HUNT, TEXAS - JULY 7: Search and rescue workers use a sonar device while paddling down the Guadalupe River in a boat looking for survivors or the remains of victims swept up in the flash flooding on July 7, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall early Friday caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with more than 90 fatalities reported. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images/AFP) Jim Vondruska / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
July 7, 2025
Hunt, United States (AFP)-The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas rose to more than 100 on Monday, as rescuers continued their grim search for people swept away by torrents of water.
Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on a river when disaster struck over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Forecasters have warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground, complicating recovery efforts involving helicopters, boats and dogs, as the number of victims is expected to rise still.
President Donald Trump is planning to visit Texas on Friday, the White House said, as it slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems.
“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday.
She said the National Weather Service, which The New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued “timely and precise forecasts and warnings.”
Trump has described the floods that struck in the early hours of Friday as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”
The president, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.