Buried under tons of mud, debris and fallen trees, Texas remains in devastation as search operations for the missing continue at a slow pace following the catastrophic floods, hampered by the rugged and varied terrain of the affected area. The death toll has reached 120, while 173 people remain missing.
Read: USA: Donald Trump heads to Texas after deadly floods – Minimal chances for additional survivors
Catastrophic flooding in Kerr County, Texas has left 13 people dead and 23 girls missing from Camp Mystic. The Guadalupe River rose about 9 meters after 18 cm of rain. 500 rescuers and 40 helicopters deployed. A once-in-a-lifetime disaster. #Texas #flood #kerrville #alert #usa pic.twitter.com/3ZJFo0u2b0
— WeatherUpdateEU (@WeatherUpdateEU) July 4, 2025
Texas: Grief for 27 deaths at Camp Mystic Christian camp
Kerr County, which suffered the heaviest impact, mourns 95 deaths, including 36 children, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha.
Among them are 27 children and supervisors from a Christian girls’ camp, Camp Mystic, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River. There were 750 people present when the tragedy unfolded.
Five campers and one supervisor remain missing, according to Sheriff Leitha, who also noted that another child, not from the camp, is also missing.
Over 2,000 rescue team members, police officers and specialists have been deployed to the disaster site. Helicopters, drones and teams with specially trained dogs have also been participating in search operations for days.
Emphasizing the difficult conditions in which rescue teams are working, amid mud, uprooted vegetation and debris, Kerrville police officer Jonathan Lam said hundreds of people were saved and that the situation could have been “much” worse.
Police went “door-to-door” and “woke people up” in the early hours of Friday, in some cases “pulling them out of windows,” as their homes or trailers had already flooded, he explained.
The flash floods, caused by torrential rains in central Texas, occurred early Friday morning, July 4, when the Guadalupe River waters swelled by eight meters in just 45 minutes. Rainfall reached 300 millimeters per hour, one-third of the average annual precipitation.
Donald Trump travels to Texas after deadly floods
US President Donald Trump is traveling today, Friday July 11, to Texas, a state mourning after the deadly and sudden floods that caused at least 120 deaths. The visit comes amid intense criticism of the response from both the federal government and local authorities.
The Republican president and his wife, Melania, are expected to arrive in the affected area exactly one week after the tragedy, which unfolded on American Independence Day, July 4. Meanwhile, authorities continue to search for more than 170 missing persons.
The president’s visit is being recorded as questions become increasingly pressing regarding crisis management by local authorities and the impact of fiscal cuts promoted by the Trump administration on forecasting and warning services as well as emergency management.
Asked immediately after the disaster if he still intends to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Donald Trump replied that it was not the time to discuss this.
The Republican, who has repeatedly said that in case of disasters, state authorities should manage the situation, quickly signed an order declaring Texas a disaster area, enabling the mobilization of federal resources and funding.
“The Department of Homeland Security resources (…) are participating in unprecedented action alongside Texas rescue services,” Secretary Kristi Noem assured via X yesterday.
“The immediate disaster response was swift and effective,” she added, although CNN reported that FEMA search and rescue operations were delayed due to bureaucratic obstacles from new rules adopted by Secretary Noem to reduce spending.
The White House has already been forced to respond to criticism that fiscal cuts to the US National Weather Service have affected the reliability of both forecasts and warning bulletins.
Presidential spokesperson Caroline Levitt condemned those who blame President Trump and assured that the NWS made forecasts and issued emergency warning bulletins “accurately” and “timely.”
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said he was notified “around 4 or 5 in the morning” because calls were being made to emergency services.
According to state television network KSAT, a firefighter requested at 4:22 AM to send an emergency warning message, an “alert,” to cell phones of residents in the Hunt community, which was hit hardest, as Guadalupe River waters were rising rapidly to dangerous levels. However, according to the same source, the sheriff’s office asked the fire department to wait until approval was obtained from superiors.
The warning message was sent about 90 minutes later, around 6:00 AM, and some Hunt residents didn’t receive it until six hours later, according to KSAT, which partners with CNN and ABC News. Local authorities have avoided answering repeated questions about this.
Over 2,000 rescue team members, police officers and teams with specially trained dogs have been deployed to the disaster site. Helicopters, drones and teams with specially trained dogs have also been participating in search operations for days, although the chances of finding survivors are now considered virtually zero.
The last known rescue occurred on July 4, according to authorities.
