Texas flood victims begin recovery as search for survivors continues
Bud Bolton told FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray he lost his home to the Central Texas flooding on July 4. He describes trying to help people being swept away on the Guadalupe River and his son finding the body of a child from Camp Mystic.
KERRVILLE, Texas – Hundreds of people are continuing to look for victims and possible survivors who were swept away when catastrophic flooding decimated communities across Texas’ Hill Country over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The disaster struck along Texas’ Guadalupe River after a “deadly flood wave” sent a 20-foot wall of water rushing downstream.
Hundreds of people are continuing to look for victims and survivors who were swept downstream when catastrophic flooding devastated communities across Texas’ Hill Country over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray joined first responders as they combed through the countless piles of debris along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville on July 8, 2025.
At least 110 people have been killed, and more than 160 remain missing. In hard-hit Kerr County, at least 87 deaths have been reported, including 30 children.
Those children were staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian, all-girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River.g
Now, as the search for those who are missing continues, residents are starting the heartbreaking recovery process.
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CENTER POINT, TEXAS – JULY 8: Clean up crews remove debris from the bank of the Guadalupe River on July 8, 2025 in Center Point, Texas. More than 160 people are still missing after deadly floods early Friday. Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending Camp Mystic. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
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CENTER POINT, TEXAS – JULY 8: A member of a search and rescue team checks debris for any survivors or remains of the deceased on the bank of the Guadalupe River on July 8, 2025 in Center Point, Texas. More than 160 people are still missing after deadly floods early Friday. Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending Camp Mystic. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
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KERRVILLE, TEXAS – JULY 8: Members from a recovery team hang out of the back of an armored sheriffs vehicle that is used to transport the remains of the deceased on July 8, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. More than 160 people are still missing after deadly floods early Friday. Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending Camp Mystic. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
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HUNT, TEXAS – JULY 8: A view of destruction after heavy rainfall overwhelmed the Guadalupe River, sending floodwaters roaring through homes and area summer camps in Hunt, Texas, United States on July 8, 2025. The death toll from flash floods in the US state of Texas has risen to 109, reported. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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INGRAM, TEXAS – JULY 8: Residents revisit the banks of the Guadalupe River after historic floodwaters recede Ingram, Texas, United States on July 8, 2025. The area was heavily impacted by recent flash floods that caused widespread damage and prompted large-scale rescue operations while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the death toll from the flooding now stands at 109 people and there are 161 people known to be missing in the Kerr County area. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took an aerial tour of the flood damage on Tuesday and said the hearts of Texans are breaking “every single day” due to the catastrophe.
“There’s nothing more important on our hearts and minds than the people impacted, especially those who are still lost,” he said. “We have to find every single person who’s missing.”
The state of Texas has deployed more than 2,100 personnel and more than 1,100 vehicles and equipment to help local officials and communities respond to and recover from the flooding.
In addition, Abbott said more than 20 state agencies were currently responding to the flood threats across the state.
Deaths from the flooding disaster have been reported in six counties – Kerr, Burnet, Travis, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson.
HERE’S HOW TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THE TEXAS FLOODING
As the death toll in the wake of the Texas flooding disaster continues to climb, residents in the area have stepped up to help with the search efforts. Weather Correspondent Robert Ray has the latest from Kerrville.
“To put this into perspective, just in Kerr and Kendall counties alone, there are far more fatalities than there were in Hurricane Harvey,” Abbott said. “That’s how catastrophic this is.”
Texas Game Warden Ben Baker said more than 300 game wardens have been helping since the disaster unfolded.
“We, as Texas, are strong, and together we face adversity,” he said. “Your Texas game wardens responded in the early morning hours on Friday to this tragic event, along with many other local and state partners.”
Baker said crews have searched at least 26 miles of river since the catastrophe.
“We’ve had approximately 444 rescues, 30 recoveries,” he said.
DEADLY WALLS OF WATER DEVASTATE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THREE STATES, SPAWN UNPRECEDENTED DEVASTATION
A search and rescue volunteer holds a T-shirt and backpack with the words Camp Mystic on them in Comfort, Texas on July 6, 2025. The volunteer found the belongings yesterday along the Guadalupe River near Ingram, Texas. “I hope I find the person to return their belongings, not to find closure,” he said.
(Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post / Getty Images)
Resources being used in the recovery operations include two helicopters with hoist teams, 12 drone teams, 10 K-9 units, nine swift-water boat crews, 15 airboats, 16 UTVs and 169 four-wheel-drive vehicles.
“Your Texas game wardens will remain here and serving the community,” Baker said. “We just ask you to continue to pray for the victims, for their families, for your first responders, for everyone involved.”
Abbott issued a disaster declaration for more than a dozen counties in Texas’ Hill Country that were impacted, and President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County to “ensure that our Brave First Responders immediately have the resources they need.”
Trump will also travel to Texas this week to tour the devastation.
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