Deadly flooding in Texas as Guadalupe River swells from heavy rains
Multiple people have died after massive flooding overwhelmed the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas.
Multiple fatalities have been confirmed and frantic water rescues and searches were underway Friday as a “catastrophic” flooding emergency unfolded in Texas on the Fourth of July, caused by heavy rains that overwhelmed the Guadalupe River.
At an afternoon news conference, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that six to 10 bodies had been found following the flood. He also said hundreds of people were on the ground doing search operations and that about 20 people were still unaccounted for from hard-hit Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County.
Authorities were still trying to identify the dead in Kerr County. Dozens of swift-water rescues had already been performed by late morning, and rescue operations were still underway in the afternoon in Kerrville, a city of 25,000 people about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Local news outlets reported that widespread searches were launched to find missing people, including children at a summer camp along the river.
“The immediate priority is saving lives,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a social media post. “We will not stop until everyone is accounted for.”
Abbott said he was “surging all available resources” to respond to the flooding in the Kerr County area, including water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard and the state’s Department of Public Safety.
“This has been a very devastating and deadly flood,” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a news conference as sirens sounded in the background. “When you look out your front door, and you see the Guadalupe River running, it’ll wake you up, let me tell you.”
Officials are still working to identify most of the people who died, Kelly said.
“This came at night, when people were asleep in bed,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said, visibly emotional. “Please pray for our community.”
“This is a catastrophic flooding event in Kerr County. We can confirm fatalities but will not release further information until next of kin are notified,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said. “The entire county is an extremely active scene.”
Residents were urged to shelter in place and not attempt to travel. Anyone along creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River should seek higher ground, the sheriff’s office said.
The area was under a flash flood warning and between 5 and 11 inches of rain had already fallen by about 9 a.m., the National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio said. Another 1 to 2 inches could fall before the rain threat dissipates later in the day, the weather service said.
“This is a very dangerous and life-threatening flood event along the Guadalupe River! Move to higher ground!” the weather service there said.
Earlier in the morning, the Guadalupe River at Hunt in western Kerr County had already reached the second-highest level on record at over 29 feet, surpassing levels of the 1987 Guadalupe River Flood at that spot, the weather service in Austin and San Antonio said. The 1987 flood killed 10 teenagers on a church camp bus and van on July 17 near Comfort, Texas.
In San Angelo, Texas, about 150 miles from Kerrville in the central part of the state, the weather service shared a photo of a flooded-out intersection with water reaching the level of road signs. The weather service office in San Angelo said it had received multiple reports of flooded roads and homes in Tom Green County, calling the conditions “life-threatening.”
West-central Texas will continue to see flooding into the weekend, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said on the afternoon of July 4.
A weather system across parts of Texas has “dropped several inches of rainfall across the region from Thursday night and this afternoon,” the prediction center said. “Saturated soils and river flooding make this area sensitive to more rainfall.”
“The forecast calls for locally heavy rainfall to persist into tomorrow (Saturday July 5).” A flood watch remained in effect through late in the day on July 4 for much of the region.
The weather service in San Antonio warned that “pockets of heavy rain are still possible and may result in flooding of low-lying areas, rivers/creeks, and low water crossings. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible across the flood watch area through the period. Can’t rule out up to 5 inches of rainfall over portions of the Hill Country through the flood watch period.”
The National Weather Service had placed Kerr County and other counties in the region under a flood watch ahead of the flooding on July 3, but Kelly said the extent of the flooding was a surprise.
“No one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said, adding that Kerr County doesn’t have a warning system that could have alerted residents the night of July 3.
“We deal with floods on a regular basis,” he said. “We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here.”
Officials in Comfort, Texas, issued mandatory evacuations for residents along the rapidly rising river, according to a post at about 8 a.m. local time.
“We regret to inform everyone that the flood situation in Comfort is not improving,” the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said in an update at 11 a.m. “We have sounded the flood sirens and urge all residents in low-lying areas of town to evacuate immediately.”
Residents were instructed to bring necessary documents, medications, clothing and important valuables with them as they escape to higher ground.
Police and firefighters in Kerrville were helping residents evacuate, with a reunification center set up at a local Walmart and a shelter at a church.
Herring, mayor of Kerrville issued a disaster declaration the morning of July 4. Fatalities and missing people have been reported in Kerr County with water rescues ongoing, the city of Kerrville said.
“Search and recovery efforts are ongoing and will increase as the waters recede,” the city said.
The city said it cancelled its Fourth of July celebration, “Fourth on the River.”
Kelly said in the late morning that authorities can’t confirm whether campers at an all-girls Christian summer camp in Hunt along the Guadalupe River are accounted for.
There were several camps affected in the area but Kelly said he didn’t have more information about them and advised worried parents to reach out to the camps for more information.
(This story was updated to include video.)