Editor’s Note: This page is a summary of news on Texas flooding for Sunday, July 6. For the latest news on the Texas floods, read USA TODAY’s coverage for Monday, July 7.
Authorities on Sunday were in a desperate search to find those still missing after historic flash floods swept across central Texas — including 10 children from a beloved all-girls camp — as the death toll rose and forecasters warned of more rain.
State and local authorities said at least 81 people have died in flooding triggered by unrelenting rain Thursday night into Friday. As of Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County, where the worst of the flooding occurred, said authorities had recovered the bodies of 40 adults and 28 children.
Among those still missing were 10 children and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp at the edge of the Guadalupe River, which surged over 26 feet in less than an hour as storms dumped six months’ worth of rain over the Texas Hill Country.
It’s unclear how many people were missing in the communities along the Guadalupe, where local officials say thousands of people came from out of town to celebrate Independence Day weekend. Forecasters expect several more inches of rain on Sunday and warned of additional flooding and a worsening of conditions on the ground.
At least 41 people were known to be missing across the state and areas affected by the flooding, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon. The governor noted that search and rescue efforts were still underway.
“There were so many people who were just camping out — not children in camps — but adults camping out near the river, people in RVs and things like that,” Abbott said. “There are people who are missing, who are not on the known, confirmed missing because we don’t yet know who they are.”
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For days, crews have been working around the clock to find the missing, traversing swollen waterways and scouring riverbanks littered with mangled trees and rubble. Rescuers have pulled residents from rooftops and found survivors clinging to trees. As of Sunday, about 650 people have been rescued, officials said.
“We will continue our search efforts until everybody is found,” Leitha vowed.What Texas cities flooded? Here’s where the most rain fell this weekend
Trump deflects on FEMA’s future
After raising the prospect of abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier this year, President Donald Trump deflected when asked if he wants to phase out the agency.
“FEMA is something we can talk about later,” Trump told reporters. “But right now they’re busy working so we’ll leave it at that.”
FEMA was activated in Texas after Trump declared a major disaster area in Kerr County following devastating flooding. The president said he plans to visit Texas later this week.
While touring flood damage in North Carolina in January, Trump commented that “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away.” In Los Angeles, which was devastated by wildfires, Trump added: “I say you don’t need FEMA, you need a good state government.”
Cameron Hamilton, Trump’s former acting FEMA administrator, said during a congressional hearing in May that he opposed abolishing the agency. The Department of Homeland Security later announced that Hamilton was being replaced as the head of FEMA.
— Zac Anderson
Report: Granddaughters of ex-Detroit Free Press publisher among killed
The twin granddaughters of David Lawrence Jr., the former publisher of the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, were among the dozens killed during massive flooding in Central Texas, he told the Miami Herald.
The girls, both 8 years old, and their sister, 14, attended Camp Mystic in Kerr County, the newspaper reported Sunday. Officials said earlier in the day that ten campers and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp at the edge of the Guadalupe River, remain unaccounted for.
“It has been an unimaginable time for all of us,” Lawrence told the Herald. “Hanna and Rebecca gave their parents, John and Lacy, and sister, Harper, and all in our family, so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten.”
— Charles A. Ventura
Residents urged to remain vigilant amid ongoing risk of flooding
The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management urged residents to remain vigilant amid the dangers of ongoing flooding. The agency said the county was under a flood watch through 10 p.m. local time on Sunday and advised motorists not to drive past barricades or through water flowing over a road.
The county confirmed on Sunday that two people died due to flooding. The first victim, identified as 22-year-old Kaitlyn Swallow, was recovered late Saturday by the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.
Following another day of searching, the county said the body of another person was recovered and one person was still missing.
“My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones in the devastating floods over the holiday weekend,” County Judge Steven Snell said in a statement. “We have a long way to go in this recovery phase, but I know Williamson County is a caring and resilient community. The outpouring of support from the public to those impacted is humbling.”
Trump plans Texas visit after flooding devastation
Trump said he expects to visit Texas later this week after catastrophic flooding caused extensive death and destruction in the state.
“Probably on Friday,” Trump told reporters on Sunday when asked about visiting the state. “We wanted to leave a little time. I would’ve done it today, but we’d just be in their way.”
Earlier on Sunday, Trump signed a major disaster declaration for hard-hit Kerr County.
— Zac Anderson
Kerr County officials continue search and rescue operations
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said search and rescue operations continued on Sunday with a “full response from local, state, and national first responders.”
“We continue to have hundreds of officers, deputies, and support staff working every aspect of this emergency, along with air, water, K9, and other assets conducting search and rescue,” the sheriff’s office said in an update Sunday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office noted that there was additional rain in the upper Guadalupe basin, leading to a rise in Johnson Creek that may result in a rise of 1 to 2 feet downstream when it enters the Guadalupe River in the small city of Ingram.
As of 1:30 p.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said authorities recovered 68 bodies in Kerr County, including 40 adults and 28 children. Eighteen adults and 10 children are pending identification.
“We continue to offer our condolences to those affected, and we are working tirelessly to reunite families,” the sheriff’s office said. “We know there are many people concerned and affected by this tragic situation.”
Gov. Abbott warns of dangers for the next 24 to 48 hours
Abbott and other state emergency officials held Sunday’s news conference in the city of Austin due to the deadly storms that have swept across central Texas and more expected storms that will “pose life-threatening danger over the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The governor advised the public to remain “extraordinarily” cautious and follow safety guidelines as heavy rainfall and additional flash flooding were expected across the Concho Valley and near Kerrville.
“If you’re in any of those regions, you need to realize, for one, you’re in an area that is already saturated with water,“ he added. “But for another, when more water comes down, it could lead to rapid flash flooding events. Now, there’s nothing expected at this time to the magnitude of what was seen in Kerrville. That said flash flooding can occur at lower levels of water than what happened in Kerrville.”
Authorities search for missing people
Texas officials urged the public and residents to contact local authorities to provide name identification and other information about a person who is suspected to be missing.
The missing included two people each in Williamson and Burnet counties, near Austin, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin. The two people missing in Burnet County were identified as Michael Phillips, chief of the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department, and a 17-year-old girl.
Major General Thomas Suelzer, with the Texas Military Department, said the department conducted a total of 525 rescues or evacuations, including 366 by air and 159 by ground, as of Sunday afternoon.A community ravaged: In Texas Hill Country, deluge leaves a heartbreaking toll
Warnings for deadly Texas flash flooding came with little time to act
For the meteorologists and hydrologists tracking the weather patterns that led to the deadly Independence Day floods in the Texas Hill Country, the most urgent advisories weren’t deployed until it was almost too late, according to interviews and advisories.
Forecasters said they pushed out warnings as fast as they got the data. But the hilly terrain and the trickiness of predicting flash floods made forecasting — and alerting communities along the Guadalupe River in real time — particularly challenging.
“This is a problem that we are constantly trying to work on: how to better communicate,” Greg Waller, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service’s West Gulf River Forecast Center in Fort Worth, told USA TODAY. “We can issue the best forecast in the world, but if it’s not put in the hands of the individuals so they can make the best decision, that forecast has little value.” Read more here.
– Rick Jervis
Flood survivor: ‘I could see the water coming in’
Keri Patton awoke to the sound of water crashing through her San Angelo home. Seemingly without warning, 18 feet of floodwater quickly enveloped her house on the morning of July Fourth after the Lake View area saw a record-breaking 14 inches of rainfall in only a few hours.
“I could see the water coming in, gushing from every direction,” Patton told the San Angelo Standard-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. “I was like, ‘I gotta get out.’ Everything was underwater. And when I left, I couldn’t get the gate open from the water. When we finally got my truck out, (water) was up to the bottom of the doors.”
Before Patton escaped, she called her sister Laura Debusk, who lives in Clovis, New Mexico. She found shelter at a nearby friend’s house while Debusk made the five-hour drive to San Angelo.
When Debusk arrived at Patton’s house, the water level had reached its maximum height. The house was partially submerged in 4 to 5 feet of water.
“I’ve helped her build her dream house, and this is what it is,” Debusk said. “This is her life, and I’m doing everything I can to give it back to her.”
— Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times
FEMA offers disaster assistance to Texas flood victims
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced disaster assistance for those who’ve been impacted by flooding in Kerr County.
The federal agency said assistance includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and low-cost loans, among other programs. The announcement came after President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, the epicenter of the violent flash floods.
Trump said in June that he plans to phase out FEMA after the hurricane season and floated eliminating the agency. He has criticized the agency as being ineffective and said he wants it to “give out less money” to states responding to natural disasters.
George W. Bush says he’s ‘heartbroken’ over deadly Texas floods
Former President George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, are “heartbroken by the loss of life and the agony so many are feeling.”
“Those who have lost their precious children are facing a grief no parents should ever know,” Bush, a former Texas governor, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the first responders and volunteers who are working to find the missing and comfort the grieving at Camp Mystic and along the Guadalupe. We know our words cannot help, but we believe the prayers of so many Americans will.”
Former first lady Laura Bush reportedly worked as a counselor at Camp Mystic while she was a student at Southern Methodist University, according to Texas Monthly.
Flash flood advisories and warnings abound as Texas faces more rain
Millions in central Texas were under flash flood advisories as forecasters warned of several more inches of rain, including in hard-hit parts of the state. The weather alerts stretched from San Antonio to the Fort Worth area.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service said flood watches have been extended until 10 p.m. local time in parts of Hill Country and the I-35 corridor as they anticipate widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches. The agency warned that excessive runoff may result in dangerous flash flooding of low-lying areas, rivers, creeks, and low water crossings.
The weather service in Austin and San Antonio advised the public to have multiple methods to receive warnings. Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the agency said scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms were expected with the heaviest activity located over the Hill Country.
The agency said in an update at 8 p.m. that thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall continued to push across the I-35 corridor.https://e.infogram.com/_/3ObsmkATgdrLU8ObzfiJ?src=embed#async_embed
Congressman says his granddaughters’ cousin died in Camp Mystic flood
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Georgia, said his granddaughters’ cousin died in the flooding that tore through Camp Mystic over the weekend.
Carter said in a post on X that his granddaughters were at the popular all-girls summer camp when the nearby Guadalupe River rose nearly 30 feet on Friday.
His granddaughters managed to escape, but their cousin, Janie, did not survive, Carter said.
“My granddaughters lost their cousin, Janie, and many other families are grieving loved ones,” he said. “Please join me in prayers for Texas. We must ensure that they have the resources they need to find those still missing and save lives.”
How many people have died in the Texas flooding?
Below are the latest numbers of reported fatalities from state and local officials across central Texas.
- Kerr County – 68 deaths
- Travis County – 5 deaths
- Burnet County – 3 deaths
- Kendall County – 2 deaths
- Williamson County – 2 deaths
- Tom Green County – 1 death
Trump signs disaster declaration for Kerr County after deadly floods
Trump said in a statement Sunday that he signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, unlocking federal funding that the president says will ensure first responders “immediately have the resources they need.”
“These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social. “The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders.”
He also praised the U.S. Coast Guard, which, together with state first responders, has rescued more than 850 people in central Texas since the disastrous flooding began. “GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!” Trump said.
Beloved soccer coach, wife among dead; their children remain missing
Reece Zunker, the coach of a high school boys soccer team in Kerrville, and his wife, Paula, are among the dozens killed in the flooding that has ravaged central Texas. Their two children are reportedly missing.
The Tivy High School soccer team said in a statement that it was “heartbroken with the loss of our leader and inspiration.”
“Coach Reece Zunker was not just a soccer coach, he was a mentor, teacher and a role model for our Kerrville kids,” the statement said, crediting him with rebuilding the school’s soccer program. “His passion for his players, students, co-workers, community and his family will never be forgotten.”
Multiple local news outlets reported that the family’s two children are still missing. The family was spending Independence Day weekend at a house on the Guadalupe River between Camp La Junta and Camp Mystic, according to the Kerrville Daily Times.https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?
San Angelo resident recalls waking up to record-breaking flooding
Luis Maldonado heard rain around midnight Friday in San Angelo and thought nothing of it. But around 4 a.m., the father of three woke up and realized water was seeping through the family’s new carpet.
“I turn on the light, and I just hear a squishing as I keep stepping,” Luis told the San Angelo Standard-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. “I turn on more lights, and I just see water all over the ground.”
Luis immediately woke up his wife. Then he opened his front door and saw a wall of water rushing through the neighborhood. Maldonado, whose truck and minivan were also flooded in the deluge, was one of many people filling out relief paperwork at a church in the west-central Texas city of San Angelo.
Local officials said over 12,000 homes have been damaged in the flooding, and one death in San Angelo has been tied to the storm.
– Ronald W. Erdrich and Trish Choate, San Angelo Standard-Times
Pope Leo XIV offers condolences to families of flood victims
Pope Leo XIV issued a statement on social media offering his condolences to the families of those killed in the historic Texas flooding.
“I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States,” the pope wrote on X. “We pray for them.”
Leo, who was elected as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in May, is the first U.S.-born pontiff.
Abbott visits ‘ravaged’ Camp Mystic, vows to find missing children
Abbott said on X that he visited Camp Mystic and the nearby Guadalupe River and was stunned by the devastation.
The girls’ camp was “horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster,” the governor said late Saturday, adding: “The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking.”
Abbott, who issued a disaster declaration for nearly two dozen Texas counties, said: “We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins.”
New bouts of rain could worsen deluge, trigger new flooding
More rain was expected to fall Sunday across the Texas Hill Country, threatening to trigger new floods and worsen the deluge in the devastated, rain-soaked region.
The National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio said flood watches were extended into Sunday when 2 to 4 inches of rain were expected to fall across parts of the region. Some isolated areas could see as much as 10 inches of rain.
“Any additional heavy rain will lead to flash flooding where it occurs and downstream,” the weather service said.https://e.infogram.com/_/LX63LAohHgQq2P1LOGTg?src=embed#async_embed
Rescue crews focus on missing campers
Rescue crews worked feverishly at the site of Camp Mystic. The camp had 700 girls in residence at the time of the flood, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Nick Sorter, a member of the volunteer rescue group United Cajun Navy, told CNN that “there was nowhere for these kids to go. The buildings were washed out, just carved out from the inside.”
Elinor Lester, 13, told the Associated Press the camp “was completely destroyed. A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”
Where is Texas Hill Country? A rolling grassland with history of floods
The National Weather Service in San Antonio said the risk of flash flooding remains in Hill Country, a low-lying and flood-sensitive area of west-central Texas.
The region stretches over 11 million acres across 18 counties in central Texas, according to the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network. It includes the cities of San Antonio and Austin, as well as extensive rural areas such as the site of the July Fourth flooding in Kerr County. The cities of Sonora, Fredericksburg, San Marcos, Bandera, and New Braunfels are also located within the region.
Texas Hill Country mainly sits atop the Edwards Plateau and is named for the area’s grassy rolling hills. Three rivers — the Colorado, Nueces, and Guadalupe — run through the area. Friday’s devastating flash floods engorged the banks of the Guadalupe.
The area is known for being especially vulnerable to floods, earning it the nickname “flash flood alley,” and it has experienced several major flood events in the past two decades.
– Kathryn Palmer
‘It wasn’t slowing’: Witness recalls a torrent of water
Tonia Fucci, a Pennsylvania resident visiting her grandmother for the Independence Day weekend, woke early Friday to the sound of heavy rain “coming down in buckets.”
She heard something more ominous: loud, startling cracking noises.
“It’s indescribable, the sounds, of how loud they were, which turned out to be … the massive cypress trees that came down along the river,” she told Reuters.
Fucci, who was staying near the Guadalupe River, filmed on her phone a torrent of muddy water flooding the road to her grandmother’s house. She said she received National Weather alerts on her phone hours after the flood had already hit. She recalled residents running to their neighbors to help before rescue teams arrived.
“Something I’ve never seen before. You knew it was tragedy,” Fucci said. “It wasn’t slowing, it wasn’t slowing. And debris and furniture and RVs were coming down the river.”
Heartbreaking photos of devastation at camp
Photos inside the nearly century-old Camp Mystic revealed a horrifying picture of the devastation that unfolded.
Campers’ bunkbeds were caked in mud; bed sheets, clothing, and suitcases were jumbled about the rooms. One wall of a camp building had been ripped from the foundation.
One Camp Mystic camper, 8-year-old Sarah Marsh of Alabama, was confirmed among the dead, according to Mountain Brook, Alabama, Mayor Stewart Welch. Janie Hunt, 9, was also among the dead, The New York Times and CNN both reported.
Other campers were also reported dead by news outlets.
A beloved camp among Texas families
Generations of Texas families sent their daughters to Camp Mystic, a place where they formed lifelong friendships, former camper Clair Cannon told USA TODAY. Cannon’s mother and daughter both also attended.
Summer after summer, they’d take Highway 39 as it winds along the Guadalupe River until arriving at the grounds on the riverbank.
“What that area is like when it’s in its prime − when it’s not devastated like this − is probably one of the most serene and peaceful places that I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Cannon, a commercial and residential real estate agent in Dallas.
Another girls’ camp a few miles away from Mystic, Heart O’ the Hills, said on its website that co-owner Jane Ragsdale had died in the flood. The camp was not in session when the flooding hit, and officials said everyone else had been accounted for.
Why is Texas flooding so bad?
Texas Hill Country is no stranger to extreme flooding. In the rugged, rolling terrain it’s known for, heavy rains collect quickly in its shallow streams and rivers that can burst into torrents like the deadly flood wave that swept along the Guadalupe River on July Fourth.
The Guadalupe has flooded more than a dozen times since 1978, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the Independence Day flood is among the worst in its history.
Several factors came together at once – in one of the worst possible locations – to create the “horrifying” scenario that dropped up to 16 inches of rainfall in the larger region over July 3 to July 5, said Alan Gerard, a recently retired storm specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read more here.
− Dinah Voyles Pulver
How many people are still missing?
The sheriff’s office in Kerr County said more than 800 people had been evacuated or rescued from the region as floodwaters receded over the weekend.
Rice said “hundreds” have been rescued, but the number of missing is still a question mark. “Right now we’re kind of looking at this in two ways,” Rice said. “Call it the known missing, which is the 27 camp kids that are missing. We will not put a number on the other side because we just don’t know.”
Patrick also said up to 500 rescue workers were searching for an unknown number of missing people, including some who had come to the area for an Independence Day celebration along the river.
“We don’t know how many people were in tents on the side, in small trailers by the side, in rented homes by the side because it was going to be the Fourth of July holiday,” he said on Fox & Friends Weekend.
San Angelo also swamped with floodwaters
The devastation extended beyond Kerrville. About 150 miles away, the community of San Angelo and surrounding Tom Green County were hit with a record-breaking 14 inches of rain.
Police discovered the body of Tanya Burwick, 62, on Saturday, several blocks from her SUV, which was engulfed in 12 feet of water during Friday’s flood, San Angelo police said.
“Our hearts are heavy as we extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Burwick’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” police said in the media release. “The San Angelo Police Department stands with the entire community in mourning this tragic loss.”
− Trish Choate
Were there any warnings before the flooding?
The extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, Rice said, precluding authorities from issuing advance evacuation orders.
State emergency management officials had warned as early as Thursday that west and central Texas faced heavy rains and flash flood threats, citing National Weather Service forecasts ahead of the holiday weekend.
The forecasts, however, “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told a news conference Friday night.
