Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas floods

Rescuers successful Texas raced against clip Sunday (July 6, 2025) to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept distant by flash floods that killed astatine slightest 78 people, with forecasters informing of caller deluges.

U.S. President Donald Trump said helium would "probably" sojourn the confederate authorities connected Friday (July 11, 2025).

The President brushed disconnected concerns his administration's wide-ranging cuts to upwind forecasting and related national agencies had near section informing systems worse-off.

Instead, Mr. Trump described the flash floods arsenic a "100-year catastrophe" that "nobody expected."

At slightest 40 adults and 28 children were killed successful the worst-hit Kerr County successful cardinal Texas, Sheriff Larry Leitha said, portion astatine slightest 10 much radical were killed by flooding successful adjacent areas.

"You volition spot the decease toll emergence today," warned Texas nationalist information main Freeman Martin astatine a property conference.

"Across the state, successful each the areas affected by flooding, determination are 41 known missing," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.

As questions grew astir wherefore warnings did not travel sooner oregon radical were not evacuated earlier successful the country fashionable with campers, Trump said the concern was a "Biden setup."

"That was not our setup," Mr. Trump told reporters connected Sunday, adding that helium would "not" prosecute backmost meteorologists erstwhile probed astir unit and fund cuts astatine the National Weather Service (NWS).

Asked astir whether helium would alteration his plans to signifier retired the Federal Emergency Management Agency, helium responded: "FEMA is thing we tin speech astir later."

Mr. Trump, who antecedently said catastrophe alleviation should beryllium handled astatine the state-level, besides signed a large catastrophe declaration that freed up resources for Texas.

Missing girls

In cardinal Texas, immoderate 17 helicopters joined the hunt for missing people, including 10 girls and a counsellor from a riverside Christian summertime campy wherever astir 750 radical had been staying erstwhile catastrophe struck.

In a terrifying show of nature's power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins successful Camp Mystic arsenic girls slept overnight Friday, washing distant immoderate of them and leaving a country of devastation.

Blankets, teddy bears and different belongings astatine the campy were caked successful mud. Windows successful the cabins were shattered, seemingly by the unit of the water.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened much flash floods implicit the saturated crushed of cardinal Texas.

Governor Abbott warned that dense rainfall could "lead to imaginable flash flooding" successful Kerrville and surrounding areas, arsenic officials warned radical against going adjacent the swollen stream and its creeks.

The flooding began astatine the commencement of the Fourth of July vacation play arsenic months' worthy of rainfall fell successful a substance of hours, overmuch of it coming overnight arsenic radical slept.

The Guadalupe surged astir 26 feet (eight meters) -- much than a two-story gathering -- successful conscionable 45 minutes.

Human-driven clime change

Flash floods, which hap erstwhile the crushed is incapable to sorb torrential rainfall, are not antithetic successful this portion of southbound and cardinal Texas, known colloquially arsenic "Flash Flood Alley."

Scientists accidental that successful caller years human-driven clime alteration has made utmost upwind events specified arsenic floods, droughts and vigor waves much predominant and much intense.

Officials said portion rescue operations were ongoing, they were besides starting the process of debris removal.

"There's debris each implicit the spot that makes roads impassable, that makes reconstruction projects unachievable," Abbott said.

People from elsewhere successful Texas converged connected Kerr County to assistance look for the missing.

Texans besides started flying idiosyncratic drones to assistance look but section officials urged them to stop, citing a information for rescue aircraft.

One of the searches focused connected 4 young women who were staying successful a location that was washed distant by the river. Adam Durda and his woman Amber, some 45, drove 3 hours to help.

"There was a radical of 20-year-olds that were successful a location that had gotten washed away," Durda told AFP. "That's who the household requested assistance for, but of course, we're looking for anybody."

Justin Morales, 36, was portion of a hunt squad that recovered 3 bodies, including that of a Camp Mystic miss caught up successful a tree.

"We're blessed to springiness a household closure and hopefully we tin support looking and find immoderate of the... you know, whoever," helium told AFP.

"Help springiness immoderate of those families closure. That's wherefore we're retired here."