The flash floods that hit central Texas since Friday, July 4, have taken a heartbreaking toll. So far, more than 110 people have died, and officials say at least 41 others are still missing.
Most of the deaths happened in Kerr County, up on the Edwards Plateau. And a bunch of those missing, at least 10 girls and a camp counselor, were from Camp Mystic. That’s a Christian summer camp sitting right along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County.
“This tragedy has devastated us and our entire community,” Camp Mystic said in a statement. “Our hearts are broken alongside the families that are enduring this tragedy, and we share their hope and prayers.”
Officials are questioning why evacuations did not happen sooner
People are asking why camps like Camp Mystic weren’t cleared out before the heavy rain came. When Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly was asked about it, he just said, “I can’t answer that. I don’t know.”
Some blame budget cuts for weather service communication breakdowns
Some Texas officials are saying that warnings didn’t get out in time, and they’re pointing the finger at budget cuts made under Trump.
The New York Times reported that the National Weather Service (NWS) might’ve struggled to send proper alerts to emergency teams because of those earlier cuts.
Key weather agency roles were reportedly left unfilled
Apparently, a lot of important jobs were just left empty this year. The Department of Government Efficiency had pushed for cost-cutting, and as a result, local NWS offices and NOAA were short-staffed.
Tom Fahy, who’s with the union for Weather Service workers, said the San Angelo NWS office was missing three critical people: a senior hydrologist, a forecaster, and their lead meteorologist.
He also said the San Antonio office didn’t have a science officer or a warning coordination meteorologist either. That’s a lot of missing roles, especially during weather events like this.
The warning coordination meteorologist took early retirement
Turns out the warning coordination meteorologist from the San Antonio office retired early back in April. The New York Times said he left on April 30 after taking an early retirement deal the Trump administration had offered.
Some of the vacancies predate Trump’s second term
That said, not all the staffing problems started with Trump’s second term. Fahy pointed out that a few of those positions were already unfilled even before Trump got back into office on January 20, 2025.
Others say forecasts were strong despite the outcome
Some former NWS staff have come forward to defend how things were handled.
They said the forecasts were actually pretty solid, especially considering how fast the storm blew up and how intense the rainfall ended up being. In their view, the weather warnings were about as good as they could get under those conditions.
Trump responds with a disaster declaration and upcoming visit
On Sunday, July 9, Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County.
He also kicked federal emergency help into gear and said he plans to visit Texas on Friday, July 11. “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way,” he told reporters. “It’s a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible.”
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The weather service expresses grief and continued commitment
Speaking for the NWS, meteorologist Erica Grow Cei shared how deeply the agency felt the loss.
She said, “The National Weather Service is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life.” She also added that they’re still “committed to our mission to serve the American public through our forecasts and decision support services.”
State officials pledge to continue recovery efforts
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said crews are still out there working non-stop. As water levels go down, they plan to keep searching more areas that haven’t been reached yet.
