Flash Flooding In Texas Kills 95

95 people, including 28 children, died in flash flooding over the July 4th weekend in central Texas due to heavy rains. 20 more are still missing after waters rose 20 feet in two hours, leaving residents in shock.

At 4 a.m. Friday (7/4/25), the National Weather Service issued a broad flood watch and warned of a “dangerous situation” in the area of South-Central Texas known to residents as “Flash Flood Alley.” This alert, telling people to seek higher ground, went unnoticed or was not followed by most residents. The flood waters forced evacuations on two river beds, the Guadalupe and the Colorado, although most deaths were along the Guadalupe, with 68 deaths in Kerr County alone. “I never knew it could do that,” Scott Walden, a resident of Kerr County who narrowly escaped with his life, said to a New York Times reporter.

Among the casualties are 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, where the cabins were located close to the riverbank. Coast Guard swimmer Scott Ruskin is credited with saving 165 people at the camp by swimming out to get them. “All these people are looking at you, terrified with a 1,000-yard stare. They want some sort of comfort, someone to save them,” said Mr. Ruskin. And people are coming. Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that rescue efforts would continue until everyone was found, but also acknowledged that the chances of finding people are going slimmer by the hour, and have not found anyone alive yet. The federal government has declared a disaster, allowing significant federal aid to the area.

In the meantime, officials are beginning cleanup efforts as people wonder why there was such a late warning, with only a few hours to spare. Experts currently put the blame on the National Weather Service, which was understaffed at the time, resulting in an uncoordinated response. Others say that it was caused by the lack of an advanced warning system, which was too expensive for most counties, including Kerr County, with only 50,000 people. “Taxpayers won’t pay for it,” a senior judge said. The cost would be $1,000,000, not to mention the county’s annual budget is $67,000. Instead, the warning was by word of mouth, a system set up between the many sites along the river. Upstream people warned those downstream of the rising water, and hoped that they’d see the message.

And it is not over yet. More rain is yet to come in the most affected areas, threatening further flooding.