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At least 100 people have died, including more than two dozen campers and counselors from an all-girls Christian summer camp, in the floods that devastated central Texas over the July Fourth weekend.
The deluge that ripped through the Texas Hill Country is already considered one of the deadliest floods in the U.S. in the past 100 years. There remain concerns that more rain in the coming days could cause additional destruction. Rescue efforts continued Monday, July 7, under a fresh slate of flash flood warnings.
As The Associated Press reports, the Texas Hill Country is particularly prone to flash flooding, as the dry soil there isn’t able to soak up heavy rainfall. An early morning storm Friday, July 4, dropped 12 inches of rain that poured down the hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet in just 45 minutes.
The worst damage so far has been along the Guadalupe in Kerr County, northwest of San Antonio. On Monday, Sheriff Larry Leitha said that 48 adults and 27 children had died in the floods, adding that many of the deceased still needed to be identified.
Also on Monday, Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian summer camp, confirmed that 27 campers and counselors had died in the flooding. Ten campers and one counselor remain missing.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” the camp said in a statement. “We are praying for them constantly. 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.”
Additional deaths have been reported in Travis County, Burnet County, Kendall County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County. Many more remain missing.
Flood survivors have begun to ask why they didn’t receive sufficient flash flood warnings. While an initial flood watch alert was sent out by the National Weather Service on Thursday afternoon, July 3, it wasn’t until 4 a.m. on July 4 that an urgent warning was finally sent.
As The New York Times noted, several key positions at local NWS offices were vacant. That included the warning coordination meteorologist at the San Antonio office, who left in April after taking a retirement package offered by the Trump administration as part of their efforts to cut the number of federal employees.
Speaking with reporters Sunday night, President Trump dismissed the possibility that federal cuts played some role in hindering disaster response “They didn’t,” he said (via Reuters) before adding, “You look at that water situation, that was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup. But I wouldn’t blame Biden for it either; I would just say this is a hundred-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch.”
Trump has issued a major disaster declaration to assist with rescue and relief efforts. The president is expected to visit Texas later this week.
This article was updated at 6:11 p.m. with deaths rising to more than 100.
