LIVE ABOVE: Authorities in Travis County, Texas, to give update after devastating flooding.
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — The grueling, desperate search for 27 missing girls stretched into a third day on Sunday after raging floodwaters surged into a summer camp as rescuers maneuvered through challenging terrain, while Texans were asked to pray that any survivors would be found.
At least 51 people, including 15 children, were killed, with most of the deaths coming in Kerr County in the state's Hill Country. Besides the 43 dead in Kerr County, four deaths were reported in Travis, three in Burnet and one in Kendall.
Rescuers dealt with broken trees, overturned cars and muck-filled debris in a difficult task to find survivors. Authorities still have not said how many people were missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered.
With each passing hour, the outlook became more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing who drove to the disaster zone began searching the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, second from front left, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, second from right, visit Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)A Sheriff's deputy pauses while combing through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)Onlookers walk along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Louise Hays Park, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez)Campers embrace after arriving to a reunification area as girls from Camp Waldemar, near the North fork of the Guadalupe River, are reconnected with their families after heavy rainfall in Central Texas, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)A Texas Department of Public Safety official, bottom left, combs through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)A Sheriff's deputy pauses while combing through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)People look at debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)A plush toy sits on the ground outside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 27 people -- with more rain on the way. "So far, we've evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time. Of these 27, 18 are adults, nine are children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha on July 5. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)A Camp Mystic sign is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area in Hunt, Texas, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)A view of Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 27 people -- with more rain on the way. "So far, we've evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time. Of these 27, 18 are adults, nine are children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha on July 5. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)A view inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)Flooding at Cold Springs Hollow in the Travisso neighborhood in Leander, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (KXAN Photo/Grace Reader)Flooding washed out part of FM 1431 in western Travis County on July 5, 2025. (KXAN Photo/Eric Henrikson)San Gabriel River on July 5, 2025 (Credit: Amanda Ondrey)Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made.
The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as flash flood watches remained in effect and more rain fell in central Texas on Sunday.
Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours.
A day of prayers in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state.
"I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,” he said in a statement.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. History’s first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, “I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.”
The hills along the Guadalupe River are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the Independence Day holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing.
“We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said earlier.
Harrowing escapes from floodwaters
Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics inside their homes, praying the water wouldn’t reach them.
At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs.
Families confirm multiple Camp Mystic campers, camp director did not survive deadly floodingAmong those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road.
Locals know the area as “ flash flood alley” but the flooding in the middle of the night caught many campers and residents by surprise even though there were warnings.
Warnings came before the disaster
The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger.
At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before ending their second summer session Thursday.
Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes the ravaged area, acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame.
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