Officials in Texas have confirmed that at least 21 children died when severe flash floods hit the US state early on Friday.
Local authorities said on Sunday they were still searching for missing children from a Christian summer camp. Located near the Guadalupe River, the camp was accommodating more than 750 children when the floods struck after heavy rainfall.
“It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote on X after visiting the aftermath at Camp Mystic.
In addition, 38 adults died state-wide in the flash floods, bringing the total death toll to at least 59, with some bodies yet to be identified, US officials said on Sunday.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said earlier that the river had risen by almost 8 metres in a very short span of time in the early hours of the morning, while many victims were still asleep.
US President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration to enable additional federal aid for the affected area.
Patricio Levesange, left, and his grandson, 10-year-old Benjamin Levesange, center, scan the banks of the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas with a Kerrville Fire Department first responder, looking for individuals swept away in early morning flooding on July 4, 2025. At least 24 people are dead in flooding; more than 200 rescued. Between 23 and 25 girls missing from Camp Mystic in Hill Country. San Antonio Express-News/Express-News via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa