The variety of folks lacking in Texas Hill Nation following the lethal flooding which struck the area over the Fourth of July vacation weekend has plummeted considerably, officers introduced Saturday.
Kerrville is the county seat of Kerr County, which was hard-hit by the historic flooding. It’s positioned about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio.
“We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,” Kerrville Metropolis Supervisor Dalton Rice mentioned in an announcement. “Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, the number of individuals previously listed as missing has dropped from over 160 to three.”
Restoration efforts for these lacking are persevering with alongside the Guadalupe River watershed, officers added, with native, state, federal and worldwide search and rescue groups concerned.
The flash floods killed no less than 135 folks in Texas, with most deaths alongside the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. The Hill Nation is of course vulnerable to flash flooding as a result of its dry, dirt-packed soil can not take in heavy rain.
Earlier this week, state officers decreased the variety of folks unaccounted for from roughly 160 to about 100 in Kerr and different counties. State, federal and worldwide assets have been poured into rescue efforts, which have been hindered by extra rain in mid-July.
Kerr County officers additionally mentioned earlier this week the variety of lacking folks decreased as victims have been recovered, contact was made with individuals who have been discovered protected, and a few studies have been discovered to be unsubstantiated or falsified. Additionally, they mentioned, the lacking listing fluctuates as studies come right into a hotline.
Crosses are seen on the financial institution of Guadalupe River to honor the victims of the lethal flood in Kerrville, Texas, the USA, on July 12, 2025.
Nick Wagner/Xinhua by way of Getty Pictures
The floods laid waste to the Hill Nation. Trip cabins, youth camps campgrounds fill the riverbanks and hills of Kerr County, and Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer time camp for ladies in a low-lying space alongside the Guadalupe. A minimum of 27 of its campers and counselors died. Most of the campers who died have been the camp’s youngest attendees.
The Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene Monday for a particular session. Gov. Greg Abbott initially known as lawmakers again to the Texas State Capitol in Austin hoping legislators would cross a measure to manage a booming enterprise in THC merchandise after he vetoed a invoice that will have banned them. For the reason that flooding, President Donald Trump has additionally informed the Republicans who management state authorities to redraw congressional districts to assist the GOP’s probabilities of retaining a U.S. Home majority in subsequent yr’s midterm elections.
Now, Abbott and different legislative leaders have added flooding-related points to the agenda. Abbott mentioned lawmakers would additionally evaluation authorities’ dealing with of the flooding and take into account bettering warning methods for Hill Nation residents. Kerr County doesn’t have a warning system as a result of state and native companies missed alternatives over the previous decade to finance one.
Trump and Abbott have pushed again aggressively towards questions on how properly native authorities responded to forecasts of heavy rain and the primary studies of flash flooding. The president, who visited the world on July 11, known as a reporter “evil” for elevating such points and mentioned he thought “everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances.” Abbott dismissed a query about who was guilty for the deaths as “the word choice of losers” and used an analogy that started: “Every football team makes mistakes.”
Guests place objects on a memorial wall for flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas.
Eric Homosexual / AP
“The way winners talk is not to point fingers,” he concluded.
Abbott has designated payments coping with early warning methods and emergency communications as priorities for the Legislature’s particular session, scheduled to final 30 days.
The Home and Senate have fashioned particular committees on flooding and catastrophe preparedness, and so they’re planning a July 31 go to to Kerrville, the seat of hardest-hit Kerr County, to listen to feedback from residents.
The committees are scheduled to start with a joint listening to Wednesday to think about the state’s response to the deadly floods; planning for floods; infrastructure for managing floods; and communications amongst first responders. Washington senator Maria Cantwell mentioned on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that there’s a “national responsibility” for the federal authorities to enhance forecasting methods.
One invoice already launched by Republican Rep. Don McLaughlin would require the state’s high public well being official to set constructing requirements for youth camps in 100-year floodplains — which FEMA defines as a high-risk space with a 1% probability of flooding in any given yr.
“But what we can do is learn from it,” he mentioned.
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