At least 104 people were declared dead and an unknown number was missing following the flash floods that swept across central Texas. The catastrophe has sparked outrage over the state’s preparedness and sluggish emergency response.
In Kerr County alone—home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps—search teams have recovered 84 bodies, including 28 children. Officials there confirmed 75 fatalities. A Christian all-girls summer camp reported that 27 campers and counselors were among those killed in the deluge, which struck with brutal speed and intensity.
“We’re seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down,” Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said
Governor Greg Abbott confirmed on Sunday that 41 people are still officially listed as missing across the state.
Emergency personnel are frantically trying to trace the missing and retrieve the dead. while fresh storms threaten to strike. The destruction is massive: homes and infrastructure have been reduced to rubble.
The flooding began in the early hours of Friday, catching entire communities off guard. Reports claim that the National Weather Service had issued a flood watch Thursday afternoon. However, an urgent warning didn’t go out until around 4 am Friday, reports added.
Nature doesn’t wait to unleash its fury. The Guadalupe River surged by 26 feet after more than a foot of rain fell overnight, all in less than an hour. Survivors described the horror as a pitch-black wall of death.
The soil of the Texas Hill Country failed to absorb the water. The region turned into a deadly torrent as a consequence.
Local authorities have admitted to serious communication failures, citing power outages and weak cell signals in rural areas as reasons for the lack of alerts.
“It will take a long time to clean up, let alone rebuild,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly.
Under mounting pressure, officials are now reviewing the state’s emergency alert systems, with plans to overhaul flood-warning protocols. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has announced he will visit the disaster-struck region on Friday.
King Charles III has written to Trump to express his “profound sadness” about the disaster.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Trump administration would “honor” the federal disaster declaration issued by Governor Abbott. Abbott also proclaimed Sunday a “day of prayer” as first responders continue their search for the missing campers.
Meanwhile, local campaigner Nicole Wilson has launched a petition demanding the installation of flood sirens in Kerr County—an alert system already used in neighbouring counties. Though the idea has been discussed in Kerr County for nearly ten years, funding for the sirens has yet to be approved.
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