Dozens dead after flash flood hits Texas summer camp

Among the hardest-hit areas was Camp Mystic, a historic Christian girls camp near Hunt, Texas. Camp officials confirmed that 27 campers and counselors were swept away when the Guadalupe River rose rapidly during the early morning hours.

Kerr County officials reported 84 bodies recovered, including 28 children, with 11 still missing. The camp, nestled along a riverbend in the flood-prone Hill Country, was caught off guard as water surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Survivors described being pulled from cabins by raging waters or rescued by helicopter from elevated areas known as “Senior Hill.”

Authorities said 19 other deaths occurred in nearby counties, bringing the total to 104. Debris along the riverbanks included mattresses, canoes, and children’s belongings — signs of the sudden disaster.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said an investigation will follow: “We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things... once we can get the search and rescue complete.”

Search teams, aided by over 1,000 volunteers, continue to comb through the wreckage. Officials are reviewing why some camps failed to evacuate despite early weather warnings. Poor cellphone coverage in rural areas may have delayed alerts.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz stated that recent budget cuts to the National Weather Service did not delay warnings. “There will be a time to find out what could have been done differently,” he said. “My hope is in time we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood.”

President Donald Trump, who signed a federal disaster declaration, said: “This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it.”

Earlier, it was reported that up to 80 people had died and more than 40 remained missing as of Sunday, three days after hours of heavy rain triggered devastating flash floods in the south-central U.S. state of Texas.