The death toll from flash floods in Texas has risen to 27, with nine children among the victims, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha. Rescuers are working tirelessly to locate over two dozen children still missing from a Christian summer camp. “So far, we’ve evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time,” Leitha said, adding that 18 adults and nine children were among the dead.
The Guadalupe River rose nearly nine meters (29 feet) near the Camp Mystic summer camp, where around 750 children were staying. Torrential downpours caused the fast-flowing river to surge, resulting in catastrophic flooding. According to Dalton Rice, city manager of nearby Kerrville, 27 attendees were still unaccounted for. “They are looking in every possible location,” Rice said, describing the harsh conditions faced by search crews scouring waterlogged rivers, culverts, and rocks.
Over 1,000 rescuers, including helicopters and drones, are assisting in search-and-rescue efforts. US Coast Guard helicopters have flown in to aid in the rescue operations. “They will continue in the darkness of night… They will be non-stop, seeking to find everybody who is unaccounted for,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The governor has signed a disaster declaration to boost resources in affected counties.
Authorities have faced scrutiny over whether they issued proper warnings and made sufficient preparations. State emergency management officials warned of heavy rains and flash flood threats, but the National Weather Service forecast did not predict the amount of rain that occurred. “A lot of questions are being asked about why there weren’t earlier evacuations,” said Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro. “They knew there might be rain, they just didn’t know where it would hit, and when it did, it indeed was catastrophic”.
US President Donald Trump has stated that the federal government is working with state and local officials to respond to the flooding. “Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem would soon be on the ground. The incident echoes a 1987 flood along the Guadalupe River, where 10 teenagers drowned trying to escape floodwaters.