13 Are Killed in Texas Flood, and 20 Girls From Summer Camp Are Missing

[dalton99a]

Last edited Sat Jul 5, 2025, 09:19 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/04/us/texas-floods-guadalupe-river/texas-flooding-kerr-county-san-angelo

At least 13 people were killed and frantic searches were underway for the missing — many of them children — after heavy rain in Central Texas set off deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River on Friday, authorities said.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters at an afternoon news conference that at least 20 girls from a summer camp along the river in Hunt, Texas, were missing after catastrophic flooding overnight.

Lisa Walter, a spokeswoman for Kerr County, northwest of San Antonio, said the number of fatalities confirmed Friday would grow. She declined to disclose further details until the victims’ relatives could be notified.

Throughout the region, torrential downpours prompted evacuation orders and water rescues as the churning river burst from its banks, rising at an alarming rate from seven feet at midnight in Hunt, Texas, to over 29 feet at 4 a.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Pic of an evacuation during the night:

[Emile]

1. OMG, horrible tragedy.

[sop]

2. Terrible. Any warnings issued? NYT article didn't mention if any advance warnings were given.

[herding cats]

9. At 4am NOAH sent a warning out to the cell phones in the area

It was the type that has the audible alarms and said there was an eminent flooding event taking place. The county had no warning system before that I was told. This was word of mouth from people there and I can't link a source. I'm sorry.

[uponit7771]

21. Right

[herding cats]

23. Yes, NOAA.

My phone did that for some reason. I apologize for missing it.

I, too, feel it was late. As a person who lives on a river (not the Guadalupe) in Texas and who got a warning exactly like the one sent out there at 4 am today for an impending flood which took place several hours later, I wasn't impressed with their warning.

However, the flood there took place extremely fast. It was by definition a flash flood, just one of epic and horrendous proportions. People involved will be blaming themselves for this loss of all those children's lives and I can't justify piling on.

I will say, I too wondered if the cut to staff at noaa played a part.

[Greg_In_SF]

3. Very

sad

[Lovie777]

4. Warning?....................

[malaise]

5. Horrible

What a tragedy

[karynnj]

6. Wow, I can't imagine parents who sent their kids to camp facing this

Back when my kids were preteens and teens, they went for many summers to the same camp in the Poconos. I think they all still have friends from there. I know we checked the camp out, visited it talked to local NJ people we knew. They could have just as diligently checked everything out.

This has to be a nightmare even for the families whose kids are ok.

I wonder if there was any impact yet on weather forecasting that could have prevented a warning that should have happened.

[Melon]

7. The water rose more than 20 feet in minutes

It’s many counties along the Guadalupe. I was heading down to Hunt to help but received a call from a friend that they are limiting searchers because the flooding is so bad. Rains continue. I had posted in other threads but erased them I was so disgusted at what people are posting on DU. They hate Texas so bad the children’s lives are just a part of the joke.

[evemac]

12. Growing up in Houston

I remember the roads flooding frequently, but my mother always told me the worst flash flooding she ever experienced was around San Antonio.
Thank you for your efforts to help.

[mwmisses4289]

14. It's even worse now, due to all the biuld up

around houston and several of the surrounding counties. We kinda joke now that there are areas that flood if you just whisper the word rain.

Hope those children and adults are found alive.

[JCMach1]

19. 15"+ of rain warnings were there i am sure, but that

Is torrential rain.

[summer_in_TX]

8. We have 5 girls and our director of youth ministries from our church in Kerrville at summer camp now.

They're all reported as safe but there's no way to get back home safely yet with all the flooded low water crossings. They were scheduled to leave at 2:30 today. I've been listening and I haven't heard that the Methodist Encampment there where they are, Mount Wesley, has been flooded. It's on a hill, thank goodness.

Kerr County is a beautiful area and apparently has many campgrounds in the county.

[Melon]

10. Yes. Beautiful rode down there

Cutting alongside some beautiful ranches with a number of summer camps in between.

[Exp]

11. 23 now missing. Warnings? Come on, it's the 21 century.

Link to tweet

[Igel]

17. A post 10 minutes before yours said there was a NOAA warning at 4 am.

So, yes, warning.

As for local warnings ... TX is big and a lot of it isn't all that heavily populated. Kerrville's not huge, 25k or so, and this was 6-12 miles west of that bustling metropolis near the burgeoning city of Hunt. The entire rural county is maybe 125k. Half the territory of Rhode Island with maybe 1/9th its population and nowhere near its tax base.

Cell phone alerts are as good as it gets.

[Exp]

25. Yes, at 4am. When the water was already 22 ft over average. I mean a warning before the rain started to come down. Some

-thing like "severe downpours will raise the river above flood level".

See comment # 23.

[pinkstarburst]

32. There were alerts sent out by phone

As for weather forecasts, locally it's been in the forecast for a few days as 20% chance of rain for 2 days and 10% chance of rain for 2 days.

In Central Texas, this almost always means, you aren't getting any rain at all. I just ignore 20%. In fact even when they say 50%, we usually don't get any rain. Sometimes they say 90% and we still don't get any rain! We call it the Austin rain dome.

The fact that it was predicted at 10 and 20% chance of rain and it turned into this crazy, horrible flash flood event with such a torrential amount of rain is shocking.

And yes, I blame them firing NOAA staff who could have better helped make predictions.

I am heartbroken for the children at that camp and their families. I do not blame the camp directors. This is a freak event and it was not being presented far in advance like this was even on the radar.

[herding cats]

33. This is true.

The forecast did not predict this event. This was a true flash flood, which people not familiar with drought, soil dryness and heavy sudden rains probably don't understand. This is why we need skilled, professional scientists on call to help mitigate events like this one when they suddenly develop.

Also, it's worth discussing how the county had no warning system, nor did the state. I'm not blaming Kerr County, but I am pointing out that the false claim that these matters can/should be dealt with on state and local levels is complete rubbish. The local funding simply does not exist and states such as Texas are far too corrupt to care about such trivial things as weather warning systems which actually work.

[BidenRocks]

13. Too Soon?

Climate change is a Democrat hoax. (Yeah right!)

Republican policies are contributing to a worsening climate. More unpredictable.
At least NOAA still worked, fwiw.
I hear they are also getting shuttered.

I hope they get FEMA help. Ask Arkansas about that.

[rubbersole]

15. I can't believe that was one of my thoughts when I saw Texas in the headline.

Now I've turned into a callous grumpy old man. Didn't want to be like that. This is a tragedy. Preventable.

[BidenRocks]

27. That's why I gave it a small case fwiw.

It wasn't worth much.

[mzmolly]

16. So sad.

[JCMach1]

20. This is normally the dry season in TX

[Texasgal]

24. Two girls were just found and rescued

by helicopter!

I hope they find more!!!!

[herding cats]

30. Omg! This is amazing news!

Yay!

[herding cats]

34. Here's a Twitter link to them being saved.

I apologize ahead of time but this was the only link I could find. It's true and that's the important part here!

Link to tweet

[LoisB]

26. Tragic. I can't imagine the horror and the pain the families must be going through.

[ananda]

28. I live 100+ miles west of there.

When my friend and I drove back to Austin from San Antonio
last night, it rained the whole way, but it was driveable.

Today it rained all day, but not too heavily.

I think the worst of it was to the west near the Guadalupe River.

It will rain again tomorrow, and then ease up and turn sunny.

Then it will be all hot and steamy for days.

[a kennedy]

29. Oh they're poor, who cares about them.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

31. One of my middle child's classmates used to go to this camp

Luckily, this classmate's children are too young to be attending camp.

My oldest and I used to attend boy scout camp near San Marcos. I can handle winter camp fine (won the BSA iceberg award five times) but summer camp in Texas can be brutal. I saw that one scout camp may have been affected.

[phylny]

35. I know flooding can be tricky to predict. We live in Virginia.

Last week, I think it was I was getting constant flood watch notices on my phone. When I say constant, yes, 4:00 in the morning constant and throughout the day.

[TheRickles]

36. Thank goodness FEMA will be able to - oh, wait....

[Melon]

37. Please watch this link. This is how quickly the water rose.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Dqs3r2wpR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[Jack Valentino]

38. 'Twenty girls from a Texas summer camp are "missing"???' *Could it be*

that they have been abducted by Republicans, "sex trafficked"
to a Trump-sponsored basement of a pizza parlor
to service the pedaristic lusts of the pro-Trump magats and Republicans and Paxton supporters ???


Hey, "just asking the question" here...