Texas National Guard troops use boats to search for survivors in Kerr County following floods that began in the region on July 4, 2025. More than 230 Guard personnel are working in three counties to clear debris and conduct search and rescue operations. (Texas National Guard)
AUSTIN, Texas — Members of the Coast Guard and Texas National Guard helped rescue more than 700 people trapped by devastating flooding across the Texas Hill Country over the weekend that has resulted in more than 80 deaths, including 27 children.
“A whole lot of Texans are grieving right now,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Monday morning from a news conference in Kerr County, where the majority of devastation and death has occurred.
In the central part of the state, heavy rainfall began overnight Thursday into Friday and led rivers to rise swiftly on a holiday weekend in a region common for recreational camping, water activities and host for many children’s summer camps. As of Monday, dozens of people remained missing, according to state officials.
An aerial photo from a Coast Guard rescue crew of flooding in Kerr County, Texas, which began July 4, 2025. The Coast Guard has helped save more than 230 people from floodwaters that have devastated the central part of the state. (U.S. Coast Guard)
The floodwaters have left a massive about of debris strewn about roads and bridges, making search and rescue efforts more difficult, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday. He’s declared a disaster in 15 counties.
Upwards of 15 inches of rain fell in some areas, causing the Guadalupe River to rise more than 20 feet near Kerrville on Friday, according to local and state officials.
The Texas National Guard, which has roughly 230 troops deployed, has rescued 525 people as of Sunday, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, commander of the Texas National Guard. Of those, 366 were air evacuations using a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Suelzer said.
Troops were deployed to Kerr, San Saba and Burnet counties, and include a behavioral health officer, two chaplains and air crews for eight helicopters, Suelzer said.
The 147th Attack Wing has deployed to provide high-resolution imagery to help determine the scope of flooding. The drone takes off from more than 280 miles away in Houston and received special clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly to Kerr County at a lower altitude because of ongoing bad weather, Suelzer said.
A Texas National Guard member searches debris in Kerr County following floods that began in the region on July 4, 2025. More than 230 Guard personnel are working in three counties to clear debris and conduct search and rescue operations. Texas National Guard photo (Texas National Guard)
“It’s truly an eye in the sky for our search and rescue people,” he said.
Other work from Guard members has included ground rescues with vehicles and personnel to assist with damage assessments and shelter operations.
The majority of search-and-rescue work has occurred in Kerr County, where officials had recovered 75 bodies by Monday morning, with more than two dozen still pending identification. Twenty-seven deaths were campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a century-old girls’ camp in Hunt, where the Coast Guard on Friday rescued 15 girls.
“The preservation of life during this incident is our top priority, which is why the Coast Guard is working with the state of Texas alongside other responding agencies to ensure that every asset on scene is able to coordinate, communicate and respond as safety and quickly as possible,” said Capt. Ulysses S. Mullins, chief of staff for the Coast Guard Heartland District.
The Coast Guard sent a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crew from Corpus Christi, as well as another Dolphin from Houston and another Sentry from Miami, Fla., according to the service. Crews conducted 12 flights as of Saturday.
A rescue swimmer from one of those crews left the aircraft and remained with victims, providing medical assistance before helping in the rescue of 230 people alongside partner agencies, the service said.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., said Monday that search and rescue remains the main focus of every first responder.
“This will be a rough week,” he said. “Primary search continues and we remain hopeful — every foot, every mile, every bend in the river, our work continues.”
