Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of youth campers and others in Kerr County,

Crews work to clear debris from the Cade Loop bridge along the Guadalupe River on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. Volunteers search for missing people along the banks of the Guadalupe River after recent flooding on Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas.

Flash floods surged through in the middle of the night, but many local officials appeared unaware of the unfolding catastrophe, initially leaving people near the river on their own.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

A major flood event also struck the Texas Hill Country in July of 1987 after a series of 17 thunderstorms moved slowly, in succession, over the headwaters of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. Anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain fell on the flood-prone areas, now deemed “Flash Flood Alley,” according to a National Weather Service report.

Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Hill Country residents and volunteers on Tuesday continued picking up the pieces that the deadly waterway left behind days earlier.

It took just 90 minutes for the river to rise more than 30 feet. A look at the historic flood levels now etched into Central Texas history.

Multiple parts of Central Texas, including Kerr County, were shocked by flash floods Friday when the Guadalupe River rose rapidly.