People look on as law enforcement and volunteers continue to search for missing people near Camp Mystic on July 5, 2025. Photo: CFP

At least 82 people have died in connection with the flash floods that struck central Texas early Friday, according to officials on Sunday. The toll includes at least 28 children in Kerr County, where 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are still unaccounted for, authorities said, CNN reported on Sunday local time.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced at a July 6 news conference that at least 41 people were known to be missing across the state and areas affected by the flooding, the USA Today reported. 

According to New York Post, a bedridden Texas father was rescued from the fatal floodwaters by his son-in-law just moments before it would have overtaken his bed.

Sisto Charles, 77, had no way of escaping his San Angelo bed when the floodwater began gushing into the San Angelo home he shares with his family — and 911 wasn't answering their pleading calls for help, according to the New York Post.

"I was crying, it was sad," Rachel Sanchez, the homeowner and her father's caretaker, explained, adding that, "I've lived there for 30 years, and nothing like that has ever happened," the New York Post reported.

US President Donald Trump suggested cuts at the National Weather Service did not play a role in the tragedy surrounding the flash flooding in Texas, CNN reported. Asked later whether he believed the federal government needed to hire back meteorologists who had recently departed amid personnel cuts under his administration, he suggested it was not necessary, according to the CNN report.

"I would think not," Trump said. "This was the thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people in there and they didn't see it," according to CNN.

The Guadalupe River in Kerr County saw its water levels rise from 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to a staggering 29.5 feet (9 meters) within just three hours early Friday morning, reaching the second-highest level on record, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS), the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Texas has already experienced several severe flooding incidents this year, and the US as a whole saw a record number of flash flood emergencies in 2024, according to AccuWeather, Xinhua reported.

Global Times