What we know
- DOZENS KILLED: At least 104 people are dead across six counties. In Kerr County, officials reported 84 deaths — those of 56 adults and 28 children.
- SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS: Though the likelihood of finding survivors grows slimmer four days out from the devastating flood, rescue crews continue to comb through the region, searching for survivors.
- FLOOD THREAT REMAINS: More rain is expected in Central Texas, and a flash flooding risk remains in the area.
- CAMP MYSTIC GRIEVES: Camp Mystic, the summer camp at the center of the devastating flooding that has hit the Texas Hill Country over the last three days, is "grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors."
Couple searching for parents opened RV's doors to find neck-deep water
While Luke and Irene Brake were able to get to safety during the deadly flooding in Kerrville, his parents, who were in town visiting, remain missing.
The family had been celebrating a holiday weekend, fishing, barbecuing and just being together.
They had been staying at different locations when the disaster unfolded.
Once they were alerted to the flooding, Luke and Irene Brake got out of their RV and began making their way toward higher ground.
“We opened our door, we’re neck-deep in the flood,” Luke Brake said.
Their RV began floating away, and the type of lodging his parents had been staying in — a tiny rental home — began floating by.
“I was awoken to people screaming,” Irene Brake said. “I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew we needed rescue.”
The couple made it to safety with their pets but continue to await news about his parents.
What do they need most right now? Prayers as the search continues.
“I’m looking for closure,” Luke said. “I’m hoping that everyone who has someone missing gets the closure they need.”
Flood watch expires, but watches and warnings continue along rivers
A flood watch in effect for Hill Country and the Interstate 35 corridor expired at 7 p.m. CT, but the National Weather Service has extended riverside flood watches and warnings, some through Thursday.
Federal forecasters say a trough of low-pressure air is likely to move into the region from the Gulf Coast, presenting the possibility of scattered thunderstorms and associated rain.
"The atmosphere will likely not be as supportive of the very high rain rates seen over the past few days, remain vigilant as these coastal showers could push over highly saturated ground," the weather service office that covers Hill Country said in a forecast discussion today.
The Guadalupe River is under a flood warning from late tomorrow through Friday morning, with minor flooding expected, federal forecasters said.
From now through Wednesday, the San Saba River at San Saba is the subject of a flood warning, with waters expected to reach slightly above flood stage tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service.
The Llano River at Llano, which could reach nearly 2 feet above flood stage this evening, is the subject of a flood warning through tomorrow, according to the weather service.
And the Leon River at Gatesville and Cowhouse Creek near Pidcoke, both in Coryell County, are the subjects of flood warnings now through Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said. Forecasters believe the Leon could crest at 2 feet above flood stage tomorrow morning.
Home along the river became a house of miracles for Texas family
Hallie Thompson's home on the Guadalupe River in Hunt has been in her family for three generations, not quite as long as her female relatives have been attending nearby Camp Mystic.
On Thursday night, her husband, her brother and two of her children, ages 2 and 7, along with their dog, were anticipating the holiday and the arrival of more family, she said. Brother Phillip had been sleeping downstairs but was up and shouting the names of loved ones upstairs.
Awakened, the relatives looked downstairs from an interior balcony to see Philip chest-deep in rising water, Thompson said. Once they figured the only response was flight, they rushed to a window, only to realize that a tree, multiple two-by-four planks and other debris were puncturing a wall and making it impossible to escape, she said.
"The home was ripped in half," Thompson said. "The front of it is gone."
The family moved to another side of the home as water rose to a first-level rooftop, she said. It wasn't clear how they would avoid the raging Guadalupe, but the water started to drop almost as fast as it rose, she said. Thompson noticed the headlights of a vehicle on higher ground nearby, she said. It belonged to neighbors, and they were waiting.
Water got low enough for the whole household to get out and into the safety of their neighbors' vehicle, Thompson said.
"There were no stairs anymore, and so one by one ... we were evacuated to their home, safely across, across the road and up the hill," she said.
One of Thompson's daughters, 10-year-old Mamie, was at Camp Mystic. Her 10-year-old niece was also in the cabin, and as it flooded, her daughter awoke and was soon being pulled through a window by three camp counselors, she said.
A vehicle that came to the rescue was washed away, Thompson said, as the children watched and clung to trees and a utility pole. The girls climbed the adjacent mountain, known at the camp as Sky High, barefoot and in pajamas, she said, making it to safety and eventually trekking to Camp Mystic's nearby location on higher ground.
"I'm so grateful," Thompson said. "How do you thank someone for your life, for your family's life? I hope they know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We're here because they kept watch and put their own lives at risk to make sure my family was safe."
Sisters who died found holding hands after more than a day of searching
Two sisters who died in the catastrophic Texas flooding were found holding hands, according to a relative.
Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11, were vacationing with their family in the Casa Bonita cabin community in Hunt when devastating floods tore through the area. Their bodies were recovered Saturday, about 15 miles downstream.
Jennifer Harber, the girls’ aunt, wrote in a detailed statement on GoFundMe that the sisters "hands were locked together" when rescuers found them.
Harber said Blair and Brooke had been staying in a cabin with their grandparents, Mike and Charlene. The girls’ mother and father, Annie and RJ, were lodged farther up the hill, away from the river.
100 deaths confirmed as search-and-rescue efforts continue
At least 104 people have been killed across six counties as a result of the devastating floods.
The majority, 84, were killed in Kerr County, officials said — 56 adults and 28 children.
Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old Christian summer camp for girls in Kerr County, has said that it was “grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors.”
Seven people were killed in Travis County, four in Burnet County and six in Kendall County. Two people were killed in Williamson County, and one person was killed in Tom Green County.
Search-and-rescue missions continue.
As the waters rose, 'everyone was looking for somewhere to go'
Riata Schoepf was staying at a hotel near the Guadalupe River when severe flooding struck. Everyone was told to leave the hotel and get to safety, she said.
But there was little luck as they all tried to get out by vehicle. There were only two exits, and everyone was trying to get out.
“Everyone’s trying to go the same place, and nobody can go anywhere,” she said. The traffic was at a standstill, and the way out was unpassable because of the water.
So she got out her vehicle and began walking amid the rising water, desperate for somewhere safer.
“As you’re walking, the water is just getting higher and higher,” she said. She kept trudging through the water, which was as high as her chest.
When she saw a two-story house nearby, she heard screaming and found help.
People who were gathered there threw sheets down to Schoepf, who had help climbing up to safety.
“Everyone was looking for somewhere to go,” she said.
Ted Cruz's office says he left family vacation in Greece and returned to Texas shortly after news of deadly flooding
Sen. Ted Cruz's office today issued a statement laying out a timeline of the his out-of-state travels after a news report said Cruz, R-Texas, was spotted in Greece a day after flooding in his state killed dozens of people.
“The Senator was already in the middle of preplanned family vacation travel overseas when the flooding occurred on July 4,” Cruz’s office said following an article published by The Daily Beast.
The statement added that Cruz spoke by phone with Trump and several Texas officials within hours of the flooding and that “he promptly booked a flight back home."
"Given the time difference, he left Athens on Sunday morning and was back in Texas that night. And he was in Kerrville on the ground early Monday morning,” his office said.
Cruz was at a news conference this morning with Texas officials.
In 2021, Cruz came under intense scrutiny after he and his family left Texas on vacation during a historic winter storm that devastated the state. He later said his departure for Cancún, Mexico, was “obviously a mistake.”
White House says it's 'not the administration’s fault that the flood hit when it did'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against questions about why flood alerts were issued "while people were likely sleeping" and what the administration is doing to ensure alerts go out earlier.
Leavitt noted that the National Weather Service issued escalating warnings regarding the weather forecasts Thursday as information came in. She said there were "timely flash flood alerts," including a flood watch in the afternoon and evening, and "timely flash flood alerts" at night.
"So people were sleeping in the middle of the night when this flood came — that was an act of God," Leavitt said. "It's not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did, but there were early and consistent warnings."
Toll climbs as more deaths are confirmed in Burnet County
Four deaths have been confirmed in Burnet County, officials said this afternoon, bringing the death toll to 95 across the state.
The vast majority were in Kerr County, where officials said they've recovered 75 bodies, including those of 27 children. Seven more people were killed in Travis County, home to Austin.
Six people were killed in Kendall County, two in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County.
8-year-old twins who died at Mystic remembered for their joy, grandfather says
Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, 8-year-old twins, were killed in the flash flood while they were at Camp Mystic with their older sister, their grandfather David Lawrence told NBC News.
The twins' older sister, Harper, was also at camp but was safely evacuated, he said. He shared a photo of the twins smiling together in winter coats at a family get-together in Vermont after Christmas.
"It has been an unimaginable time for all of us," the grandfather said. "Hanna and Rebecca gave their parents, John and Lacy, and sister Harper, and all in our family, so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten."
'Like an ocean out there': Camper describes flood evacuation
Kaelan Kubena, 11, describes his counselors' heroism as they worked to safely evacuate campers from rising floodwaters along the Guadalupe River.
5 million in central Texas remain under flood watch
Flood watches remain in effect for about 5 million people in central Texas this afternoon. They include residents in San Angelo, Killeen, Kerrville, San Antonio and Austin.
Slow-moving showers and storms with heavy rain continue to affect parts of the already-saturated region.
So far today, the steadiest rain has been north of Kerrville. Flash flood warnings are in effect for locations near Junction and Brady through at least 4 p.m. CT.
Flood warnings were issued hours in advance but may not have reached the victims
While some have criticized the National Weather Service in the aftermath of the Texas flash floods, an NBC Dallas-Fort Worth investigation found that the agency first issued a warning 12 hours ahead of the sweeping waters.
In a statement, the agency said its warnings provided “preliminary lead times of more than three hours.” Troy Kimmel, an Austin-based meteorologist and emergency manager, said he believes the NWS issued timely alerts with the best information available.
“This warning pointed out this is a dangerous situation, you should be ready to take quick action, and it included Kerr County,” Kimmel said.
But it's unclear whether those warnings were able to reach everyone. Kerr County does not have weather sirens, but the NWS said it added keywords to the 1 a.m. warning to automatically trigger wireless alerts on cellphones and weather radios in the area.
At Camp Mystic, a camp policy posted online showed cellphones were “unacceptable electronic devices” for campers. Therefore, many campers may not have had access to phones at all.
Couple search for five missing family members
COMFORT, Texas — Jeff Wilhelm and his wife are searching for the bodies of their five missing family members: Kyndall Ramos; Kyndall’s parents, Tasha and Joel Ramos; Shellie Crossland; and her husband, Cody Crossland.
They were seen looking through debris left behind in the floods for signs of their loved ones in Comfort early today.
Read more about the missing family members here.
White House press secretary says Trump will travel to Texas this week
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will travel to Texas this week. She did not provide further details about the timing.
“President Trump loves you. We are praying for you, and he will be traveling to see you later this week,” she said at today’s media briefing.
She added shortly after that the trip was tentatively scheduled to go forward Friday.
"But of course, we want to do it at the most appropriate time on the ground for state and local officials. We don't want to interrupt the recovery efforts," she said.
Five miles downstream from Camp Mystic, a volunteer searcher finds tragic remnants
Samuel Cummings, 22,a recent college graduate from Corpus Christi, drove up to Kerr County yesterday to help with search and recovery efforts. He grew up in the area and swam the rivers as a kid.
The scenes he encountered today, 5 miles downstream of Camp Mystic, nearly brought tears to his eyes.
Cummings, making his way through a thicket of knocked-down trees with a chain saw, saw various remnants of Camp Mystic and the girls who died there: tennis shoes, Crocs, volleyballs, water bottles, toys.
"That's where you start to get choked up," Cummings said in a phone interview.
In the middle of the interview, Cummings noticed a foul odor coming from some nearby brush. He and the other volunteer rescuers — a group of around 40 men, he said — started preparing to cut through the brush to see whether a body was buried underneath.
Body of 21-year-old woman recovered and identified, father says
Ty Badon confirmed to NBC News today that his 21-year-old daughter, Joyce-Catherine, had been recovered and identified.
Badon told CNN over the weekend that his daughter was staying at a cabin in Hunt with three of her friends when the flash flooding hit. Badon rushed to the area to try to search for her himself and was praying that all four friends were still alive.
Second fatality reported in Williamson County
Williamson County officials said in a news conference today that a second person was recovered from the river late yesterday evening.
The person’s identity has not been released pending notification to the next of kin. The victim was described as a female.
Prior, the county reported one fatality: 22-year-old Kaitlyn Swallow, from Liberty Hill.
County officials stated today that the focus will be on locating a third missing person, and there are reports that an additional person may also be missing.
Louisiana sends aid to Texas
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry sent 14 swift-water rescue personnel to Texas to assist in the flood response.
The aid included a task force leader, three boat operators, three boat bowmen and three boat support personnel.
"Louisiana will always answer the call to help our neighbors in need. Our first responders are among the best in the nation, and these men and women will always step up when disaster strikes," Landry said in a statement. "Louisiana stands with Texas, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to assist in their recovery."
‘Still in shock’: Texas woman rode out flood in kayak
Diana Smith grabbed her two dogs and her kayak when flash flooding sent a wall of water crashing into her home in Hunt, Texas.
Family holding out hope for missing father and stepmom as they fly from California to Texas
Jaeme Pagard Behrendt and her siblings are flying out to Texas today in the hopes of finding their father, Richard Pagard, and his wife, Carol Andrews.
Behrendt told NBC News that her father and stepmother were camping by the Guadalupe River in Kerr County while searching for a new home, and the family hasn't heard from them since the flash flooding on Friday. Growing up in California, Behrendt said that her father loved surfing, and she felt confident he could handle any big waves.
His wife, however, was not as confident in the water.
"But I also was speaking with Carol's daughter that Carol's deadly scared of the water and she couldn't swim, and so, and I know my dad would do everything to try to save her and others," Behrendt said.
A man who was at the campground contacted the family after finding the couple's truck and camper with a prescription bottle that had Pagard's name on it. The car is "pretty mutilated and mangled," Behrendt said, but she and her siblings are trying to remain hopeful.
Once in Texas later today, Behrendt will start by searching animal shelters for her father's dog, Poppy.
"I think I'm hoping that if I find Poppy alive, that's a good chance that maybe I could find them," Behrendt said.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: Flooding has 'broken the heart of our state'
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said the weekend's deadly floods have "broken the heart of our state."
He grieved the loss of the children at Camp Mystic, calling it "every parent’s nightmare."
"Last week, we were picking up our daughter from camp here at Hunt. Our girls have gone to camp here for a decade," he said.
He noted that there have been 850 high-water rescues since flooding in the state began, and he's heard stories of local heroism, including Eagle Scouts pulling campers out of harm’s way.
The senator said he called President Donald Trump, who said: "Anything Texas needs, the answer is yes."
"I want to say we will come through this. To those in the midst of grief right now, that might seem hard to fathom, but Texas will come through this," Cruz said, thanking volunteers and first responders.
'This is unprecedented,' Kerrville city manager says
Dalton Rice, the Kerrville city manager, said today’s search and rescue operations continue in North Kerr County to Canyon Lake and Comal County.
"This is a massive field that is happening. And again, this is unprecedented, unprecedented flood events. So we are still currently in the primary search phase, which is the rapid one; they are running it, we have different segments that are gridded out," he said.
Each segment can take one to three hours, covering up to 2 kilometers (about a mile and a quarter), with technical challenges including terrain, water and weather, Rice said.
Kerr County officials report 75 dead from flood
Kerr County has recovered 75 bodies from weekend flooding, including 48 adults and 27 children.
In a news conference this morning, officials said that of those deaths, 15 adults and nine children are pending identification.
Ten campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic remain unaccounted for.
Kerrville officials ask sightseers to avoid flood area: 'If you’re not from here, don’t come here'
The Kerrville Police Department is asking nonresidents to avoid traveling to the city to see flood damage as search efforts continue today, officials said in a Facebook post.
"Our first responders were hampered by heavy traffic yesterday, mostly sightseers who are making things worse," officials wrote. "If you’re not from here, don’t come here to see flood damage. If you live here, avoid the river corridor so our first responders can do their jobs."
Drones are not allowed in the airspace because they are interfering with air operations, authorities said. Kerrville and Kerr County remain under a temporary flight restriction.
Search teams in Kerrville brace for another day
Reporting from Kerrville, Texas
An equine-centered group and firefighters from College Station gathered this morning for instructions at the start of another day of searching along the Guadalupe River for victims of the July 4 flooding.
A leader instructed searchers not to post on social media, to look where they had walked for a new perspective, reminded them of crime scene protocols should they find someone, and to look up in trees and other places where the water may have reached.
A team on horseback had already departed.
'We prayed for strength,' volunteer rescuer says
Reporting from KERRVILLE, Texas
Sam Cummings, 23, took the day off today to drive up from Corpus Christi to help search for victims at Heart O' the Hills campground in Hunt.
He and others took a moment to pray before starting. Cummings grew up in the area and his parents have lived in the area 40 years.
“We just prayed for strength,” he said.
Texas mom and her two sons recall how the kids escaped flood-hit summer camp
Reporting from KERRVILLE, Texas
Keli Rabon told NBC's "TODAY" show this morning of her harrowing account of when Camp La Junta in central Texas, where her sons Braeden and Brock were staying, was filled with devastating floodwaters.
Today's weather lookahead: Texas flood risk continues
Flood watches remain in effect today across central Texas until 8 p.m. ET, including over the Hill Country region that experienced flash flooding over the weekend.
Slow-moving and scattered storms are expected to continue through today, resulting in broadly 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, with localized rainfall up to 10 inches also possible.
Flood watches are also in place from eastern Virginia up through northern New Jersey, including Baltimore and Philadelphia, as Tropical Depression Chantal moves into the mid-Atlantic today, where rainfall of 1 to 2 inches could cause flash flooding in urban areas. Yesterday, Chantal brought flooding to parts of North Carolina, where more than 10 inches was recorded near the Chapel Hill area.
Conditions will finally improve tomorrow, as the stagnant moisture pushes east out of the area.
Jenna Bush Hager reflects on Camp Mystic tragedy
Jenna Bush Hager said her mother, former first lady Laura Bush, previously worked at Camp Mystic as a drama counselor.
"My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp. Texas camps are institutions," she recalled on the "TODAY" show. "This camp was 100 years old, so grandmothers, mothers, kids have all gone there."
"Many of my friends were there, had their kids there last week, and the stories that I heard over the last couple of days were beautiful and heartbreaking," she added, noting that Texas has a special "type of resilience" where communities come together in times of hardship.
She fondly remembered the camp director, Dick Eastland, as "a summer father" who "raised girls to be brave and loving."
'I really thought this might be the end': Flood survivors describe being swept from home
Reporting from KERRVILLE, Texas
Texas flood survivors Doug Fuller and his wife, Libby Evans-Fuller, described being swept from their home in Friday's furious floodwaters.
They told NBC's "TODAY" show this morning that were asleep in their beds when Fuller woke up due to the rain and saw a stranded motorist riding out the storm.
"We started seeing water come to the middle of the parking lot. I went inside to let her know what was going on, and when I looked back, basically our car started floating away. And that quickly, before she could even get fully dressed, water started coming in through the door. And it rose so high that we got on our mattress, we were able to touch the ceiling," Fuller recalled.
“It was 5 feet of water in less than five minutes inside the house,” Libby Evans-Fuller added.
Doug said in those hard moments he was thinking of his wife: “I don’t want to lose her, and if I lose her, then I might as well go too.”
As floods inundated their home, the couple hung onto their door frame as long as they could.
“Eventually we got a big surge, and it sucked us out,” Fuller said. They found a support post in front of the house that they hung on to alongside neighbors.
“We hung on for about the next hour and a half maybe. We were at the roofline, that’s how high the water got, and we watched buildings disintegrate, cars floating by. I really thought that might be the end, and by some miracle, the water receded,” Fuller said.
Finally, they were able to get their feet on the ground. Even after surviving the terrifying floods, Evans-Fuller showed up to a double shift at the restaurant she works at Saturday to help feed first responders.
"I got to thank them, because it meant a lot to me that they were out there because it could have been us," she explained.
Camp Mystic grieves the loss of 27 girls and counselors
Camp Mystic, the summer camp at the center of the devastating flooding that has hit Texas Hill Country over the last three days, is "grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors," the private Christian camp said in a message on its website this morning.
"Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly," it said.
The camp said it was talking to local and state authorities who were "tirelessly deploying extensive resources" to find the those who are still missing.
The statement added that while the camp appreciated the outpouring of support, it asked for respect and privacy for the families affected.
Photos: Scenes from Hunt and Ingram, Texas
Desperate search and rescue mission ongoing
A desperate search and rescue mission is ongoing in the Hill Country to find 10 young campers and dozens more who are still unaccounted for.
This weekend's devastating floods have claimed more than 80 lives.
Carl Jeter rescued a woman who was hanging onto a tree above the river after her car was washed away in floodwaters.
"It’s a miracle that she did survive," he said.
Camp Mystic, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River, has 10 campers and one staff member still unaccounted for. Mystic’s owner, Dick Eastland, died trying to save his young campers, according to his grandson.
Reece Zucker, a Tivy High School soccer coach and teacher, along with his wife, Paula, died in the flash flood July 4, the school said. Their two children are still missing.
"He was infectious. He was a great coach, a great teacher," a Tivy High School coach told NBC’s Morgan Chesky about Zucker. "I’m sure he fought like hell to get his kids and his wife to safety."
How to donate to the American Red Cross aiding Hill Country relief efforts
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth and Telemundo Dallas-Fort Worth have teamed up with the American Red Cross to help with disaster relief efforts.
Donations help the Red Cross in recovery efforts during disasters big and small, whenever they occur across the country. Contributions are tax-deductible to the legally permissible extent, details of which can be found here.
Texas floods search and rescue in photos
11-year-old from San Diego recalls campsite flooding before he was rescued
Kaelan Kubena was among the some 400 campers at Camp La Junta, an all-boys summer camp in central Texas, at the time of the flooding.
“We looked outside and we just saw like an ocean out there,” the 11-year-old from San Diego told NBC Los Angeles.
Heavy rain kept most of the boys awake early Friday morning, he said, and later camp counselors took them to higher ground for safety when the campground began to flood.
"We saw like a whole cabin just floating down, and that’s when we knew like those things were getting actually real out there. Like we were starting to realize that this was a real natural disaster crisis,” Kaelan said.
9-year-old twins raise $5,000 for recovery efforts with lemonade stand
Corrigan Camp returned from Camp Mystic just two weeks ago. Shocked from the tragedy that unfolded there over the past week, she and her 9-year-old twin, Cannon, set up a lemonade stand yesterday in their Tanglewood neighborhood.
“One says we love Camp Mystic,” Cannon told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth about the signs they made. “The other one says all proceeds go to Camp Mystic,” Corrigan said.
The twins raised more than $5,000, selling lemonades and cookies for a dollar each, with some people skipping the treats completely and just donating money instead.
“It made me feel good because we’re donating the money to camp,” Cannon said. “I feel like a lot of people care for Camp Mystic and how damaged it is,” Corrigan said.
Volunteers join search for missing elderly couple in Kerr County
Since catastrophic flooding swept through central Texas, Ilda Mendoza, a Kerr County employee and resident of Hunt, has been leading the search for her missing neighbors, particularly Alicia and José Olvera, who are in their 70s.
“It’s really hard to go through the river and trying to find anything,” Mendoza, 34, who is pregnant and two weeks away from delivery, told Reuters. “The guys have fallen here and there, we’re using backhoe to shake up the trees, see if anybody stuck up there. But it’s been very difficult.”
Mendoza said the volunteers found the body of José Olvera on Saturday, who they believed was holding his wife's hands when they were swept away. The search for his wife continues with “about 40 to 50 volunteers just looking through rummage and digging up as much as we can,” she said.
“We’re just hoping people can find their loved ones and have some relief, because it’s the unknown that’s killing people,” she said. “It’s just been so sad,” she said, describing Facebook posts about the missing people.
Flood watches in effect from Virginia to Pennsylvania
A flood watch is in effect for portions of southcentral and eastern Virginia, southern and eastern Maryland, Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. ET bulletin.
It came as Tropical Depression Chantal moves northeast across southern and eastern Virginia at near 15 mph, the NHC said, bringing heavy rainfall across the portions under the flood watch.
"Storm total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches, with local amounts up to 6 inches, is expected. An elevated risk for flash flooding will continue," it said.
National Weather Service defends its flood warnings amid fresh scrutiny of Trump staff cuts
Fatal floods in Texas that left thousands scrambling for safety with little warning have sparked a fresh round of scrutiny of Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service.
At least 81 people were dead and many others were missing last evening after floodwaters surged through the Hill Country, an area known as “flash flood alley.”
Within hours of the deluge early Friday, some Texas officials were critical of the weather service, saying forecasts underestimated the rainfall. Yesterday, Trump rejected the idea of investigating whether weather service cuts had left key vacancies, and the White House said claims that the cuts had anything to do with the tragedy were “disgusting.”
Floodwater recedes in North Carolina but flash flooding risks remain, authorities say
Emergency responders have completed more than 50 water rescues in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the town said in a bulletin early today, as Tropical Storm Chantal made its way through central parts of the state toward southcentral Virginia.
Late yesterday, water was still flooding the streets in the town but is now beginning to recede. “There’s a waterfall where there shouldn’t be one,” a man is heard saying in a TikTok video of a flooded parking lot that was verified by NBC News.
Rescues were carried out where "floodwaters entered or threatened to enter apartment homes and condos at several locations around town," the town said.
"Crews continue to assess damage brought by heavy rain and flash flooding late Sunday into the overnight hours," the statement continued.
The National Hurricane Center has issued flood watches for central North Carolina through today, with rainfall of 2 to 4 inches expected.
Flood watch to stay in place for central Texas until tonight
Additional rainfall of between 2 and 4 inches, rising to 10 inches in some locations, means the National Weather Service is keeping its flood watch in place until 7 p.m. local time for San Antonio, Austin and the devastated Kerr County.
"Difficult to pinpoint exact locations where isolated heavier amounts will occur. An uptick in coverage and intensity of scattered showers and storms is possible overnight near the I-35 corridor and eastern Hill Country, developing west through the day on Monday," the service said.
More precipitation in combination with the already saturated ground could lead to rapid runoff and make flash flooding more likely.
As ever, the authorities warn people not to drive or walk through floodwaters.
Survivors speak out after catastrophic Texas flash flooding
Reporting from KERRVILLE, Texas
Survivors are speaking out after catastrophic flash floods destroyed much of central Texas, killing dozens of people and leaving dozens more missing. It comes as the scale of the devastation and loss comes into focus for many in the region.