HUNT, Texas. More than 160 people remain missing following the deadly flash floods that struck Texas over the July Fourth weekend, Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday, marking a significant increase from previous estimates.
The spike in the number of missing persons, now more than three times higher, was reported after the state launched a hotline for families to report unaccounted loved ones. Most of the missing are believed to be in Kerr County, where the majority of the confirmed deaths have occurred.
Many of those missing were reportedly vacationing in the Hill Country region but had not formally registered at any hotels or camps, according to Abbott. Among the worst-hit areas was Camp Mystic, a historic all-girls Christian summer camp, where at least 27 campers and counselors were killed. Officials said five campers and one counselor are still unaccounted for.
Search and rescue teams are working around the clock, employing heavy equipment to clear debris, remove tree layers, and shift boulders along the Guadalupe River. The operation, described as one of the largest in Texas history, includes crews in helicopters, airboats, on horseback, and hundreds of volunteers.
“This is an all-hands effort. We won’t stop searching until everyone is found,” Abbott said during a press conference. He also confirmed that President Donald Trump has promised full federal support, with a visit to Texas scheduled for Friday.
The deadly floods, triggered by torrential rainfall, caused the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in under an hour early Friday morning. The rapid surge swept through low-lying areas filled with cabins, tents, and trailers, trapping many while they slept.
Time-lapse footage showed floodwaters inundating roadways within minutes. Survivors described clinging to trees and escaping through cabin windows. Blankets, pillows, and luggage from Camp Mystic remain scattered across the landscape, a stark reminder of the lives lost.
Among the deceased were a second grader who loved pink sparkles, a 19-year-old counselor devoted to mentoring, and the camp’s 75-year-old director.
According to Bob Henson, meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections, the disaster is the deadliest inland flood in the U.S. since the Big Thompson Canyon flood in Colorado in 1976, which killed 144 people.
Amid questions over whether there were timely warnings issued before the flood, Abbott downplayed blame, saying, “The way winners talk is not to point fingers.”
Experts have noted that while attributing a single weather event to climate change is difficult, the increasing frequency of extreme storms is consistent with patterns associated with a warming climate.
With reports from The Associated Press.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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