From Texas Public Radio:
Editor’s note: TPR’s special coverage of the floods is now centralized in a special blog from The Texas Newsroom.
Rescue and recovery efforts following Friday’s catastrophic Guadalupe River floods continued on Tuesday. Officials said at least 94 people have died. Five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor were still missing.
Emergency, county, and state officials reported that multiple flood events throughout Central Texas, including Guadalupe River flood, have killed at least 109 people since July 4. They added on Tuesday that 161 people are still missing in the Kerr County area.
The State of Texas said it has deployed more than 1,700 personnel and more than 975 vehicles and equipment assets to assist local officials. More than 20 state agencies are currently responding to the flooding threats across the state. Texas remained at a Level II escalated emergency response.
Bexar County asks residents for monetary donations for relief efforts
In a statement on Tuesday, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai explained that he spoke to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly and to relief agencies.
Based on those discussions, he learned that non-perishable items are no longer needed as much as before. So he encouraged everyone in Bexar County to donate money.
“We want to do what is most needed for the victims of this tragedy, and at this point, we are being told that financial assistance is the priority,” Sakai said, as quoted in the statement. “We don’t want to contribute to a ‘crisis within a crisis,’ and that would be donating items from well-intentioned people to a community that has no place to store those items.”
Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark has started a gift-card program. Her office will collect the cards and distribute them “to deserving organizations and individuals.”
Other options for monetary donations include:
– Kerr County Relief Fund (for rescue, relief and recovery efforts)
– Salvation Army of Kerrville (for human needs, shelter, supplies)
– Red Cross of Central and South Texas (for food, supplies, shelter, mental health support)
– Mercy Chefs (for meals for first responders)
– TEXSAR (for search and rescue)
»MORE: Guadalupe River Flood: How to help, and how to find help
A damaged building near the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas, on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Patricia Lim / KUT News
Former NOAA chief defends National Weather Service
A former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rick Spinrad, defended the National Weather Service (NWS) from criticism after the Kerr County flood.
Spinrad told TPR’s “The Source” that he believed the NWS out of San Angelo and Austin/San Antonio did its job. He said the problem was with the final step of communication and emergency alerts that were not acted on by local officials.
Spinrad also said NWS’s staff were affected by Trump administration cuts, including at weather forecast offices directly involved with Guadalupe River flooding.
San Antonio Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro told NPR it was too early to say if recent staffing cuts under the Trump administration impacted the agency’s ability to warn the public.
Drone collides with helicopter
The search and rescue efforts were hampered Monday afternoon, Kerrville officials reported, when a privately owned drone “illegally operating in restricted airspace collided with a helicopter involved in emergency operations in Kerr County.”
Officials explained in a statement on social media that the helicopter had to make an emergency landing, “and a critical piece of response equipment is now out of service until further notice. This was entirely preventable.”
“Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are not suggestions,” officials wrote. “They are federal airspace rules designed to protect lives during emergency situations. When you fly a drone in restricted areas, you’re not just breaking the law — you’re putting first responders, emergency crews, and the public at serious risk.”
On Sunday, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice had asked people not to fly personal drones in the search areas.
Also, on Monday, Kerr County placed a burn ban in effect. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said people burning debris were interfering with recovery efforts in and along the Guadalupe River.
He said the heat put off by fires interferes with drone and heat-detecting equipment being used in the search process.
A Schumarcher Crossing, Guadalupe River sign is tilted due to heavy rainfall that caused flooding on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Patricia Lim / KUT News
Kerrville ISD mourns death of 2 teachers
Kerrville Independent School District mourned the death of two of its teachers — a current one and a former one — in the Guadalupe River flood.
The school district confirmed the deaths of Reece Zunker, a current district teacher, and his wife Paula Zunker, a former teacher. The district also said their children, Lyle and Holland, were still missing.
The Tivy Athletic Booster Club planned to hold a community blessing and worship service at Antler Stadium from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9.
Canyon Lake, Edwards Aquifer water levels steadily rising
A key source of water for 2.5 million people in the region is on the rise after deadly flooding this week.
The Edwards Aquifer rose three feet since Friday. The San Antonio Pool of the aquifer stood at nearly 638 feet on Monday, according to the Edwards Aquifer Authority. That is 10 feet higher than it was a year ago at this time. It still, however, is 21 feet below where it usually sits for this time of year.
The Comal Springs were bubbling faster too at 421 cubic feet of water per second on Monday, but the San Marcos Springs were still much lower at 100 cubic feet of water per second.
The Texas Water Development Board reported that Canyon Lake, as of noon on Monday, was up nearly 11 feet from a week ago and stood at nearly 889 feet or nearly 62% full. Its full conservation pool sits at 909 feet. It was 46% full before the rains over the Fourth of July weekend.
Customers of the San Antonio Water System remain under Stage 3 water restrictions. They may still only water yards by automatic sprinkler once a week based on street address.
Law enforcement agents outside of a torn building at Camp Mystic on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Patricia Lim / KUT News
Camp Mystic acknowledges lost campers and counselors
In a statement on Monday on its website, Camp Mystic said it mourned the loss of more than two dozen campers and counselors:
“Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe river. Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly.
“We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level.
“We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us.”
Among the dead was Dick Eastland, the director of Camp Mystic. His nephew Gardner Eastland confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Saturday.
» MORE: ‘Our hearts are broken’: Camp Mystic mourns loss of 27 campers and counselors
‘It’s a darker place today without her’
Jane Ragsdale, a camp director and counselor at the Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls on the Guadalupe River, was also among the people who died.
Ava Steindl attended the camp beginning in 2010 and was a counselor there in 2017. Of Ragsdale, she said, “she taught me and most of these girls everything that we know, from basic life skills to learning how to change a tire.”
Thomas Mayo’s daughter Caroline started attending Heart O’ the Hills when she was six years old. He said the impact that Ragsdale had on thousands of girls and their parents was immeasurable. “She loved the camp, and she loved those kids,” Mayo said. “And it’s a darker place today without her in it.”
Ragsdale became a co-owner of the camp in 1976 and became camp director in 1988. Although camp was not in session on Friday, some of the camp counselors were staying at the camp for the Fourth of July holiday.
County, state and federal disaster declarations
Kerr County extended its disaster declaration on Monday as search and rescue efforts continued. County commissioners voted to extend the declaration during an emergency meeting.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed and expanded disaster declarations last weekend for counties affected by the floods, including Bexar County.
President Trump also approved a major disaster declaration over the weekend to supplement recovery efforts in Kerr County and other affected areas.
In a statement on Sunday, the Trump administration approved a disaster declaration for Texas “to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds and flooding from July 2, 2025, and continuing” for “affected individuals in Kerr County. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals recover from the effects of the disaster.”
How it happened
Jason Runyan, a meteorologist with the NWS, said a combination of factors led to the unexpected rain.
“The first being some high amounts of moisture for this time of year — some near records of moisture — vertically into the atmosphere,” Runyan said. “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 on Friday drained into the Guadalupe River Basin. He said it started up by the headwaters near Hunt, 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 said, “in some cases rivaling the 1987 flood, the famous 1987 flood.” That year, 11 inches of rain flooded the region, and ten teenagers died when their church bus ran into flood waters.
Friday’s floods, Runyan said, were so high and forceful that some of the water gauges along the river were affected or washed out entirely. “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, including Kerrville on Friday and Burnet on Saturday, 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 crossings.”
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 Texas Newsroom’s Ana Campbell, Houston Public Media’s Dominic Anthony Walsh, and NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán contributed to this report.
