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Search for missing continues as Texas floods kill 51, including 15 children

Hundreds of rescuers have been deployed to search for people missing in central Texas, after flash floods killed 51 people, including 15 children.

The worst affected area is Kerr County where 43 people have died and where 27 children remain missing from a Christian youth camp located along the River Guadalupe.

"The work continues, and will continue, until everyone is found," promised Larry Leitha, the sheriff of Kerr County.

People have also been confirmed dead in other parts of the state, including Travis County and Tom Green County.

Multiple flash flood warnings remain in place over the weekend in central Texas.

About 850 people have been rescued so far.

At a news conference on Saturday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had signed an expanded disaster declaration to boost search efforts.

He said officials would be relentless in ensuring they locate "every single person who's been a victim of this event", adding that "we will stop when the job is completed".

Map illustrating where the Texas flooding has taken place
It remains a search and rescue mission, officials said, not a recovery effort.

They said rescuers were going up and down the Guadalupe River to try to find people who may have been swept away by the floods.

US President Donald Trump said his administration was working closely with local authorities to respond to the emergency.


The National Weather Service (NWS) said the area could see 2 to 5in (5cm to 12cm) of rain on Saturday.

Up to 10in of rain was possible in some areas badly affected by Friday's deluge.

Much of the rescue has focused on a large all-girls' Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic, located along the banks of the Guadalupe River.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told the BBC's Radio 4 PM programme many of 27 missing girls were "under the age of 12".

Pictures from the camp show it in disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.

Many were asleep when the river rose more than 26ft (8m) in less than an hour in the early hours of Friday.

In an email to parents of the roughly 750 campers, Camp Mystic said that if they had not been contacted directly, their child had been accounted for.

Texas flood victims: Girl 'living her best life' and 'heart and soul' of camp
A boy saved by barbed wire, a 'destroyed' camp and missed warning signs in Texas floods

More details of those who died have started to emerge - some were as young as eight. It has also been confirmed sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, who were 13 and 11, are among the dead.

A special Mass will be held at Notre Dame Catholic Church on Sunday for those who died or are missing, and their families.

Scores of campers holidaying during the Independence Day weekend, were also unaccounted for.

Lorena Guillen, whose home and restaurant were destroyed, had 28 holidaymakers' cars staying on her land near the river. She told the BBC News Channel that she heard screams from a family of five.

"They were getting washed away," Guillen said. "They were clinging on trees to be rescued. But the rescuers couldn't get to them."


'It could have been me'
People in Texas collecting things from flooded areas.

At the Arcadia Live theatre in Kerrville, parents were reunited with their daughters who had been staying at Camp Waldemor
Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of her Church and children's school district were among the girls dead and missing.

"The families of those campers are living every parent's worst nightmare," she said. "Of course, it could have been me."

Others started returning to the flooded areas.

Jonathan and Brittany Rojas visited their relatives' home - where only the foundation remained.

They told the BBC that the mother and a baby of the family remained missing. A teenage son, Leo, survived after he became snared in barbed wire.

Another resident, Anthony, found his apartment full of mud and debris. His belongings were not salvageable, except a box holding childhood photos and his baby blanket.

"I lost everything I own," he told the BBC. "Now I'm trying to figure things out."

FreeStuffsNG:
At the Arcadia Live theatre in Kerrville, parents were reunited with their daughters who had been staying at Camp Waldemor
Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of her Church and children's school district were among the girls dead and missing.

Prayed for them in church today. It's unfortunate that it's young innocent children who always bear the consequence of bad leadership and government. There has been warnings yet a school took girls to camp beside the river for which alert was given!

I am even appalled watching the rescuers using bare hands to uproot shrubs in search operations. I thought this is the sensible and humane time satellite technology should be deployed. Unfortunately US has deployed the resources for their proxy, Isreal, to use in killing children in Gaza genocide and assassination of Iranian leaders.

Botragelad:
This guy's always talking out of point!🙄🙄

Are you saying flooding doesn’t happen in Nigeria or anywhere in Africa? Which country did Nigeria send its resources to, making it unable to control flooding, a natural disaster? Every time you try to sound smart or savage, you just end up talking nonsense. Lol

brain54:
You are sure you are not the one talking off point...?

muyico:
Abroad again?? Where is safer place on Earth?? Only God protection sure pass

muyico:
Abroad again?? Where is safer place on Earth?? Only God protection sure pass

Botragelad:
This guy's always talking out of point!🙄🙄

Are you saying flooding doesn’t happen in Nigeria or anywhere in Africa? Which country did Nigeria deploy its resources to, making it unable to control flooding, a natural disaster? Every time you try to sound smart or savage, you just end up talking nonsense. Lol

Botragelad:
Funny enough, as soon as this hits the front page, boom! This guy’s(op) comments start racking up insane likes in minutes/hours. Doesn’t matter if it’s on-topic or just a random word or if it's the last comment on page one of this post, numbers just magically spike. Lol.

And some of the time, if you dare call him out? Poof! Your comment gets deleted, gone without a trace. Meanwhile, his stays up, brainwashing anyone who's gonna fall for it.

Instead they are doing mega new roads to cover same route existing are catering for already.

Botragelad:
Funny enough, as soon as this hits the front page, boom! This guy’s(op) comments start racking up insane likes in minutes/hours. Doesn’t matter if it’s on-topic or just a random word or if it's the last comment on page one of this post, numbers just magically spike. Lol.

And some of the time, if you dare call him out? Poof! Your comment gets deleted, gone without a trace. Meanwhile, his stays up, brainwashing anyone who's gonna fall for it.

FreeStuffsNG:
At the Arcadia Live theatre in Kerrville, parents were reunited with their daughters who had been staying at Camp Waldemor
Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of her Church and children's school district were among the girls dead and missing.

Prayed for them in church today. I really pity those parents.

It's unfortunate that it's young innocent children who always bear the consequence of bad leadership and government. There has been warnings yet a school took girls to camp beside the river for which alert was given! It took 45 minutes before the flood welled up to wash the children away yet help was not urgently deployed till most of the children were washed away.

I am even appalled watching the American rescuers using bare hands to uproot shrubs in search operations. Smh.

I thought this is the sensible and humane time satellite technology should be deployed. Unfortunately US has deployed the resources to their proxy, Isreal, to use in killing children in Gaza genocide and assassination of Iranian leaders.

They are still busy using bare hands to search under felled trees and bushes. In 2025 Trump’s USA and in oil rich Texas state of USA. Smh. Absolutely disgraceful.

Botragelad:
Funny enough, as soon as this hits the front page, boom! This guy’s(op) comments start racking up insane likes in minutes/hours. Doesn’t matter if it’s on-topic or just a random word or if it's the last comment on page one of this post, numbers just magically spike. Lol.

And some of the time, if you dare call him out? Poof! Your comment gets deleted, gone without a trace. Meanwhile, his stays up, brainwashing anyone who's gonna fall for it.

FreeStuffsNG:
At the Arcadia Live theatre in Kerrville, parents were reunited with their daughters who had been staying at Camp Waldemor
Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of her Church and children's school district were among the girls dead and missing.

Prayed for them in church today. I really pity those parents.

It's unfortunate that it's young innocent children who always bear the consequence of bad leadership and government. There has been warnings yet a school took girls to camp beside the river for which alert was given! It took 45 minutes before the flood welled up to wash the children away yet help was not urgently deployed till most of the children were washed away.

I am even appalled watching the American rescuers using bare hands to uproot shrubs in search operations. Smh.

I thought this is the sensible and humane time satellite technology should be deployed. Unfortunately US has deployed the resources to their proxy, Isreal, to use in killing children in Gaza genocide and assassination of Iranian leaders.

They are still busy using bare hands to search under felled trees and bushes. In 2025 Trump’s USA and in oil rich Texas state of USA. Smh. Absolutely disgraceful.

dominique:
This is directly on Donald trump and Elon musk. They cut off funding and jobs of agencies like the weather service and NEMA, even the orientation agency that's to alert citizens of impending natural disasters wasn't spared. To what end? So the billionaires can get tax cuts? So they can keep pumping billions to Isreal to fight senseless wars? Is this how he intend to make America great again?

This same hypocrite Trump berated Biden/Harris administration when they gave victims of hurricane in Florida less than $1k, at least the NEMA was fully functional and worked round the clock to assist the affected victims. Now tornados are ripping through the Midwest, Texas is being ravaged by floods and his administration couldn't care less.

They can't fund their emergency services but they can fund wars in other countries. Anybody defending these people is seriously sick in the head.