Catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country has killed at least 82 people, including 27 children and counselors from a storied all-girls summer camp called Camp Mystic, while search and rescue efforts continue for dozens who are still missing.
More than 12 inches of rain — approximately four months’ worth for the area — came down in mere hours on July 4, according to meteorologists, rapidly pushing rolling water past the banks of the Guadalupe River and its tributaries.
Here’s what to know about the devastating natural disaster.
Sounding the alarm
Questions are swirling over why federal, state and local officials did not see the floods coming sooner and evacuate people from the most vulnerable areas.
Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner told Fox 26 Houston on Sunday that the warning signs were there, but he noted that a disastrous combination of other factors, including the July 4 holiday and an overnight surge in rainfall, exacerbated the impact.
“This particular instance was a relatively isolated but extraordinarily intense amount of rainfall that unfortunately fell on just a long portion of this river system, what we call the headwaters, the start of the river,” Lindner said.
“Obviously, it was just a combination of a lot of things, the weather, the holiday weekend, the soils and all that out there in Hill Country that eventually would go to produce this just horrific event.”
National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Texas warned of “life-threatening” flooding along the river in a series of alerts overnight Thursday and into Friday morning.
“Conditions are life-threatening! DO NOT go out onto the roads,” the NWS San Antonio office posted on social media early Friday morning. “Expect roads washed out and rapid rises on rivers and creeks.”
Who’s to blame?
Republicans are already pushing back on suggestions that staffing cuts at the NWS under President Trump were partly to blame for the human toll of the disaster. Others have raised the possibility that residents have become numb to flash flood warnings because of less severe instances in the past.
“There’s going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday-morning quarterbacking,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said during a Saturday news conference. “There’s a lot of people saying ‘why’ and ‘how,’ and I understand that.”
“Let’s focus on finding those who can be found, then we can always assess what we need to do later, going forward,” he added.
The New York Times reported that crucial positions at NWS’s Texas offices responsible for monitoring flooding in the area have not been filled after Trump’s government overhaul that included buyouts for some federal workers.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said Sunday that NWS staffing cuts should be investigated in relation to the Texas flooding.
The NWS and experts have dismissed staff vacancies as playing a role.
Tom Fahy, a spokesperson for the NWS employees’ union, told CNN that the offices had “adequate staffing and resources.”
Others have questioned the warning system and the severity needed to prevent people from falling into complacency when alerts are issued. The floodwaters rose overnight during an extended holiday weekend.
“Even the warning mechanisms that we have, you know, hitting cellphones, sending alerts to cellphones if people are sleeping — they’re not getting that, [and] that part of that warning process isn’t getting through,” said Lindner, the Texas-based meteorologist.
Trump weighs in
Trump issued a disaster declaration for the Central Texas area on Sunday and is planning to travel to Texas later this week.
“I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way. Probably Friday,” Trump told reporters on Sunday, adding he had been in contact with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, the president extended his sympathies to those affected.
“These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,” he wrote. “GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”
The White House is scheduled to brief reporters Monday afternoon.
