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Donald Trump has suggested that Texans were given “a lot of warning” ahead of the devastating floods in the state.
“The way this happened, there was a very early warning – warned a day before, they warned even two days before,” the US president told his daughter-in-law, Fox News host Lara Trump, in an interview broadcast on Saturday night. “They warned four hours before. Maybe they should have had bells or something go off, but it’s pretty dangerous territory when you think of all the times that they’ve had this problem.”
“They were given a lot of warning,” he added. “But it was late at night, and people were sleeping. Some people heard the warning and they got out. They were able to get to higher land.”
Mr Trump’s comments come after Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives.
ThGuadalupe River swelled to record levels on 4 July, inundating campsites and homes.
The system, which costs nothing, was implemented in place of an expensive siren system that county officials reportedly could not obtain funding for.
At least 129 people have died in the catastrophe, and more than 160 people are still missing a week later.
FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show
Federal regulators repeatedly granted appeals to remove Camp Mystic’s buildings from their 100-year flood map, loosening oversight as the camp operated and expanded in a dangerous flood plain in the years before rushing waters swept away children and counsellors, a review by The Associated Press has found.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency included the prestigious girls’ summer camp in a “Special Flood Hazard Area” in its National Flood Insurance map for Kerr County in 2011, which means it was required to have flood insurance and faced tighter regulation on any future construction projects.
That designation means an area is likely to be inundated during a 100-year flood – one severe enough that it only has a 1 per cent chance of happening in any given year.
Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley, Camp Mystic lost at least 27 campers and counselors and longtime owner Dick Eastland when historic floodwaters tore through its property before dawn on 4 July.
The flood was far more severe than the 100-year event envisioned by FEMA, experts said, and moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system.
But Syracuse University associate professor Sarah Pralle, who has extensively studied FEMA’s flood map determinations, said it was “particularly disturbing” that a camp in charge of the safety of so many young people would receive exemptions from basic flood regulation.
“It’s a mystery to me why they weren’t taking proactive steps to move structures away from the risk, let alone challenging what seems like a very reasonable map that shows these structures were in the 100-year flood zone,” she said.
Camp Mystic did not respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment and the agency said calls to it rang unanswered. The camp has called the flood an “unimaginable tragedy” and added in a statement Thursday that it had restored power for the purpose of communicating with its supporters.
Associated Press13 July 2025 13:16
Heavy rain continues in parts of Texas
Heavy rain is continuing to lash parts of Texas as authorities continue to search for the more than 160 people who remain missing a week after the catastrophic flooding.
The National Weather Service said heavy rain is hitting the northern Llano and Burnet counties, but was slowly moving southeast.
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 12:45
States send in support for Texas
Texas governor Greg Abbott has thanked several states for sending in state troopers and dog teams to aid the search effort.
“Our ongoing recovery operations are boosted by the support of other states,” he said on X.
Wisconsin sent in a K-9 team and a task force to help with the search, and Ohio deployed state troopers and another K-9 team.
North Dakota sent a remotely piloted aircraft and a pilot team to bolster the search effort on the ground.
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 12:15
Texas governor says response teams are ready for further heavy rain
Texas governor Greg Abbott says the state is ready to respond to further flooding as more heavy rainfall is forecast for Sunday.
Sharing a map showing what areas in Texas can expect excessive rainfall, Abbott said: “This is what to expect from late tonight through morning hours. We have response teams ready in the event of any flooding.”
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 11:45
Food watch alert issued for Kerr County
A food watch alert has been issued for Kerr County with further flooding of the Guadalupe river expected.
The National Weather Service issued the alert for Sunday, warning that heaving rain could lead to further flooding.
“Locally heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding across portions of south central Texas. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated amounts 9 to 12 inches are possible,” the service said.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”
The weather service said moderate flooding is forecast for the Guadalupe River at Hunt from Sunday morning.
“The river will rise above flood stage this morning to 14.6 feet this afternoon. It will then fall below flood stage this evening to 9.2 feet just after midnight tonight,” the service said.
The flood watch is also in place for the following counties: Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Comal, Edwards, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Kinney, Llano, Medina, Real, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde and Williamson.
The Guadalupe River is forecast to flood again today (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 11:14
Rosie O’Donnell hits back after Trump threatens to revoke her citizenship over Texas response criticism
Rosie O’Donnell fired right back at President Donald Trump after he threatened to revoke her U.S. citizenship after she criticized the administration’s handling of the texas flooding disaster.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he might revoke talk show host’s U.S. citizenship after she criticized his administration’s handling of weather forecasting agencies in the wake of the deadly Texas floods, the latest salvo in a years-long feud the two have waged over social media.
“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, invoking a deportation rationale the administration has used in attempts to remove foreign-born protesters from the country.
In a blistering response to his threat, she called him “King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan,” a reference to a much-hated, sadistic, authoritarian character from Game of Thrones.
Read her full reaction here:
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 10:47
How to help victims of the Texas floods
As authorities and volunteers continue to search for the missing in the floods, here are some ways to help, even from a distance:
Donate to help displaced pets
Non-profit shelter Austin Pets Alive! says it needs monetary donations to support displaced pets.
Kerrville and Kerr County need money
The Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce has set up a rebuilding and recovery fund here.
Give a meal
Restaurateur José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen is on the ground helping to provide meals to grieving and displaced neighbors.
They are specifically supporting the Camp Mystic community. You can donate to their efforts here.
Julia Musto13 July 2025 10:17
Watch: Animals impacted by deadly Texas floods get private flight to safety to find new homesHundreds of Texas pets rescued following deadly floods
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 09:47
Texas floods mapped: All the affected areas
A week after catastrophic flash floods swept through Central Texas, first responders are still sifting through debris to find the missing and recover the dead.
At least 129 people, including 36 children, have been killed following torrential downpours that began Thursday (July 3), causing the Guadalupe River to burst its banks in the early hours of July 4, rising by 20 feet in roughly 95 minutes. At least a further 160 remain missing, with officials fearing the death toll could soar.
Maps reveal the devastation seen in Kerr County, where authorities revealed 36 children were among the 103 victims in the flood-ravaged county.
Read the full story below:
Rachel Clun13 July 2025 09:21
Texas leads nation in flood deaths due to geography, size and population
Even before the Central Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, the state was by far the leader in US flood deaths due partly to geography that can funnel rainwater into deadly deluges, according to a study spanning decades.
From 1959 to 2019, 1,069 people died in Texas in flooding, which is nearly one-fifth of the total 5,724 flood fatalities in the Lower 48 states in that time, according to a 2021 study in the journal Water. That’s about 370 more than the next closest state, Louisiana.
Flooding is the second leading weather cause of death in the country, after heat, both in 2024 and the last 30 years, averaging 145 deaths a year in the last decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Tara Cobham13 July 2025 08:38