Grieving parents share devastating final text fr
A devastating flash flood in central Texas has claimed at least 104 lives, following a torrential overnight storm on July 4 that caused the Guadalupe River to rise over 26 feet in just 45 minutes.
The disaster has prompted an extensive search-and-rescue effort as authorities and volunteers continue to locate the missing and provide aid to survivors across the region.
Among the hardest-hit locations was Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls situated along the riverbank. Twenty-seven campers and counselors have been confirmed dead, with 11 more still unaccounted for. Survivors described scenes of chaos and destruction, as floodwaters tore through lower-lying cabins. Thirteen-year-old Stella Thompson, a long-time camper, recalled the terrifying night and the destruction left in the flood’s wake, including kayaks lodged in treetops and scattered debris.
One heartbreaking story emerged from Joyce Catherine Badon, a 21-year-old college student visiting Hunt, Texas.
As floodwaters engulfed the house she was staying in, she sent her parents a final text message before her phone went silent. Her body was recovered days later. Her mother, Kellye, expressed both sorrow and gratitude, praying for the recovery of her daughter’s three missing friends.
Kerr County, where Camp Mystic is located, has suffered the greatest loss with 84 deaths. Other counties affected include Travis, Kendall, Burnet, Williamson, and Tom Green. Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency across the hardest-hit areas, as rescue operations remain ongoing.
As families mourn, communities across Texas are holding vigils and organizing relief efforts. The tragedy has drawn national attention, uniting people in grief, remembrance, and support for those affected.
Over 160 are missing after Texas floods. It could take months to find all of them
It could take weeks — or even months — to locate the more than 160 people believed to be missing after the deadly floods in Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, according to an Army lieutenant general who led the military response to Hurricane Katrina.
Officials have not found any survivors of the Texas Hill Country floods since July 4. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged that search efforts will continue until every missing person is found.
But the thousands of officials and volunteers scouring the flood-affected zone are bound to run into challenges posed by the wreckage and the current environmental conditions, retired Army Lieutenant Gen. Russel L. Honoré told Morning Edition.
Honoré led the effort to bring military relief to New Orleans after Katrina in 2005 and has spent years working on disaster recovery operations.
Search efforts can be painstakingly slow because piled up debris has to be carefully removed, Honoré said.
“It’s not like bringing the excavator in and start moving debris. You’ve got to take it off a piece at a time and respect that that might be a person under the next piece of wood you’re picking up,” Honoré said. Rain that fell after the initial devastating flooding also slowed search efforts.
On Wednesday, the Kerville Police Department asked volunteers on social media to not use heavy equipment to tear down large pieces of debris “due to the possibility that a victim could be inside.”
Honoré spoke to NPR’s A Martínez about why search efforts after a disaster can be so challenging and his experience leading efforts after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.