July 8, 2025: News on deadly Texas floods

Our live coverage of the deadly flooding in central Texas has ended. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

Debris sits along the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas, on Tuesday

Texas officials twice rejected applications from Kerr County for funding for a flood warning system nearly a decade ago, according to a statement from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The county submitted an application for such a system following severe flooding in 2016, the statement reads, though that was not approved “due to the county not meeting federal requirements, including having a current hazard mitigation plan on file at the time.”

After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, county officials submitted another application, but grant funding at that time was distributed to “counties that fell under the disaster declaration,” which Kerr County was not included in, a spokesperson for the department said in a statement.

An overview of Camp Mystic

A satellite image of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on June 23, 2023.

A satellite image of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 8, 2025, after the floods.

A closer view of Camp Mystic

A satellite image of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on June 23, 2023.

A satellite image of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 8, 2025, after the floods.

Ingram Dam

A satellite image of the Ingram Dam on the Guadalupe River on July 25, 2022.

A satellite image of the Ingram Dam on the Guadalupe River on July 8, 2025, after the floods.

Homes near the Guadalupe River along State Highway 39

A satellite image of the Guadalupe River along State Highway 39 on June 23, 2023.

A satellite image of shows homes washed away near the Guadalupe River along State Highway 39 on July 8, 2025, after the floods.

Guadalupe River along State Highway 39

A satellite image of trees near the Guadalupe River along State Highway 39 on June 23, 2023.

A satellite image of debris near the Guadalupe River along State Highway 39 on July 8, 2025, after the floods.

Spencer Offenbacker and Corey Jones appear on CNN on Tuesday.

Spencer Offenbacker, Corey Jones and their two children live about 200 yards from the Guadalupe River.

By the time they realized that the river was overflowing during the storm last week, the water was at their door. Soon it was flowing into the house, the couple told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

They decided to get onto their roof, and by the time they were climbing the ladder, the water was already up to Offenbacker’s waist. He stands at 6 feet, 2 inches tall.

“It went from zero to 100 real fast,” Offenbacker said.

They were on the roof with their neighbor for at least two hours before they were able to get back down.

Offenbacker and Jones have since gone back to their home and got an assessment.

“It’s really hard to drive back into my neighborhood and see my community so broken right now,” Jones said, her voice cracking.

Offenbacker, a combat veteran who was deployed to Iraq, compared the devastation left behind to a war zone.

“You’re just missing the bullet holes, and the destruction and the aftermath, now that we see it, it’s pretty intense,” he said.

Leonardo Romero Sr., 43, Natalia Venzor, 24, and their son, Carlos Romero, 1, still have not been found, according to Venzor's mother, Erica Venzor.

Erica Venzor’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson are missing after last week’s flooding, she told CNN.

The family’s house in Kerrville, Texas, was swept away in floodwaters around 6:15 a.m. Friday, Venzor said.

Her daughter Natalia is 24 years old with the “warmest soul,” she said.

Her son-in-law, Leonardo Romero Sr., is 43 years old and a “loving father with the sweetest smile,” Venzor said.

Her grandson, Carlos Romero, would turn 2 years old in three months. He is “a sweet little boy who loved to play and smile and laugh,” she said.

Romero’s older son, Leonardo Romero Jr., was rescued and is recovering, Venzor said.

In the KSAT interview, Romero Jr., who is 18, described waking his family as he heard the floodwaters outside the home.

He said his father told him and Natalia to climb onto a couch and grab onto curtains. Romero’s father held the 1-year-old in the air as the floodwaters rose. Romero Jr. told KSAT he recalled being hit on the head as the roof collapsed and the house was swept away.

Greta Toranzo, a Camp Mystic attendee was killed in the Kerr County flooding, her mother Ellen Koplin told CNN Tuesday.

Greta Toranzo, a Camp Mystic attendee, was killed in the Kerr County, Texas, flooding, her mother Ellen Koplin told CNN today.

Koplin shared that Toranzo was attending Camp Mystic for the third time this year and was overjoyed to reunited with her friends and take part in camp activities.

Counselors at Camp Mystic, the youth camp devasted by deadly flash flooding last week, did not have access to walkie talkies in the event of a disaster, according to a person close to the camp.

The owners of the camp and a few leaders in the camp office did have access to communication devices, the source told CNN.

Counselors were given no emergency evacuation training, the source added.

Camp Mystic has a no screen policy and counselors must turn their phones off when they are at work, according to one counselor, Caroline Cutrona. Because of this policy, Cutrona did not get the weather emergency alerts sent out, she previously told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Despite the lack of communication, many counselors jumped into action by themselves, including several who helped campers escape their cabin, guiding them through chest deep water.

The mother of three of those campers says the counselors saved the lives of her children, calling them heroes.

“Two counselors were in the rapids and one on the dry hill moving the kids from hand to hand,” the mother told CNN. “A lot of them lost their shoes and then climbed up the rocky hill to safety.”

Once safe, the children cuddled because they were cold and wet as they sang songs and prayed, she said.

Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at a news briefing in Kerrville, Texas on Monday.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz praised the response to the devastating floods in his home state and said he has bipartisan support for supplemental funding should it be necessary for recovery.

“There’s a substantial amount of money in the disaster relief fund right now. And I’m grateful the president immediately declared a disaster at the request of the governor. Both [Texas Sen.] John Cornyn and I supported that declaration. My team is working very closely with the local officials and state officials to begin the process of federal resources being deployed,” he told reporters Tuesday.

Cruz said the state would have to get through the initial stages of the recovery to see what additional resources may be needed, but said he would have the support of his colleagues should supplemental funding be needed.

“If a supplemental is needed, multiple of my colleagues have committed that we’ll do whatever is necessary, and I will say I’ve been touched by the outpouring from both sides of the aisle,” he said.

Cruz also responded to claims that cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency to the National Weather Service may have impacted the warning and alert system, possibly contributing to the loss of life.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate. I think it’s wrong. Those partisans that are trying to score cheap political points by focusing on things such as DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service — I think the facts disprove that claim,” he said.

Cruz said he also supported the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling it “critically important.”

“And I don’t know a senator in this body who does not support the essential job function of FEMA,” he said.

“I think everyone also agrees reforms that make FEMA more nimble, able to respond more quickly to a disaster — those reforms are beneficial,” he added.

Jeff Wilson, a teacher for more than 30 years, died following the catastrophic flooding in Kerrville, Texas.

Jeff Wilson, a teacher for more than 30 years, died following the catastrophic flooding in Kerrville, Texas, according to a post on X by the Humble Independent School District.

As of July 5, Wilson’s wife Amber and son Shiloh were still missing, the school district said, citing Wilson’s brother-in-law.

“He was a beloved teacher and co-worker to many and will be deeply missed,” the post on X read.

The Humble Independent School District is located in the city of Humble, Texas, north of Houston.

Sgt. Jonathan Lamb of the Kerrville Police Department appears on CNN on Tuesday.

No one has been found alive since Friday in Kerr County, Texas, as rescuers carry out search operations, Sgt. Jonathan Lamb of the Kerrville Police Department said.

While crews go through the debris and destruction, Lamb said the more time that passes “it becomes harder and harder to become optimistic.” He said regardless of if it is a rescue to a recovery operation, the goal of responders will stay the same.

“We’re going to continue to search and look to try to reunite families, because that’s where our focus is; on reuniting families with their missing loved ones and bringing them closure,” Lamb said.

Responding to CNN reporting that officials have known for a couple of days that the number of people missing was much higher than had been publicly disclosed by local authorities, Lamb pointed to the number of RV’s camped in the area.

“If nobody reports them missing, if nobody is looking for them, we may not know that they’re missing — and that really has been the big challenge for this thing,” Lamb said.

“Getting a handle on exactly how many people we’re looking for has been tough,” he added.

Deputy Incident Commander of the United Cajun Navy Ryan Logue appears on CNN on Tuesday.

Ryan Logue’s team of searchers is scouring through the woods and wreckage along the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas, looking for people who are missing after the catastrophic flooding last weekend.

And he fears, based on what they’ve seen, that the scale of the disaster may even be greater than official estimates.

The deputy incident commander with the United Cajun Navy noted that in the area around Center Point, there were multiple RV parks and campgrounds – “and all of those people are missing.”

Though Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said today there are more than 170 people missing from the floods, Logue estimates that number is much higher.

He said the disaster is so widespread, it’s been difficult to find those who are unaccounted for.

“There is so much to do … this is just the beginning,” Logue said. “Now that the rain’s ended and that the waters are starting to calm some, we’re just now being able to assess truly what we’re up against, especially in this part of the river.”

Braxton Jarmon — a high school student from Leander, Texas — was killed in the catastrophic Texas floods, according to statement from the school obtained by CNN affiliate KVUE.

Josh Haug, principal at Glenn High School, shared a message with student families yesterday that the incoming sophomore had passed away. In the letter, Haug also shared that Jarmon’s sister and stepmother are currently missing, KVUE reported.

Volunteers helping in search and recovery efforts embrace during a press conference on Tuesday, in Hunt, Texas.

More than 110 people have died in the catastrophic flooding in central Texas, according to officials.

In the hard-hit Kerr County, at least 161 people are reported missing, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said today after touring the destruction.

Now, as search and rescue efforts continue, questions linger about existing warning systems and whether additional preparations before the flooding could have saved lives.

Here’s the latest:

Kaitlyn Swallow, 22, was one of the people killed in flooding in Williamson County, Texas, on Saturday, the county’s public affairs team said in a statement.

The Liberty Hill native was found late Saturday night by the Williamson County Sheriff’s office.

“My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones in the devastating floods over the holiday weekend,” County Judge Steven Snell in the statement.

Sherry Richardson, 64, was found dead on Tuesday, according to her daughter Deliah Greenslet.

Sherry Richardson, 64, was found dead on Tuesday amid catastrophic flooding in Texas, her daughter Deliah Greenslet told CNN on Tuesday.

Richardson lived in a small cabin behind The Hope House where she worked, which was also lost in the flood.

Greenslet expressed her gratitude for the Liberty Hill Fire Department, who stayed on the phone with her mother until her final moments.

“She was so much more than a mother—she was my best friend, my rock, and someone countless others leaned on,” Greenslet said. “She was there for the birth of every one of her grandchildren and loved braiding her granddaughters’ hair and celebrating every milestone with pride and joy.”

But as Greenslet processes the grief of losing her mother, she’s also seeking answers from officials.

“Why was there no warning? Where is the leadership our state and country need in this moment?” Greenslet asked. “Families should not have to rely on social media to search for loved ones or piece together what’s happening.”

Mollie Schaffer a victim of the Texas Flooding

Houston criminal defense attorney Randy Schaffer’s wife, Mollie Schaffer, was recovered and confirmed deceased by his law office, the Schaffer Firm.

The couple was staying at the River Inn in Hunt, Texas, when the manager urged them to evacuate in the early morning of July 5, according to Randy’s Facebook post.

Mollie attempted to drive their vehicle away from the flooding until the water began rising up to their windows.

Randy said Mollie urged him to dive out of the vehicle, feet first.

“I tried, but my seat was low, the window was high, and I fell back onto the seat,” he said in the post. “The last words she ever spoke were, ‘You have to push harder.’ I pushed as hard as I could and went out the window.”

Once he got out, Randy clung to a pole to keep his head above water. But when he surveyed the area for Mollie and their vehicle, he realized she had been swept into the river.

“I held onto that pole for an hour, climbing up as the water rose. When I was about six inches from the top of the pole, the water started to recede. At some point, my feet hit the ground. It was pitch black, and I couldn’t see. There was no power at the River Inn. Once I determined that I could safely cross the road, I stood under a walkway until daylight. I then walked down the road looking for Mollie and the car but didn’t see them,” he shared in the post.

His wife’s body was recovered on Sunday, he said.

“Mollie died in a manner consistent with how she lived — selflessly taking care of someone else before she took care of herself,” Randy said. “She saved my life. It wasn’t my day to die. I wish that it hadn’t been hers.”

Authorities search for victims among the rubble near Blue Oak RV park in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday.

Officials have known for a couple of days that the number of people missing following the deadly flooding was much higher than had been publicly disclosed by local authorities, according to two government officials briefed on the ongoing search and rescue mission.

Authorities have struggled to confirm the number of RV’s that were camping in the area since the RV’s are not registered, one of the officials said.

The number of missing people in Kerr County today skyrocketed to more than 170, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the state was in contact with Kerr County on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of the flooding on Friday, but declined to answer why evacuations weren’t issued.

“I can’t answer the whys, I’m not going to answer the whys,” Kidd told a reporter.

“We started having calls and messages on Wednesday,” he said.

A “large chunk of Texas” comprised the “potential area where this kind of rain could have fallen. It picked this spot right here,” he noted.

Search and recovery efforts continue, along the Guadalupe River, in Center Point, Texas, on Tuesday.

The death toll from the Texas floods has risen to at least 111 people and at least 172 people are still missing.

The latest death is located in Williamson County, which is now reporting three fatalities, according to an update from the county spokesperson.

“We sent out the update as the missing person was recovered. Now at three deaths,” Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Odom told CNN Tuesday evening.

Here’s a breakdown by county of the death toll so far:

This post has been updated with an additional death reported in Williamson County and an updated number on the number of missing people.

Texas state officials were aware of a possible serious flooding event days before Kerr County was hit with catastrophic floods and resources were already in place, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday.

“We were ready with the resources on the ground to be able to quickly respond,” the governor detailed with a day-by-day timeline.

What officials did not know was the magnitude of the storm, he said.

“No one would know that would be a 30-foot-high tsunami wall of water, I don’t think,” Abbott said. “All I can tell you is the information we had, the state had, and that we acted on, was information that catalyzed us to begin putting assets and resources in place two days before the event happened.”

Rep. Pete Sessions appears on CNN on Tuesday.

While emergency alerts did go out to cell phones ahead of devastating flooding in central Texas last week, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions says more safeguards need to be in place if residents are expected to escape sudden flash flooding in the middle of the night.

Kerr County “did not have warning signals that would be permissible, that you could hear, if you had your phone off,” Sessions recounted to CNN’s Kasie Hunt Tuesday.

“The alerts did come, but if your phone is off, you cannot hear it,” Sessions said, noting that cell service in the area is spotty.

At least 110 people have died during the catastrophic flooding in central Texas. The majority of those killed were in Kerr County — including children attending Camp Mystic.

Campers were also not allowed to have cell phones, and would not have received emergency alerts, Sessions added.

The National Weather Service first reported flash flood warnings on July 2 and escalated their urgency at 1:14 a.m. Friday, Sessions said. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office first called for an emergency around 5:30 that morning, he added.

It is unclear if the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office attempted to warn those at Camp Mystic about the flooding, Sessions told CNN.

When asked Tuesday who is to blame for the deadly, catastrophic flooding, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called that type of language “the word choice of losers.”

“Every football team makes mistakes. The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who’s to blame” he said. “The way winners talk is not to point fingers. They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the emergency alert system is “going to be one of the issues that we begin to address in less than two weeks in the state legislature.”

This comes as reports indicate that not all residents appear to have received the alerts in the critical early-morning hours when the floodwaters rose.

Texas Department of Public Safety Col. Freeman Martin speaks during a press conference in Hunt, Texas, on Tuesday.

Texas Department of Public Safety Col. Freeman Martin said he is working closely with officials from various counties to help find people who are still missing in the floods.

For example, in Travis County, Martin said he has been in “constant contact” with the sheriff. The county is also assisting at the medical examiners office.

He said at least 10 people are still missing from Travis County.

Martin said in Williamson County, officials recovered “their last victim” this afternoon. And that there is still a lot of “work to be done in Kerr County and Kendall County.”

“We will continue to grow this and add additional agencies as we go forward,” Martin said. “We won’t stop until every last body is recovered, alive or not.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said earlier in the news conference that at least 161 people are still missing in Kerr County alone.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he spoke to President Donald Trump after the catastrophic floods and that the president “cares a lot” about those who have lost their lives.

“He could not stop talking about how sad he was for all the little girls who have lost their lives,” Abbott said about his conversation with the president. “He recounted his own understanding of what happened with what was really a tsunami wave of wall of water that swept too many of them away.”

Abbott said Trump wants to “step up” and ensure that any needs the state has will be met “very quickly.”

During a news conference today, Gov. Greg Abbott read a text message from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, declaring a public health emergency for the Texas Hill Country flash floods.

The declaration “allows health care providers from across the country to step in quickly and support survivors and their families without delay,” Kennedy wrote in a post on X.

Public health emergency declarations also expand access to funding and resources such as supplies and equipment.

Kennedy said he’s been in “regular conversations” with Abbott.

“We are committed to bringing every available resource to help you recover and heal,” Kennedy wrote.

At least 161 people are known to be missing in Kerr County as a result of the flood, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who cited “combined law enforcement efforts.”

“There very likely could be more added to that list,” Abbott said.

The governor said law enforcement agencies worked together to identify “those who may have been down here who no one really had any accounting of” to expand the list of missing people, including those staying at camps or hotels who weren’t registered there.

He urged families to call or email Kerrvillemissing@dps.texas.gov to report missing people.

People impacted by the floods in central Texas “need to know Texas is in this with the people in the Hill country, right here. We are not leaving until this job is finished,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during a press conference today.

“The primary job right now continues to be locating everybody who is affected by this flood. There still remain those who are missing. We have to find every single person who’s missing,” Abbott added.

The governor said he took an aerial tour of the impacted area today to get a better assessment of “what exactly needed to be provided for the community.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference in Hunt, Texas, on Tuesday.

After finishing a tour of the destruction caused by the powerful flooding in parts of central Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott paid tribute to the young children who were killed at summer camps in the area.

At least 30 children have died in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic is located.

Abbott reiterated that there is “nothing more important” than the people of the community, “especially those who are still lost.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is holding a news conference where officials are providing an update on the state’s response to the flood devastation.

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dustin Burrows, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Texas Department of Public Safety Col. Freeman Martin, and Adjutant General of Texas Major General Thomas Suelzer are all expected to participate, according to a media advisory.

The Kerrville City Council will hold a meeting this evening at 7 p.m. ET to discuss the widespread flooding in Texas, the city said.

The previously unplanned meeting will take place at Kerrville City Hall to discuss the mayor’s disaster declaration and other emergency response matters.

“The City’s response continues to require immediate action, which is required because of an imminent threat to public health and safety, including a threat caused by the flood, rain, power failure, and other conditions,” Kerrville said in a public notice.

A dog named Superman was found by the group Austin Pets Alive! on a large pile of debris after the floods

An Austin animal shelter has rescued more than 150 animals since the severe flooding in central Texas.

Austin Pets Alive! has been on-site in Kerrville, Texas, and surrounding areas since the flooding began. They have been searching for animals, providing medical care, and accepting donations, according to a post on their website.

One of the pets found was a dog named Superman, discovered by the group on a large pile of debris after the floods, the organization said.

When rescue crews found Superman, he was hesitant to trust them, but they were eventually able to remove him from the area.

The floodwaters “tragically took the life of his person,” according to the organization.

“His surviving family, now grieving and having lost everything, are doing everything they can to hold on to the last piece of their past that remains-Superman,” the organization said.

Superman has been placed with a temporary foster to help his family during this time.

The organization continues to search for animals, work on reunifications, and distribute donations sent in for the animals.

A 62-year-old woman was found dead on the morning of July 5 following catastrophic flooding to the area, the San Angelo Police Department said in a statement.

Tanya Burwick was identified as a missing individual who was last seen driving through an area with rising floodwaters. San Angelo is located in Tom Green County.

Once the San Angelo police began their search efforts, they located Burwick’s vehicle still submerged and unoccupied. The next morning, officials discovered her body several blocks away from where her vehicle had been found.

“Our hearts are heavy as we extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Burwick’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” the news release said. “The San Angelo Police Department stands with the entire community in mourning this tragic loss.”