90 Dead, 41 Missing In Texas Floods

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At least 90 people are dead and another 41 missing – including eleven young girls from a Christian summer camp – in the aftermath of devastating flash flooding that tore through the Texas Hill Country over the Independence Day weekend.

Caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry – which embedded itself in a mid-level trough loaded with moisture from the Pacific – the twin system stalled over central Texas and pummeled the area with precipitation, producing widespread flash flooding and near-record surges in river levels.

The Guadalupe River – which runs 230 miles from Kerr County to the Gulf of America – rose more than ten feet in one hour near Hunt, Texas. Further downstream, it rose more than thirty feet in just under ninety minutes in Kerrville, Texas – and more than thirty feet in two hours in Comfort, Texas.

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These rapid rises in river levels created massive walls of water which did catastrophic damage to broad swaths of the Hill Country. Compounding the damage? The worst of the flash flooding commenced during the early morning hours – when those in the affected areas (including hundreds of children attending summer camps along the banks of the Guadalupe) were fast asleep.

Local, state and federal responders have worked tirelessly throughout the weekend – on the ground, in the air and on the water – to locate survivors. According to the Texas Military Department (TMD), through late Sunday (July 6, 2025) an estimated 520 people had been rescued – including 361 airlifted by UH-60 Black Hawks and another 159 rescued on the ground.

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Update: The Texas Military Department's rescue operations have resulted in the successful recovery of 520 individuals. These efforts included 361 air evacuations conducted with UH-60 Black Hawks and 159 ground rescues employing various vehicles and assets. pic.twitter.com/gAbBtUwvKO

— Texas Military Dept. (@TXMilitary) July 6, 2025

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Troopers with Texas’ Department of Public Safety (TDPS) were also combing through debris in an effort to find survivors.

“DPS troopers continue recovery and rescue operations in Kerr County,” Texas governor Greg Abbott noted. “They have been working day and night. We will not stop until every missing person is found.”

Abbott’s office added that Texans “should remain weather aware as heavy rain threats continue” across the region.

“The next two days could pose public safety threats due to heavy rain,” Abbott said. “It’s crucial that Texans remain vigilant.”

Dubbed “Flash Flood Alley,” this part of Texas is no stranger to deadly storms. Flooding in 1998 claimed 31 lives – and just three weeks ago flooding in San Antonio claimed 13 lives.

“The region is prone to flash floods because of its steep terrain, shallow soil and unusually high rainfall rates,” noted the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).

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Most of the fatalities associated with the Independence Day flooding occurred in Kerr County – including the deaths of numerous campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp located on the Guadalupe River.

“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” a statement from the camp noted. “We are praying for them constantly.”

Camp leaders “have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls,” the statement added.

Speculation has swirled that cloud seeding may have played a role in the Independence Day flooding – specifically the activities of California-based Rainmaker Technology.

Company leaders rebuked those allegations.

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“Rainmaker did not operate in the affected area on the 3rd or 4th or contribute to the floods that occurred over the region,” company CEO Augustus Doricko posted on X. “The last seeding mission prior to the July 4th event was during the early afternoon of July 2nd, when a brief cloud seeding mission was flown over the eastern portions of south-central Texas, and two clouds were seeded. These clouds persisted for about two hours after seeding before dissipating between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. CDT.”

Meanwhile, mainstream media coverage of the tragedy centered around cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS), which has been criticized for its warning system. NWS released the following timeline of its notifications related to the storm system, noting it provided twelve hours of advance notice via flood watches and three hours of advance notice via flood warnings:

• The National Water Center Flood Hazard Outlook issued on Thursday July 3rd morning indicated an expansion of flash flood potential to include Kerrville, TX and surrounding areas.
• A Flood Watch was issued by NWS Austin/San Antonio at 1:18PM CT on Thursday, in effect through Friday morning.
• The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) issued three Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions for the excessive rainfall event as early as 6:10PM CDT Thursday indicating the potential for Flash Flooding.
• The National Water Center Area Hydrologic Discussion (AHD) #144 issued at 6:22 PM CDT on 7/3/2025 messaged locally considerable flooding for areas north and west of San Antonio, including the city of Kerrville.
• The first Flash Flood Warning for the event was issued at 11:41 PM CDT Thursday for Bandera County.
• At 1:14 AM CDT Friday: Flash Flood Warning with a considerable tag was issued for Bandera and Kerr Counties. Flash Flood Warnings with the Impact-Based Warning tags “Considerable” or “Catastrophic” denote high-damage threats and automatically trigger Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) on enabled mobile devices, ensuring only the most life-threatening flash flood events prompt urgent public notifications. All alerts are also sent out over NOAA Weather Radio.
• First reports from Kerr County Sheriffs Office of flooding at low water crossings had 201 minutes of lead time (4:35 AM CDT).
• Flash Flood Warning was upgraded to a Flash Flood Emergency for South-central Kerr County, Including Hunt, as early as 4:03 AM Friday.
• The 5:00 AM CT July 4th National Water Center Area Hydrologic Discussion #146 included concern for widespread considerable flooding through the day. The Flood Hazard Outlook was also upgraded to considerable and catastrophic.
• Flash Flood Emergency issued for the Guadalupe River at 5:34 AM CDT.

“The mainstream media is deliberately lying about the events leading up to the catastrophic flooding in Texas,” a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) noted. “The National Weather Service executed timely, precise forecasting and warnings, despite unprecedented rainfall overwhelming the region.”

U.S. president Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County “to ensure that our brave first responders immediately have the resources they need.”

“These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”

Trump is scheduled to visit Kerr County later this week, although the White House has yet to release an itinerary for his visit.

Count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised of any new developments related to this tragedy…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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