. Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 59, as forecasters warned of new deluges. Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials to search through the night for the missing, including 27 girls from a riverside Christian summer camp. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the floodwaters hit, had been “horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster.” (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP)
Rescuers in the US state of Texas on Monday searched for bodies swept away by flash floods that killed more than 80 people, including 27 girls and counselors at a summer camp.
The nation was shocked at the disaster over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and forecasters warned that thunderstorms threatened more flooding over saturated ground.
“Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding,” the camp said in a statement.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy.”
US President Donald Trump said he may visit Texas later this week, but brushed off concerns his cuts to weather forecasting and related federal agencies had weakened warning systems.
ALSO READ: These two provinces need R160 million to fix damaged healthcare facilities
Instead, he described the floods in the early hours of Friday as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”
At least 40 adults and 28 children were killed in the worst-hit Kerr County in central Texas, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Sunday, while at least 13 more people were killed by flooding in nearby areas. The death toll is expected to rise.
Grim search
Trump, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh funds and freeing up resources.
About 20 helicopters were taking part in the search for missing people in an area popular with campers that also hosted several summer camps for children.
Camp Mystic, one of the worst-hit, was an all-girl Christian camp where about 750 people had been staying with the floodwaters struck.
ALSO READ: Malema promises urgent aid for Mthatha flood victims, calls on the wealthy to help
In a terrifying display of nature’s power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins as girls at the camp slept.
Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings were caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that more heavy rainfall could bring further flooding in Kerrville and surrounding areas, as officials cautioned people against going near still-raging rivers.
Months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours on Thursday night into Friday, and rain has continued in bouts since then.
The Guadalupe surged around 26 feet (eight meters) — more than a two-story building — in just 45 minutes.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Bad weather and floods wreak havoc in Cape Town
Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual in this region of south and central Texas, known colloquially as “Flash Flood Alley.”
Human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense in recent years.
“There’s debris all over the place that makes roads impassable, that makes reconstruction projects unachievable,” Abbott said.
People from elsewhere in the state converged on Kerr County to help look for the missing.
Some residents also flew personal drones to help look, but officials urged them to stop, citing a danger to rescue aircraft.
NOW READ: Eastern Cape floods: Here’s how much victims will be given to rebuild their homes
– By: © Agence France-Presse
