US rescuers search for missing girls in deadly Texas flash floods

At least 27 people, including nine children, have died in devastating flash floods that swept through Central Texas on July 4, with dozens still missing. The flooding, triggered by intense overnight rainfall, caused the Guadalupe River in Kerr County to rise an astonishing 26 feet in just 45 minutes. One of the hardest-hit areas was Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp near the river, where up to 27 girls remain unaccounted for. Search and rescue teams, including the U.S. Coast Guard and local responders, are combing through debris with boats, helicopters, and drones in hopes of locating survivors amid the destruction.

The disaster has shaken communities across Texas as families anxiously await news about their loved ones. Officials noted that the early warning systems failed to capture the storm’s severity, leaving little time for evacuation. Communication lines were cut off during the flooding, complicating efforts to locate and reunite missing individuals. While federal aid has been mobilized and search efforts are ongoing, authorities have warned that the death toll may still rise as the full scale of the disaster unfolds.