At least 43 people, including 15 children, have died after flash floods swept through the Texas Hill Country, officials said at a Saturday evening news conference. The fatalities occurred mainly in Kerr County, about 140 kilometres northwest of San Antonio, after rivers burst their banks before dawn on Friday.
Torrential rain—more than 30 centimetres in roughly 12 hours—sent the Guadalupe River surging about 26 feet (eight metres) in just 45 minutes. The sudden deluge washed away homes, vehicles and several long-standing summer camps. Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp with some 750 children on site, was "completely destroyed," and 27 of its campers remain missing, according to Kerrville’s city manager.
More than 850 people have been rescued, including over 160 airlifts by Coast Guard and state helicopters, while search teams using drones, boats and high-water vehicles continue combing debris-strewn riverbanks. Authorities warned that the casualty count could rise with dozens still unaccounted for and additional rain in the forecast.
Governor Greg Abbott expanded a state disaster declaration, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem travelled to the area after President Donald Trump pledged federal support. Local officials acknowledged that the region lacks an automated flood-warning system and said the volume of rain exceeded forecasts in a part of the state long known as “flash-flood alley.”
At least 43 people have died and dozens of children are missing in the Texas Hill Country after catastrophic flooding. Officials warn the casualty count will climb as forecasts call for more rain and the risk of further flash floods in the coming days.
