Texas Floods Kill 51; Woman Survives 20-Mile Sweep in Guadalupe River

Severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country has left at least 51 people dead and 27 still unaccounted for, according to local authorities. The river rose roughly six metres in two hours after heavy rain early on 4 July, inundating rural communities in Kerr County and overrunning Camp Mystic, a long-established girls’ summer camp in Hunt.

Among the few confirmed survivors, 25-year-old Devyn Smith of Midland endured a 15- to 20-mile ordeal after floodwaters swept her family’s campsite near Kerrville downstream. Smith clung to a tree outside Center Point for several hours before a local resident heard her cries and alerted emergency crews, who removed her by boat and took her to hospital for treatment. Searches continue for her five missing relatives.

Helicopters, drones and ground teams are combing riverbanks and debris fields as officials race to locate the missing. Visiting the area, Governor Greg Abbott called the devastation unprecedented and said rescue operations will not pause “until every missing girl is found.”