KERRVILLE, Texas — Public officials in charge of finding victims of the devastating flooding in Texas pushed away intensifying questions Tuesday about who was monitoring the weather that killed more than 100 people and warning that floodwaters were barreling toward camps and ֱ.
Leaders in Kerr County, where searchers found at least 87 bodies, said their first priority is recovering victims, not reviewing what happened in the hours before the flash floods inundated the state's Hill Country.
"Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home," Lt. Col. Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens, said during a sometimes tense news conference where officials were questioned about the timing of their response.
Hope of finding survivors was increasingly bleak. Four days have passed since anyone was found alive in the aftermath of the floods in Kerr County, officials said Tuesday.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, left, speaks Tuesday as President Donald Trump, far right, listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the floods. Officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counselor have still not been found.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that emergency responders in Texas are “still looking for a lot of little girls” who remain missing after the catastrophic flood.
Noem described the scene at Camp Mystic at the urging of President Donald Trump as he opened a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. Noem visited on Saturday, a day after floodwaters swept away the camp.
She said Texans are strong but “they've gone through something that is absolutely horrific, and it is heartbreaking to watch these families suffer the way that they are.”
Trump announced during the meeting that he and his wife, Melania, will visit on Friday.
Rescue workers search for missing people Sunday near Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas.
Scenes of devastation
Outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered on a grassy hill that slopes toward the river. Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage decorated with stickers.
The flash floods erupted before daybreak Friday after massive rains sent water speeding down hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet in less than an hour. The wall of water overwhelmed people in cabins, tents and trailers along the river's edge, pulling them into the water. Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some campers had to swim out of cabin windows to safety while others held onto a rope as they made their way to higher ground. Time-lapse videos showed how floodwaters covered roads in a matter of minutes.
Though it's difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make catastrophic storms more likely.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly speaks to the media Saturday after a news conference in Kerrville, Texas.
Where were the warnings?
Questions mounted about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who spent the July Fourth weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as "flash flood alley."
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that sending out warnings isn't "as easy as pushing a button." Answers about who did what and when will come later, public officials said.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said in the hours after the devastation that the county does not have a warning system.
Generations of families in the Hill Country have known the dangers. A 1987 flood forced the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort and swamped buses and vans. Ten teenagers were killed.
Local leaders talked for years about the need for a warning system. Kerr County sought a nearly $1 million grant eight years ago for such a system, but the request was turned down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local residents balked at footing the bill themselves, Kelly said.
Some camps were aware of the dangers Friday and monitored the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. But many people didn't move or were caught by surprise.
Debris from flash flooding is seen Monday at Cedar Stays RV Park in Marble Falls, Texas.
Recovery and cleanup
The bodies of 30 children were among those that have been recovered in Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, the sheriff said.
The devastation spread across several hundred miles in central Texas all the way to just outside the capital city of Austin.
Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said.
Aidan Duncan escaped just in time after hearing the muffled blare of a megaphone urging residents to evacuate Riverside RV Park in the Hill Country town of Ingram.
All of his belongings — a mattress, sports cards, his pet parakeet's bird cage — now sit in caked mud in front of his home.
"What's going on right now, it hurts," the 17-year-old said. "I literally cried so hard."
Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment to untangle trees and move large rocks as part of the massive search for missing people. Hundreds of volunteers showed up to help with one of the largest search operations in Texas history.
Along the banks of the Guadelupe, 91-year-old Charles Hanson, a resident at a senior living center, was sweeping up wood and piling pieces of concrete and stone, remnants from a playground structure.
He wanted to help clean up on behalf of his neighbors who can't get out.
"We'll make do with the best we got," he said.
Is the US becoming uninsurable? How climate change affects insurance costs
Is the US becoming uninsurable? How climate change affects insurance costs
As Southern California still reels from January's catastrophic wildfires, the economic damage has surged to $250 billion, far exceeding initial estimates. But that figure doesn't account for damage incurred by residents whose ֱ and businesses were reduced to rubble and ash.
The Palisades and Eaton fires alone will result in up to to homeowners and businesses, according to data analytics firm CoreLogic. Of course, that only applies to residents who had insurance in the first place.
In the wake of an extreme weather event, residents typically can rely on insurance claims to repair damaged property —but the increasing frequency and severity of fires, storms, floods, and other occurrences complicate coverage.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2023 documented across the U.S., a number that outpaced any prior year on record. Climate change is the main culprit fueling these disasters' increasing frequency and intensity. By September 2023, NOAA reported that the U.S. had already racked up a staggering for that year.
Insurance companies have responded with higher rates to cover costs, culminating in overall higher insurance fees for customers. In June, the Bipartisan Policy Center reported that every quarter since the end of 2017. And car insurance isn't faring any better, either: According to the Washington Post, blizzards, tornadoes, and hailstorms led to a from 2013 to 2023, and hurricanes are responsible for an 88% jump in Florida over the same period.
used data from to analyze the rising number of billion-dollar disasters and their implications for the insurance marketplace in the U.S.
Some insurers have begun leaving states altogether to ensure profit margins, particularly in coastal areas. Notably, Allstate and State Farm halted new policy sales in 2023 for property and casualty coverage in California due to wildfire costs. Many insurers have abandoned Louisiana and Florida residents as hurricane risk intensifies.
Annual home insurance rates average $2,258 as of February 2025—a slight dip from last year. Costs vary widely based on a home's size, age, and location. Nebraska, Florida, and Oklahoma have the highest rates in the nation.
Severe storms cause the most damage nationally each year
Droughts, storms, and floods were nearly unrelenting throughout 2023. In August, Hurricane Idalia brought storm surge, heavy rains, and flooding to Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, causing $3.5 billion in damages. 2024 didn't offer much of a break, either. The year began with tornadoes and high winds across the entire East Coast, racking up $1.8 billion in damages, and ended with back-to-back catastrophic hurricanes, Helene and Milton. Together, they caused an estimated $300 billion in damages and killed 250 people in Florida and other southeastern states.
With severe weather disasters becoming more common, the market for insurance has become more limited—especially in disaster-prone states. In Florida and California, for instance, some big-name insurers have stopped providing services altogether. To counter this, Florida implemented the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, both of which subsidize home insurance.
California, on the other hand, regulates insurer rates by only allowing them to evaluate based on the past 20 years, not just the current conditions. Both methods are imperfect: Florida's subsidy funds are draining quickly, and many insurers refuse to operate in California.
It's important to note that insurance alone is just treating the symptom of a larger issue: In addition to reevaluating home and auto insurance policies, states need to examine how they brace for—and recover from—natural disasters overall. As storms grow and insurance vanishes, they can't afford not to.
A mutually beneficial option might be for insurers and clients to engage in more transparent negotiations. In wildfire-riddled Oregon, for example, new legislation is attempting to encourage insurers to work with citizens to identify and increase coverage for mitigation measures.
Story editing by Nicole Caldwell and Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass and Elisa Huang. Copy editing by Tim Bruns and Kristen Wegrzyn.
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