Texas flooding death toll surpasses 100 as search operations continue

Kerr County officials in southern Texas on Monday announced that the death toll from catastrophic flooding in the region has risen to over 100 fatalities, as search operations for the remaining missing people continues. 

The massive flooding began last week near multiple summer camps in Kerr County, including an all-girl summer camp that lost 27 campers and counselors to the floodwaters. A total of 84 bodies have been found so far, including 28 children.

The bulk of the deaths occurred in Kerr County, but 19 deaths have also been reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials told the Associated Press. 

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said that one of his main priorities will be finding out why some of the camps did not evacuate after the National Weather Service (NWS) sent out warnings. One of the issues, Rice said, was poor cellphone service in the area.

“We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,” he said. “We’re looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.”

The White House and NWS have disputed speculation that a lack of staffing and federal cuts contributed to the massive death toll, stating that all nearby offices were staffed appropriately. 

“The National Weather Service is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County," the service told ABC News. "On July 3, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, TX conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in the morning and issued a Flood Watch in the early afternoon. 

"Flash Flood Warnings were issued on the night of July 3 and in the early morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met," the service continued. "The National Weather Service remains committed to our mission to serve the American public through our forecasts and decision support services."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.