Officials in Kerr County said severe flooding killed at least 13 people on Friday. At least 23 girls were missing from a Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic, but officials said some of those campers may be stranded and unable to call for help.
Officials warned people along the Guadalupe River between Comfort and Canyon Lake to evacuate through Saturday morning as debris-filled floodwaters flowed downstream. The National Weather Service warned more rain may fall on the region on Friday night.
The state deployed hundreds of search and rescue personnel and more than a dozen helicopters into the inundated region, with a focus on boys and girls summer camps, parks and low-lying subdivisions.
When asked about the girls, whose camp contained about 750 campers, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly explained that "we can't say for sure they are all accounted for. We know that there are some missing. ... And we're working to confirm that with people out at Camp Mystic. But in terms of exactly how many are missing and unaccounted for, we're not sure about that number. But we have a bunch of them trying to get back."
Camp Mystic is an all-girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, in the heart of an area known as Flash Flood Alley.
Some children from other camps have been reunited with their families.
Kelly said concerned parents should contact summer camps directly for more information. "We have some reunification locations in West Kerr County," he added. "It's at the Ingram Elementary School. And for here in Kerrville, it's at the [Arcadia Live Theater]."
Reunification centers:
- Arcadia Live Theater � 717 Water St, Kerrville, 78028
- Ingram Elementary School � 125 Brave Run W, Ingram, 78025
Authorities also advised people to call the Red Cross at 800-733-2767 if they are trying to locate a loved one.
Shelters for those displaced by the flooding have been set up at:
- First United Methodist Church � 321 Thompson Drive, Kerrville, 78028
- Calvary Temple Church � 3000 Loop 534, Kerrville, 78028
- Notre Dame Catholic Church � 929 Main Street, Kerrville, 78028
- Schreiner University Event Center � 2100 Memorial Boulevard, Kerrville, 78028
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice asked residents to conserve water because floodwaters affected the city's surface water source.
"We are operating off well water currently," he explained. "We do encourage everybody to exercise extreme conservation. We are currently not in a boil water notice, but that could change."
Both Kerrville and Kerr County issued disaster declarations.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a press conference on Friday that the river rose quickly after a foot of rain fell on some spots. "That river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes," he said. "It was a dry bed. It had been dry. There was not a lot to absorb it. It went down the rocks, and it was a destructive flood."
The NWS said much of the floodwaters will flow into Canyon Lake and should not affect potential water recreation in New Braunfels. As of Friday afternoon, Canyon Lake was approximately 46% full.
"Currently, Canyon Lake has a lot of storage capacity," explained meteorologist Jason Runyan. "It's at pretty low levels, so the lake can take all this rainfall without having to release it farther downstream into New Braunfels, so no additional big rise is expected from this heavy rainfall into New Braunfels."
Patrick was confident the dam at Canyon Lake could withstand the influx of floodwaters. He explained that the Army Corps of Engineers would monitor the structure.
Patrick also said that he was in contact with the Trump administration, and he was reassured that Texas would receive all necessary assistance.
Rescue operations
The Texas game wardens were among the search and rescue teams conducting rescue operations across the region.
“Our Aviation Unit and rescue swimmers are assisting from the air, while the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program provides live aerial feed to our emergency management partners at the State Emergency Operations Center, which is now operating at an escalated response level,� officials said in a post on social media.
Bexar County and the San Antonio Fire Department both sent personnel and equipment to Kerr County to assist operations.
The state of Texas is surging all available resources to respond to the devastating flooding around the Kerr county area.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX)
That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The immediate priority is saving lives.
"First responders from Bexar County Emergency Services Districts 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 12 have been mobilized, bringing ambulances, rescue teams, drones, and boats equipped with trained Swiftwater Rescue Technicians," officials explained in a statement.
The San Antonio Fire Department has dispatched an ambulance bus and emergency medical technicians.
How it happened
Runyan, the meteorologist with the NWS, explained the storms were the result of two different factors.
"The first being some high amounts of moisture for this time of year � some near records of moisture � vertically into the atmosphere. The second were the remnants of a midlevel disturbance from what used to be Tropical Storm Barry. So a combination of that disturbance and these record levels of moisture have led to the very heavy rainfall, especially over Kerr County."
All that rainfall from overnight and early morning drained into the Guadalupe River Basin. He said it started up by the headwaters near Hunt, Texas, in western Kerr County and “traveled downstream through Kerrville where it crested� and then traveled toward Comfort.
“We saw some pretty sharp and steep rises on the river,� he added, “in some cases rivaling the 1987 flood, the famous 1987 flood." The 1987 flood dropped 11 inches of rain, and 10 teenagers died when their church bus ran into floodwaters.
Friday's floods, Runyan said, were so high and forceful that some of the river instrumentation and gauges were affected or washed out. “So it's a pretty catastrophic type flood wave coming down the Guadalupe River."
Because of the damaged river gauges, it may take the U.S. Geological Survey a few days to get accurate data on how high the river crested in the Hunt and Kerrville area.
He said some parts of the Hill Country were placed under a rare flash flood emergency, which is different from a flash flood warning.
“Typically most people are familiar with flash flood warnings,� he said. “Our typical flash flood warnings are when we expect imminent flooding in areas � rises and streams and creeks that go over low water crossing.�
Flash flood emergencies, Runyan explained, are “saved for days where we’re expecting catastrophic type damage or widespread damage or even loss of life.�
The flash flood emergency expired at 2 p.m.
Preparation before the storm
Kerrville city officials pushed back against criticism that more could have been done to evacuate before the flood hit.
Rice, the Kerrville city manager, told reporters the flooding situation evolved quickly. He said the north and south forks that feed into the Guadalupe River reached peaks at about 3:30 on Friday morning.
“I was on the river trail at that time and everything was fine," he explained. "Within an hour [or] two-hour period, the water was up almost to the bridge.�
Rice said the city had crews out early in the morning to prepare for the Fourth of July celebration, and they were also caught off guard.
“Despite flood warnings, despite everything that was going on, there were some things that happened very fast,� he added.
When asked if a warning system was in effect Thursday night when the flooding started, Kelly, the Kerr County judge, said, "We do not have a warning system on the river. ... We didn't know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time."
He also said that "this is the most dangerous river valley in the United States" but that county officials had "no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever.�
The NWS had estimated on Thursday that the region might see 5 to 7 inches of rain with the possibility of storm clusters forming over the region. However, the area ended up seeing more than a foot of rain.
This is a developing story.
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