Update at 2:20 p.m. ET on July 7, 2025: The death toll from the flooding in central Texas has surpassed 100.
Original report:
As rescue crews in Texas continued to search for 41 people still missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from a Christian camp, after catastrophic floods left at least 82 dead across Central Texas, the White House Faith Office released a statement Sunday calling on Americans to pray, quoting Psalm 34:18.
In a statement sent to The Christian Post, the Faith Office urged the nation “to join us in prayer for the precious lives lost.”
The statement added, “Amidst this tragedy, our nation must come together to pray for the victims, their families, and the first responders conducting rescue missions to find those still missing. May God wrap his loving arms around all those in Texas,” quoting Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
In Kerr County, which includes the historic all-girls Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, 68 bodies have been recovered, including 28 children, as confirmed by Sheriff Larry Leitha during a press briefing in Austin Sunday afternoon.
Leitha told reporters the search for the missing would continue “until everybody is found,” as families returned to the devastated campgrounds to search through wreckage and claim what they could.
At least 82 deaths have been confirmed across Central Texas since torrential rains began on Friday, and 41 people remain missing statewide, including 10 girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety and as reported by The Associated Press.
Rescue crews have encountered high waters, debris and dangerous wildlife, including water moccasins, while navigating the disaster zone, according to the newswire.
Speaking at a press conference Sunday afternoon, Texas officials said more than 400 personnel from state, local and federal agencies are involved in search and rescue operations using helicopters, boats, drones, divers and search dogs.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the search and rescue effort includes 230 Department of Public Safety members, the Texas National Guard and victim support teams. Abbott warned of continued dangers due to expected rainfall and saturated ground over the next 24 to 48 hours, urging residents to stay alert to flash flood warnings and emergency alerts.
He noted that while future flooding might not reach the same magnitude seen in Kerrville, flash floods can occur even with lower water levels in saturated areas.
On Sunday morning, as the emergency alerts blared again in Kerr County with warnings of more flooding, families were briefly allowed to walk through Camp Mystic, once a celebrated institution in Texas for nearly a century.
Families sifted through cabins torn apart by the floodwaters that surged 25 feet above normal levels. Some peered beneath trees and rocks along the riverbank, while others quietly gathered pieces of the past.
A man, whose daughter had been rescued from a cabin on higher ground, walked alone by the river, looking for signs of anyone else.
The camp, located 80 miles northwest of San Antonio, has long served as a summer refuge for generations of young girls, including daughters and granddaughters of Texas political families such as former President Lyndon B. Johnson, former first lady Laura Bush and former Texas Gov. John Connally, NPR noted.
The camp, established in 1926, was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. Its sprawling property along the banks of the Guadalupe River has been reduced to mud-soaked remnants — soaked mattresses, trunks and scattered clothes. A bell was recovered by one camper. Two women were seen sobbing inside a cabin before embracing.
In interviews with NPR, former campers, now adults, described the camp as foundational to their lives.
Shelby Patterson, a University of Virginia fundraiser who attended the camp for eight years, said there is “mourning for what happened,” and for the uncertainty over what remains. Lauren Garcia, a former camper living in New York, called it her “favorite place in the entire world.”
Kim Barnes, whose family attended the camp for three generations, said she and her daughter were texting memories and pictures of the camp in the hours after the flood. “It brings me to my knees,” she was quoted as saying.
Colonel Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety said at the briefing that recovery efforts have shifted to identifying the deceased and providing closure to families. “We have some unidentified individuals at the funeral home, adults and juveniles,” he said, adding that the Texas Rangers are collecting DNA from both families and the victims to identify remains through rapid DNA testing at the University of North Texas in Denton.
The state has received a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump, enabling expanded access to federal support and emergency resources.
General Seltzer of the Texas National Guard and Phil Wilson of the Lower Colorado River Authority also joined officials in coordinating logistics, while Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management continued to oversee state response activities.
