.png)
A week after heavy rains pummeled the Texas Hill Country and the flooded Guadalupe River swept hundreds of people overnight, Texans have come together to mourn, search for the many people missing and begin to rebuild.
Many questions remain about how storms caught off guard an area prone to flooding and led to the second deadliest flood in Texas history.
The floods swept away local residents, summer campers along the river and many visitors who were in the scenic area for the Fourth of July weekend.
At least 128 people died across Texas due to flooding. Authorities in Kerr County added seven more casualties to its death toll Friday, bringing the confirmed total to at least 103 in the county alone. On Friday, Travis County added one more casualty, bringing the death toll for the other five counties in Central Texas affected by flooding to 25.
Earlier this week, the nearly centuryold girls’ Camp Mystic confirmed that 27 campers and counselors were among the dead.
With an estimated 166 people still missing across the region, search operations by law enforcement, fire departments and volunteers continue.
The tragedy has left families like that of Tanya Powell mourning. Her 21-year-old daughter Ella Rose Cahill was found dead Tuesday.
“It was like a relieved, happy, sad, horrible, wonderful news. I mean, I can't even describe it, because you're so happy that she's still not out there somewhere,” Powell said. “But at the same time, it's like this final moment.”
Others, like the father of Ella’s boyfriend Aidan Heartfield, continue searching through debris and muddy waters, even as hopes to find anyone alive have dimmed. Local authorities have said they haven’t made a live rescue since last week.
Aidan’s dad, Thad Heartfield, has been channeling all of his energy into leading volunteer search efforts since the afternoon of July 4. A sliver of hope follows him that Aidan — his kind, smart and gentle 22-year-old son — will rest easy soon.
“I always think today’s the day I’ll get a call from a DNA match,” Heartfield said Wednesday. “I’m answering a lot of calls from numbers I don’t know. Every one of those calls, I think this could be that call.”
Roughly 2,100 emergency responders from 10 states have descended on Kerr County to assist with the recovery and cleanup efforts, according to officials. But the Hill Country’s rough terrain and the flood’s devastation — huge debris piles of trees snapped like toothpicks, pieces of broken buildings and mangled cars — have slowed search efforts.
'Texas Hill Country floods: What we know so far' was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https:// www.texastribune. org/2025/07/11/texashill- country-floodswhat- we-know/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
