At least 119 people have been confirmed dead and more than 160 remain missing after flash floods swept across Central Texas, devastating communities along the Guadalupe River and overwhelming youth summer camps, including Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and staff members lost their lives.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that the death toll could rise as rescue operations continued Wednesday with no new rescues reported in the hard-hit Kerr County region. "There could be more added to that list," Abbott said during a briefing.
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas, bore the brunt of the flooding. The Guadalupe River swelled more than 20 feet in 90 minutes early Friday, inundating cabins and sweeping away dozens. Five campers and one counselor are still unaccounted for. The Texas Department of State Health Services had approved the camp's emergency preparedness plan just two days before the floods struck.
"Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," Camp Mystic said in a statement. "We are praying for them constantly."
President Donald Trump signed a federal disaster declaration at Abbott's request and plans to visit Texas on Friday. "It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster," Abbott wrote after touring the scene. "We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins."
Most of the fatalities-at least 95-occurred in Kerr County, officials confirmed. Additional deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Williamson, and Tom Green counties. In Travis County, which includes Austin, at least seven deaths have been confirmed.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reported that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 223 people, including 165 saved by rescue swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskan in his first mission. "This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene," Noem wrote. "He is an American hero."
The flood was fueled by converging storms and residual moisture from former Tropical Storm Barry. Meteorologists said the rapid surge overwhelmed the area's already drought-parched soil, causing runoff to swell both the north and south forks of the Guadalupe River. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said the river rose from 7 to 29 feet within minutes, converging violently in town.
The National Weather Service originally forecast up to 8 inches of rain, but totals exceeded expectations. Flash flood emergencies were declared in five counties. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lost part of his own property, said, "We didn't know. We knew we'd get rain... but nobody saw this coming."
Among the victims were 8-year-old Linnie McCown of Austin; Chloe Childress, an 18-year-old counselor from Houston; and Dallas-area campers Eloise Peck, 8; Lila Bonner, 9; and Hadley Hanna, 8. Two Dallas sisters-Blair Harber, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11-also died while staying with their grandparents near the river.
Despite devastation at Camp Mystic, neighboring camps reported all campers safe. At Camp La Junta, brothers Braeden and Brock Davis survived by climbing to the rafters. "We had to get on the rafters," said 7-year-old Brock. Their mother, Keli Rabon, said she felt "a sense of survivor's guilt" knowing others were still searching for loved ones.
