Texas officers have revised the variety of individuals lacking within the catastrophic floods in Kerr County, Texas, from 97 individuals down to 3 on Saturday.
“By way of in depth follow-up work amongst state and native companies, many people who have been initially reported as lacking have been verified as secure and faraway from the checklist,” the Metropolis of Kerrville stated in a information launch.
The historic flooding occasion killed at the least 135 individuals within the state over the July 4 weekend and kicked off an enormous search via mud and particles for these unaccounted for alongside the Guadalupe River in central Texas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had stated Monday that the flooding left 101 individuals lacking statewide, together with 97 individuals in Kerr County. Authorities would proceed to seek for these lacking and establish the victims, Abbott stated, advising it could actually take just a few days and suggesting that quantity could possibly be revised down.
Officers stated Saturday restoration operations will proceed all through the Guadalupe River watershed for these nonetheless lacking.
“We’re profoundly grateful to the greater than 1,000 native, state, and federal authorities who’ve labored tirelessly within the wake of the devastating flood that struck our neighborhood,” Kerrville Metropolis Supervisor Dalton Rice stated. “Because of their extraordinary efforts, the variety of people beforehand listed as lacking has dropped from over 160 to 3.”
One particular person stays lacking about 150 miles away in Travis County and one other is lacking in Burnet County, officers instructed CNN Saturday.
The up to date rely in Kerr County comes about two weeks after torrential downpours within the in a single day hours of July 4 remodeled the Guadalupe River right into a roaring flood, sweeping away properties, automobiles, roads and bushes. At the very least 107 individuals in Kerr County alone died, together with 37 youngsters, and at the least 161 others within the county have been initially reported lacking.
The catastrophe has led to severe questions on how native officers ready for the potential for flooding within the months and years beforehand, how they acted because the Guadalupe River swelled from 3 ft to 30 ft in simply 45 minutes on July 4, and the way officers have responded in its damaging aftermath.
At a Kerr County commissioners assembly Monday, Sheriff Larry Leitha stated his workplace’s search and restoration efforts will “go robust for an additional month or two,” and will last as long as six months. The sheriff’s workplace stated 2,200 individuals from a number of companies have been deployed to help within the restoration efforts.
The search included 60 miles of river, murky waters, thick mud and seemingly insurmountable piles of particles. A small military of searchers from throughout the US and even Mexico have labored via perilous terrain – aided by helicopters, drones and boats, in addition to canine and mules.
Greater than 1,000 first responders and hundreds of volunteers have been concerned within the response, Kerr County Emergency Operations Middle Unified Command stated Saturday.
The individuals who have been listed as lacking will not be campers or native residents, however vacationers who got here in for the vacation – and officers didn’t know what number of have been misplaced, County Choose Rob Kelly stated earlier this week.
Kerr County is anticipated to host a gathering Tuesday for these within the space impacted by the flood.
What occurred July Fourth weekend
Neighborhood residents pay their respects at a memorial on July 10, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. – Brandon Bell/Getty Photographs
Months’ price of torrential rain fell within the span of simply hours, sending river ranges surging and triggering lethal flash flooding in western and central Texas on July Fourth weekend.
For a lot of households, the gravest warnings concerning the lethal climate in Texas Hill Nation arrived too late. Some have been asleep, whereas others — used to excessive climate within the area — remained awake, listening to heavy downpours and thunder that rattled their properties.
At Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp, 27 campers and counselors have been killed by the raging waters.
The camp is positioned alongside the Guadalupe River’s floodplain – which rose greater than 20 ft in lower than two hours in a single day into the July Fourth vacation.
Abbott has emphasised the unprecedented scale of the flooding and highlighted the coordinated response between state, native and federal companies in ongoing restoration and aid efforts.
“I believe it’s the most important flood within the historical past of Texas, and extra individuals misplaced their lives in Kerrville than those that misplaced their lives in Hurricane Harvey simply to grasp the magnitude of it,” Abbott stated at a Thursday information convention.
Now that the storm has handed, Abbott stated, housing has grow to be a serious concern and the catastrophe restoration middle is working to handle these wants.
“That’s one other factor that we’ll discuss in the midst of the particular session that’s upcoming,” Abbott added.
The governor issued a proclamation for the July 21 Texas particular legislative session to handle flood warning methods, emergency communications and aid funding for victims.
A number of the particular session agenda gadgets embody laws aimed toward strengthening communications — particularly in flood-prone areas throughout the state — in addition to “laws to judge and streamline guidelines and rules to hurry preparedness for and restoration from pure disasters,” in line with the assertion.
This story has been up to date with extra data.
CNN’s Leigh Waldman, Eric Levenson and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
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