Texas Flood Death Toll Rises To 131 As More Rain Threatens Hill Country

Texas flooding

The number of lives lost in the recent Texas storms has climbed to 131, according to an update on Monday, as the state braces for another round of heavy rainfall. The Guadalupe River, which turned deadly during a flash flood on July 4, continues to pose a serious risk.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch through Tuesday morning, warning of possible downpours of up to half a foot of rain across central Texas, from the Rio Grande to Austin and San Antonio. This includes Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas, still recovering from the disaster.

The earlier flood devastated Kerrville and nearby Hunt, where the Camp Mystic summer camp for girls was severely affected. Many of the victims were children—about a third of the county’s fatalities came from the camp, where rising waters swept through before dawn on Independence Day.

Rescue crews searching the riverbanks have been told to pause their operations due to renewed flood risks. Officials are still urging riverside residents to move to safer areas.

Governor Greg Abbott confirmed the updated figures on Monday, noting that while 131 people have died, the number of missing has dropped from over 160 to 97. No survivors have been found since the initial day of the flood, when over a foot of rain fell in less than an hour in what’s known as “flash flood alley.”

Governor Abbott also said a special session of the state legislature will be held later this month to review what went wrong—especially the lack of flash-flood warning sirens in Kerr County and the impact of staff shortages at the National Weather Service, which stemmed from past federal budget cuts.

The tragic event is now considered one of the deadliest flood disasters in the U.S. in recent decades.