Live updates: Trump touches down in Kerrville as search operations continue

County music legend George Strait has announced plans for a benefit concert for Hill Country flood victims.

The "King of Country" plans the "Strait to the Heart" concert for July 27 at Estancia at Thunder Valley, which is west of Boerne. Ticket and tables at the indoor arena event start at $1,000. To get tickets or make a donation send an email to Vaquerosdm@gmail.com.

Complimentary tickets will be offered to local first responders.

The concert will also include Strait's Vaqueros del Mar partner, Tom Cusick, and special guests William Beckman, Ray Benson, Wade Bowen, Dean Dillon, Riley Green, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Kyle Park, Hudson Westbrook and members of Strait's Ace in the Hole Band.

The pavilion in the Comfort Community Park looks like an oversized convenience store without a cash register. That's because it's a distribution center for relief supplies.

Margaret Stone and April McDonald, both with the Comfort Chamber of Commerce, run the spot. They offer a variety of items provided by the Salvation Army for people who experienced the floods.

Stone said people who come here don’t just get diapers, canned goods, and clean-up supplies.

“We give them a hug, we spend time with them, and we let them talk," she explained. "They need to know that we are listening, and we are passing on the appropriate counseling services information.”

More information on how to assist the Comfort community is available here.

FEMA and the State of Texas may provide up to $9,000 to cover funeral or burial expenses resulting from the severe storms and flooding.

FEMA said people are eligible for the assistance if they are a U.S. citizen or lawful resident and if FEMA can confirm their identity, the death or disinterment was caused by the disasters, and the expenses are not covered by other sources of financial assistance.

People can apply for assistance online here, on the FEMA mobile app, or the FEMA Helpline. An in-person assistance site is at First Baptist Church at 625 Washington Street in Kerrville.

The Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue and Recovery Team offers aid to non-domesticated animals during emergencies.

Its services include veterinary care, temporary holding facilities and emergency relocation for animals, and habitat restoration.

The team has been deployed to natural disasters including hurricanes Harvey, Ian and Laura.

The new, 24/7 statewide crisis support line is for Texans impacted by the floods.

Survivors, families, first responders and others affected by the disaster are eligible for free professional crisis counseling by calling 833-812-2480.

All calls are confidential and monitored by counselors trained to work with disaster survivors.

Clouds will hang over Kerr County this weekend and the area could see rain and thunderstorms starting early Sunday morning.

There's a 40% chance of rain Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country said it would distribute $5 million in initial grants to 20 nonprofit organizations doing on-the-ground relief and recovery work.

The money will go to individuals, families, local businesses and first-responding agencies that need relief.

The fund was organized soon after the flooding and has been promoted by Kerr County.

Learn more at communityfoundation.net.

Psychology lecturer Katheryn Eads, architecture student Reese Manchaca and management student Ella Cahill all died in the flooding.

Eric Brey is dean of the College of Engineering and Integrated Design, where Manchaca was a student.

“She left a mark on our peers and our college through her creative creativity, kindness and energy," he said during a vigil Wednesday. "She had just completed her junior year, was very excited about the next steps in her journey as an architect.”

At the vigil Wednesday Damaris Ibarra, from UTSA’s Wellbeing Services, read aloud comments left by those who knew Cahill.

“Ella was a kind-hearted and warm soul who was hard working and just a beautiful person," Ibarra said. "She impacted us greatly and was part of our campus rec family for three years.”

Ibarra also read comments from those who knew Eads.

“Dr. Sandra Morrissette is also sharing that Dr. Eads was a kind, compassionate and dedicated teacher, and saying that we will miss her greatly.”

UTSA will hold an in-person vigil on the main campus Friday at noon.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country will host a press conference this morning at 9 a.m. to announce a major milestone in the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund established a week ago.

The announcement will include an update on financial contributions and details about the first round of grant recipients.

The first round of grants is expected to immediately be dispersed to more than 20 nonprofit organizations helping local people, businesses and first responders.

The president and First Lady are expected to survey the damage from the deadly flooding that hit the Hill Country one week ago today.

He will also participate in a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn said he will join the president during his visit.

Bill Blackburn has lived in Kerrville for 40 years, even serving as mayor from 2018 to 2022.

"Yes, we've seen floods on the Guadalupe River over the years," he said. "But that level of flooding, that amount of water is just hard to believe."

Blackburn said his daughter-in-law up and two granddaughters were staying just west of Camp Mystic when someone woke them up around 3 a.m. Friday as the Guadalupe River spilled over its banks faster than a longtime resident like Blackburn had ever seen.

The mother collected her daughters and what belongings she could and got in her car, driving toward Hunt. On the way they hit floodwaters that quickly climbed halfway up their car doors.

"[She] used very good judgment, was able to get the car to the higher ground and then she and the girls up on a hill, to wait out the storm," he said.

Blackburn said she almost didn't make it.

"When I think about their experience and what could have happened, of course ... it just, it does you in," he said.

While they survived, Blackburn acknowledged the many people who didn't.

"I feel like there's a blanket of grief and sadness just over this community," he said. "When you think about the lives lost, the numbers missing, the structural damage and structures that are damaged and destroyed, the natural beauty.

"It is so hard. It is just almost too much."

The committees will have 30 days, starting July 21, to draft legislation that will upgrade flood warning systems and emergency communications and provide relief funding for areas impacted by the floods.

Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a hydrometeorologist and senior researcher at Columbia University's Climate School, said lawmakers should work through how residents in Kerr County were notified of the flooding that has claimed 120 lives.

"What were the discussions? How were different areas prioritized or deprioritized?" he said. "These are questions that must be included in the post-event analysis."

Dozens of emergency response teams from across the country are in Central Texas to help victims of the recent flooding.

Among them is Americares, which helps with health-related issues during disasters.

Mariel Fonteyn, the group’s director of emergency response, said that Americares has deployed a response team to Kerrville and are on the ground working with local partners to restore health services and deliver critical medical supplies.

“People are running from their homes, and they forget medicine. They forget those health needs that they have or their daily medicines they need to stay healthy and need to get those replaced as soon as possible.”

In the aftermath of catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country, the performance of local National Weather Service offices has become the focus of intense scrutiny. Could NWS offices have better alerted the public to flood dangers? Did federal staffing cuts hinder the service’s ability to do its job?

Democratic legislators in D.C. have already called for investigations, and Texas state lawmakers are planning a special legislative session that will focus, in part, on answering those questions.

But as politicians and outside experts weigh in, the voices of NWS meteorologists themselves typically have been absent from the conversation, possibly because current weather service employees may not feel free to speak publicly.

To fill that void, KUT News reached out to recently retired career NWS meteorologists to learn how they think staffing cuts and hiring freezes have impacted the service’s mission to forecast and warn the public about extreme weather.

Here's what they said.

Texas lawmakers will head back to the Capitol beginning Monday, July 21, for a special legislative session.

While regulating THC was Abbott's original priority for the special session, the focus has shifted to addressing historic flooding in the Hill Country.

Abbott is calling on lawmakers to introduce legislation that would improve early warning systems, strengthen emergency communications and speed up recovery efforts in flood-prone areas.

“We’re going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure we have in place the systems that are needed to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future,” Abbott said Tuesday at a press conference in Kerr County.

Other topics on the agenda include redrawing congressional maps, reducing property taxes, tweaking abortion laws and eliminating the STARR standardized test for public school students.

Read more from The Texas Newsroom.

Courtesy of Danny McDonald

Alexis Moriarty wanted to help.

The teenager and her mom, Michelle, dropped off underwear, towels and toothpaste to donation centers in Kerr County on Sunday, following the devastating floods nearby that have killed more than 100 people. Dozens are still missing.

The two then pulled off the highway near Comfort to join a search team.

“We were walking up the Guadalupe River, up and down, seeing if we could find anything that belonged to anybody,” Alexis said. “Or, anybody.”

The mother and daughter, who are from San Antonio, picked through brush and muck for nearly two hours. Disasters like floods, tornadoes and hurricanes have a habit of picking up people’s belongings and shaking them like a snow globe — and then breaking the snow globe. Alexis and her mom saw detached door frames, a koozie, even a badge from a school band stuck in a tree.

Read more from KUT.

Josiah Neely of R Street Institute, a Texas-based organization that focuses on public policy issues including climate change, says conspiracy theories swirling about cloud seeding causing flooding in Kerr County are unfounded.

Cloud seeding increases the volume of rain by less than 20%.

"That’s not going to turn even an ordinary cloud into the flash flood that you saw in Kerrville and other places in Texas," Neely said. "When you talk to meteorologists, they’ll say [the storm came from] the moisture that was coming up from tropical storm Barry.”

Neely says proposed laws to ban cloud seeding could restrict access to a valuable tool used to help the agriculture industry, especially in times of drought.

Learn more about cloud seeding and flooding on The Source podcast at tpr.org.

New dangers are emerging as the floodwaters recede and recovery efforts begin across the Hill Country.

Floodwater could contain bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. It’s also a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes, which may begin to swarm areas that have been flooded.

Chris van Deusen, a spokesman with the Texas Department of State Health Services, said standing water may also hide sharp objects or displaced wildlife. He said homes that have been inundated should be gutted.

"Mold can really grow in ... what is still a warm, wet environment," he said.

Crates full of dogs and cats from Kerr and Williamson counties lined the tarmac outside Texas Jet in Fort Worth on Wednesday. Some will stay with emergency foster families in the area, and others will continue heading north to Kanab, Utah.

Nelda Corbell with the nonprofit Wings of Rescue said the transport helps free up kennels for pets displaced by last week’s devastating floods.

"There's such a great need right now and truly this is just a small part of what we can do to make things better, getting pets out," Corbell said.

The organization partnered with SPCA of Texas and the Humane Society of North Texas to find foster families.

More pets are set to arrive in Fort Worth on Thursday.

Now that the water’s receded, Kerrville is slowly coming back. But it’s not quite the same.

Becky Etzler is executive director of the Riverside Nature Center.

“These giant historic cypress trees, bald cypress that line the Guadalupe all through Kerrville, you know, are either gone or damaged," Etzler said. "People are right now, rightfully so, very concerned about the loss of life, but we're going to be environmentally impacted by this for years.”

The nature center has a strong volunteer base that has been there for days. But strangers have dropped by as well.

“The rugby team from Texas State, they contacted me Sunday night, said, ‘We're in town. Can we come?’ So we had the whole rugby team here yesterday," Etzler said. "We had some nice, young, strong backs to do some heavy lifting for us.”

Also there: the Shim’s Be Blessed food truck, which delivered free lunches, and Mir’s Landscaping, which supplied a crew with chainsaws. On the other side of the Guadalupe was a sign that read "Free Sandwiches and Prayer."

“Ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches or peanut butter and jelly? Which one do you want?” asked Jamie Stanford, who drove the five hours from Fort Worth to help.

"We're here to pray with people. Give them a free sandwich if they're hungry, and just to show emotional and spiritual support as much as possible,” she said.

Her friend Brigid Tripp came too.

“I think one of the things that stands out too is yesterday, a canine first responder unit came, and he just had tears in his eyes the whole time," Tripp said. "And you know, my heart just knows what they saw."

Homeowners, renters and eligible non-residents impacted by the severe storms and flooding in Kerr County can apply for disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration starting Thursday, July 10.

The disaster recovery center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at First Baptist Church, 625 Washington St. in Kerrville.

Claim should first be filed with insurance companies. Federal funding is available for those whose policies don't cover all damages.

FEMA staff can help in several ways, including:

• Checking the status of an application already in the system and making minor changes to applications.
• Contacting faith-based organizations, community groups, private sector businesses and public libraries that may have the capability to distribute disaster-related information to residents in the impacted counties.
• Identifying organizations providing disaster-related services and/or resources to the public for long-term recovery.
• Gathering information about impacts to communities.
• Providing flyers explaining how to apply for disaster assistance.

For information and to apply online visit the Small Business Association's website at SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call the SBA at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Survivors may also apply for assistance through FEMA's website, disasterAssistance.gov, which is the fastest method, or by downloading the FEMA App for mobile devices or calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Calls are accepted every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Help is available in most languages.

Courtesy of HEB

Two of the state's best-known brands, both born in Kerrville, are showing their support for Hill Country flood victims in a big way.

Grocery giant H-E-B started as a tiny family-owned store in Kerrville in 1905. H-E-B, a household name to most Texans that's headquartered in San Antonio, now has 435 stores in Texas and Mexico.

Volunteers from H-E-B have been on the ground serving up meals, distributing gift cards, handing out bottled water and clean-up products, and pitching in with the clean-up themselves.

What is now James Avery Artisan Jewelry started in 1954 by James Avery in his mother-in-law's garage in Kerrville, according to the company's website. The self-taught jewelry-maker fell in love with Kerrville as he underwent training at Lackland Air Force to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corp.

Avery died in 2018, and his son Chris has served as CEO and chairs the company's board.

The company's manufacturing facility is based in Kerrville on property purchased by James Avery. It temporarily closed this week due to the flood. The company today has 1,000 associates and 30 retail stores and is selling its famous charms to raise money for flood victims.

Read more from TPR.

Cpt. Jason Waldrip with the Kerr County Sheriff's Office says the department has coordinated with a local construction company, the Texas Department of Public Safety and a team from Acuña, in the Mexican state of Coahuila, to locate the missing.

"We have spotters on the ground, so as materials are being removed, we are looking for anything of a sign of a person that may be within this material," Waldrip said.

Heavy equipment is being used to remove debris build up.

He asks anyone in Kerrville to avoid areas where excavators are working.

Katie Hayes Luke

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For NPR

Hours after catastrophic flooding tore through Kerr County, an army of volunteers was already en route.

"We had seen the alerts overnight when we started getting reports about mass casualties. We had a feeling we were going to get a call," says Brian Trascher, vice president of the Louisiana-based group of volunteers called the United Cajun Navy.

And within a couple of hours they did.

By Friday afternoon, a group from a chapter in San Antonio arrived with airboats. Trascher and others from Louisiana soon joined them.

Read more about the United Cajun Navy's rescue efforts in Kerr County from NPR here.

Tom Moser, who served as Kerr County commissioner from 2012 to 2021, told NPR he advocated for a flood warning system with sirens in 2016 after a deadly flood in nearby Wimberley.

That system was never built because commissioners were denied funding from state grants and there was public pushback.

Locals were concerned about the more than $1 million price tag. "People did not like the idea of sirens throughout the county," he added.

Read more from NPR.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension service has teamed up with the Texas Well Owners Network, its well owner education program, to begin testing private water wells for contaminants in the next few weeks.

“Our biggest concern with a situation like this is that we generally see elevated levels of E. coli," said John W. Smith, an AgriLife Extension program specialist. "And basically, what we're saying when that hits is the possibility of some kind of feces-borne contaminant may be in your well."

Private well owners are being asked to bring water samples into the AgriLife Extension offices in Burnet, Lampasas, Llano and San Saba counties Thursday morning from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Visit the Resources tab at twon.tamu.edu for more information.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Wednesday that the county will look at the initial response to the flooding at a later time.

Volunteer firefighters requested that the county deploy an emergency alert system known as CodeRED in the early morning hours of Friday as the Guadalupe River rose. Residents told The Texas Newsroom they received alerts at different times. County officials have insisted that an emergency alert system doesn't exist.

"As with other significant events that our emergency services encounter, this incident will be reviewed," Leitha said. "You have my word. When if necessary, if improvements need to be made, improvements will be made. "

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said the state will provide resources to fund alert systems currently used in other Texas communities.

Gov. Greg Abbott said flood assistance would be a priority in the upcoming special legislative session.

Officials say rescue efforts began when two Kerrville Police officers rescued people in Hunt as the flood waters began to rise. 

Kerrville Police Sgt. Jonathan Lamb said at a press conference Wednesday that other officers joined in the rescue efforts in the hours that followed.

"They rescued people out of vehicles. They rescued people out of homes that were already flooding, pulling them out of windows."

Lamb says officers evacuated over 100 homes and evacuated and rescued over 200 people in the initial hours of the flooding.

In the wake of the deadly floods in Central Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott praised President Trump for quickly approving a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, the hardest-hit area.

"The swift and very robust action by President Trump is an extraordinary help to our response," Abbott said.

The declaration unlocked federal money to assist with the disaster response. That includes paying for debris removal, for search and rescue experts who are working around the clock, and for housing, food and other immediate necessities for those who lost homes in the floods.

But such assistance may not be available in the future.

Read more about the cuts to FEMA from NPR.

Greg Allen

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NPR

For a large group of volunteers, the search for victims of the July 4 flood begins every morning — before sunrise — in the parking lot of a Walmart in Kerrville.

It's an effort led by Thad Heartfield.

Standing in the center, ringed by volunteers, they start with a prayer. Then he says, "Let's gather in close and I'll give you a briefing." Heartfield isn't normally an emergency worker. He's an attorney from Beaumont, Texas. His family had a house in Hunt, an unincorporated community on the Guadalupe River.

On the day of the flood, Heartfield's son was staying there with three friends.

"I was on the phone with him at 4 a.m. when they were washed away from the home," he says. "The water just overwhelmed them. We're still missing my son, Aidan Heartfield, and Ella Cahill."

Read more from NPR.

Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic’s emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children.

The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding “procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster.” Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counselor.

Five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press do not offer any details of those plans at Mystic, raising new questions about the camp’s preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in flood-prone Texas Hill Country.

Read more from the AP.

Kerrville held its first city council meeting Tuesday evening since the devastating Fourth of July floods. The city renewed its disaster declaration and began discussing how the cleanup will work.

The city plans to use 28 acres of soccer fields to pile up tree debris.

"We need a massive amount of space,” said assistant city manager Michael Hornes. “I'm not sure exactly the numbers of debris, but it's in the millions of cubic yards, and it's kind of an unimaginable concept."

Kerr County officials are asking residents to delay cleaning their properties until debris drop-off sites are established. The county will update its Facebook page with site locations.

Kerr County enacted a burn ban earlier this week after debris fires were interfering with search efforts.

The city must also repair a water plant, as well as bridges and sidewalks.

The search operation continues to find all who went missing during the flood.

"I wish to God there was a way we could have warned them,” said Mayor Joe Herring Jr.

In his first press conference after the deadly floods last weekend, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said unequivocally that the area did not have an emergency alert system.

“We have no warning system,” he said on the morning of July 4, just hours after the Guadalupe River topped its banks. When pushed about why evacuations did not occur earlier, Kelly doubled down. “We didn't know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. …This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”

And when asked Tuesday at what time warnings were issued, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said he was focused on search and rescue.

“It's not that easy, and you just push a button. Okay? There's a lot more to that, and we've told you several times,” he said. A reporter then asked, “Did it happen?” to which Leitha responded, “I can't tell you at this time.”

But The Texas Newsroom has learned that not only does the county have a mass-alert system for public emergencies, first responders asked that it be triggered early Friday morning.

Read more at TPR.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced during a press conference on Tuesday that 161 people remain unaccounted for throughout the Hill Country.

“We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,” Abbott said.

Among them are five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor, Abbott said.

It was a miraculous story: two girls rescued alive, nearly 30 feet up in a tree, two days after a devastating flood hit the Texas Hill Country and claimed the lives of more than 100 people.

The story was reported in local media and shared hundreds of times across several social media platforms. It was an inspiring tale, giving people a glimmer of hope during a tumultuous time.

But just as quickly as it spread, the story was debunked by state and local officials as an all-too-common case of misinformation during a disaster.

Read more from KERA News.

Dominic Anthony Walsh

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Houston Public Media

Across the Texas Hill Country, flood survivors are returning to homes filled with mud, debris and sewage – some with wildlife still swimming through hallways. In Ingram and other hard-hit areas, families are sorting through waterlogged furniture, ruined keepsakes and collapsed walls.

Despite the devastation, many are focused on what they still have: their lives, their loved ones and support from neighbors.

"We lost everything inside the home, but we have our lives," Lilia Herrera said.

Read more stories from those who survived the floods from TPR.

Austin Pets Alive! has been working in Kerrville and surrounding areas, focusing on:

• Emergency sheltering and vet care for rescued animals
• Reuniting pets with their families whenever possible
• Transporting adoptable pets to safer areas to free up space in local shelter.

Courtesy of Austin Pets Alive!

APA! is urging the public to donate only through official channels to avoid scams. Monetary support is most needed. Read more from the Texas Standard.

David Beebe and his family narrowly escaped the flood’s wrath thanks to their intimate knowledge of the land. Staying at a riverfront home built on high stilts, they spotted risk early – about 3:45 a.m. – when relentless rain intensified.

Read more about the Beebe family's harrowing escape from floodwaters from the Texas Standard.

The state has mobilized a slew of resources to support flood recovery efforts, including more than 1,700 personnel and nearly 1,000 vehicles.

More than 20 state agencies are now active across the affected region. Texas remains at a Level II escalated emergency response – one step below the highest alert level – as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference today at 3 p.m. to update the public on the state’s response to the deadly floods. He’s expected to speak on emergency operations, aid efforts and ongoing recovery.

Check back here for coverage following the governor’s remarks.

Members of Pat Green’s family are among those unaccounted for following the floods that ravaged Texas over the weekend.

The Fort Worth-based country singer’s younger brother, sister-in-law and two of their children are missing, according to an Instagram post from Green’s wife.

Read more from KERA News.

Lt. Col. Ben Baker with the Texas Game Wardens gave an update on search efforts at a press conference on Tuesday.

"It's extremely treacherous, time consuming. It's dirty work," he said. "The water's still there. So we're having to go layer by layer, peeling these off to make those recoveries."

Baker said the game wardens have conducted more than 400 rescues and 30 recoveries.

He says additional rain this week could potentially alter, but not deter, search and recovery efforts.

Officials say a private drone collided with a rescue helicopter in Kerr County on Monday, forcing it to make an emergency landing and rendering it out of service.

Airspace is restricted over the search zone.

Kerr County Commissioners also approved a burn ban on Monday after burning debris was interfering with search and rescue efforts along the Guadalupe River.

"We already have enough obstacles we're going through in the search and rescue," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. "This could hamper [it] in several ways. We're worried about our aircraft, we're worried about drones, we're worried about it putting off heat. What do we look for at night? We look for a heat source."

Heat put off by fires interferes with heat-detecting equipment being used in the search process.

Homeowners and renters impacted by the floods may qualify for federal assistance, including temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss, or other disaster-caused needs. Read more about how to apply for relief from TPR.

Priscilla Rice

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KERA News

A North Texas man from Mesquite who has made it his life’s mission to find missing people is helping others search for their loved ones following this weekend’s flooding along the Guadalupe River.

“I’m exhausted,” said Alfonso Solis, who spent the weekend offering support to first responders. He came back to his residence in Mesquite on Monday for some respite and to see his family — but plans to return to Kerr County on Tuesday to continue the work.

Read more from KERA News.

Michael Minasi

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KUT News

Flash floods struck Austin-area counties over the holiday weekend. Homes were swamped, bridges washed out and at least 14 people were killed across Travis, Williamson and Burnet counties, with many still missing. Read more from KUT News.

The Texas Hill Country – spanning Kerrville and Central Texas – is part of what meteorologists call “flash flood alley,” a landscape marked by steep limestone hills and winding rivers that unleash sudden, destructive floods when heavy rain hits.

Read more about why this region is one of the most dangerous in the country for flash flooding.

Camp Mystic, the 99-year-old Christian girls' summer retreat nestled on the banks of the Guadalupe River, was more than a camp – it was “my favorite place in the entire world,” recalled former camper Lauren Garcia. Now, the popular all-girls camp set among limestone hills 80 miles northwest of San Antonio is the site of an unfolding tragedy.

Read more about the history of Camp Mystic from The Texas Newsroom.

Survivors need to find out how to rebuild their lives. People from throughout the region, the state and the nation are eager to assist them in some way.

Here is some guidance for both people who need help and those who want to help.

Pickup trucks lie half-submerged in fields of debris. Family photo albums, mud-caked and torn, are scattered where homes once stood. The aftermath of catastrophic flash floods has left the Texas Hill Country reeling.

Among the dead are 27 children who were attending Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer camp that became the heart of one of the deadliest natural disasters in Texas history.

Read more about those who died from The Texas Newsroom.