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Summer camp says 27 girls and staff killed, with 11 still missing

An aerial view of Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Junt, Texas, on Monday morning, July 7, 2025. Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian summer camp hit by the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, confirmed on Monday that at least 27 campers and counselors had died, calling the disaster an “unimaginable tragedy.”  (Carter Johnston/The New York Times)
By Jesus Jiménez, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Rick Rojas and David Goodman New York Times

The weary mayor of Kerrville, Texas, warned residents to expect a “rough week” as chances faded Monday of finding anyone still alive from catastrophic flooding that killed at least 88 people across central Texas.

The mayor, Joe Herring Jr., said rescue crews would push forward with their searches, slashing through debris and downed trees even as they braced for the possibility of more downpours and flash flooding. Ten girls and a counselor remained unaccounted for from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, which said in a statement that at least 27 of its young campers and counselors did not survive the surging waters from the nearby Guadalupe River.

On Monday, local officials faced new rounds of questions over the adequacy of weather forecasts and warning systems in the flood-prone area. The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, requested an inquiry into whether cuts at the National Weather Service contributed to the devastation.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said there would be a “careful examination of what happened” to prevent the same loss of life in the future.

Much of central Texas, including the Hill Country, was under a flood watch Monday. The Weather Prediction Center cautioned that “any storms that move across this extremely vulnerable region will rapidly cause flash flooding.”

The deluge, which began July 4, has become one of the deadliest floods in the United States in the past 100 years.

Here’s what else to know:

— Rescue efforts: Hundreds of people have been scrambling to find survivors clinging to trees and floating on furniture. As time goes on, the chances of finding survivors dwindle, and rescues become recovery missions.

— The victims: At least 75 of those killed in the floods, including 27 children, were in Kerr County, northwest of San Antonio. Five people were killed in Travis County, three in Burnet County, two in Kendall County, two in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County, authorities said.

— One family’s toll: Five members of a Texas family who were camping along the Guadalupe River are among the missing. A sixth survived after being dragged downriver for more than 15 miles.

— Warning systems: Officials in Kerr County have discussed for years whether to build a flood warning system along the banks of the Guadalupe River. But they ultimately rejected the endeavor as too expensive.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.