Texas flooding updates: Over 130 dead as flash flood threat increases in Texas

Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths.

Last Updated: July 14, 2025, 12:47 AM EDT

Over 130 people are dead from the devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths, including 36 children. President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration for the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the ground there.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Jul 10, 2025, 8:53 AM EDT

All campers survive at Camp La Junta

All campers from the all-boys Camp La Junta survived and are safe, officials from the Kerr County camp said.

"We are profoundly grateful that every boy at Camp La Junta is safe, yet our hearts are heavy," camp owners and directors Scott and Katie Fineske said in a statement. "We grieve with the families of the Camp Mystic girls and with everyone affected by this tragedy, including our dear friends, Dick Eastland and Jane Ragsdale."

An officer prays with a family as they pick up items at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, July 9, 2025.
Ashley Landis/AP

Ragsdale, the director of the Heart O' the Hills Camp for Girls, and Eastland, the longtime director of Camp Mystic, both died in the floods.

When the floodwaters crossed the camp's main field Friday morning, "our team moved cabin-by-cabin to higher ground and confirmed, through repeated headcounts, that every camper and staff member was accounted for," the Fineskes said. "The devastating news from Camp Mystic reached us later that morning, shaking our entire community."

"Our immediate priority is to support ongoing recovery and relief efforts," they said.

A woman inspects campers' belongings lying on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic, in Hunt, Texas, July 9, 2025.
Umit Bektas/Reuters

-ABC News’ Olivia Osteen

Jul 10, 2025, 6:08 AM EDT

Kerr County officials waited 90 minutes to send emergency alert after requested, dispatch audio shows

At 4:22 a.m. on Friday, as Texas' Hill Country began to flood, a firefighter in Ingram – just upstream from Kerrville – asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert nearby residents, according to audio obtained by ABC affiliate KSAT. But Kerr County officials took nearly six hours to heed this call.

"The Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39," the firefighter said in the dispatch audio. "Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?"

Flood waters left debris including vehicles and equipment scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas.
Eric Vryn/Getty Images

"Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor," a Kerr County Sheriff's Office dispatcher replied.

The first alert didn't come through Kerr County's CodeRED system until 90 minutes later. Some messages didn't arrive until after 10 a.m. By then, hundreds of people had been swept away by the floodwaters.

Read more here.

-ABC News' Maia Rosenfeld , Jared Kofsky and Laura Romero

Jul 09, 2025, 5:32 PM EDT

Abbott announces next legislative session will discuss improving early warning systems

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday released the planned agenda for an upcoming special legislative session.

Four of the 18 agenda items were related to devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country.

The flood-related agenda items included legislation to improve flood warning systems, flood emergency communications, relief funding for hill country floods and natural disaster preparation & recovery.

PHOTO: Governor Abbott gives updates after deadly flooding
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks with volunteers and residents at a press conference in the aftermath of deadly flooding in Hunt, Texas, U.S., July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
Sergio Flores/Reuters

"We delivered on historic legislation in the 89th Regular Legislative Session that will benefit Texans for generations to come," said Abbott. "There is more work to be done, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country. We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future."

Abbott’s Special Session to take place on Monday at 12:00 p.m. CT

Jul 09, 2025, 3:13 PM EDT

Kickoff meeting for Kerr County warning system project was planned for mid-July

A Kerrville-area river authority executed a contract last month for a flood warning system that would’ve been used to help with emergency response, local government officials said in response to a request by ABC News.

"An initial kickoff meeting was scheduled for mid-July," an unidentified spokesperson for the area’s Joint Information Center wrote.

What remains of the backside of a home is seen on the banks of the Guadalupe River on July 9, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A review of minutes of local government meetings shows that some county commissioners, sheriffs and other leaders have urged improved flood warning systems in the area for decades.

During a meeting on April 17, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to select a company to develop a flood warning system in Kerr County.

The contract was for “a centralized dashboard to support local flood monitoring and emergency response,” which would allow emergency managers to view real-time streamflow and rainfall data all on one platform, according to local officials.

PHOTO: People search along the Guadalupe River after flooding in Kerrville, Texas,  July 9, 2025.
People search along the Guadalupe River after flooding in Kerrville, Texas, July 9, 2025.
Gerald Herbert/AP

The system would not issue public alerts, but would serve as "a decision-support resource intended to complement existing infrastructure," officials said.

The spokesperson for the Joint Information Center told ABC News, "In light of recent events the timeline [of the new system] will be reevaluated."

-ABC News’ Jared Kofsky

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