Search for Texas flood victims suspended

Emergency crews in central Texas suspended their search for victims of recent catastrophic flooding as another night of heavy rain touched off new flash flood warnings.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office ordered volunteers, equipment and vehicles to vacate the area around the Guadalupe River as water is expected to rise, it said on its Facebook page. Highway 39 in the area has been closed to all vehicles except residents and emergency personnel.

“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the sheriff’s office said in a post.

“Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

The latest round of storms comes just over a week after the area was devastated by a July 4 deluge that killed at least 120 people and left many more missing.

Read:
More than 161 missing in Texas flood epicentre as search goes on
Deaths from Texas floods exceed 100 with toll expected to rise

‘Risk of a blow up’

After 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10cm) of rain fell overnight in a wide area, with some spots getting more than 8 inches, there is a chance another 1.5 inches may fall tonight south of there, said David Roth, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Centre. Some storms may be so intense that the rain will fall at 3 to 6 inches per hour.

“There is a risk of a blow up there,” Roth said. “I cannot promise there isn’t going to be another blow up. There is enough moisture.”

Governor Greg Abbott said in a social media post that dozens of people in the Lampasas area had already been rescued Sunday.

“We are expanding operations in all affected counties — all while monitoring the rising waters in Kerrville,” Abbott said in an earlier post.

The area north and west of Austin, the state capital, was hit by devastating floods on July 4, when heavy downpours caused river levels to rise with startling speed.

Flood watches extend from southern Texas on the Mexican border to eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. The area northwest of Austin is covered by flash flood warnings through Sunday morning as radar picked up thunderstorms drifting through the area dropping rain at rates of 2 to 4 inches on top of what was received overnight.

© 2025 Bloomberg

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.