Alert – Texas floods rage as Trump signs ‘major disaster declaration’ amid brewing scandal over FEMA cuts: Live updates

The declaration comes amid a swirl of criticism of the Trump administration for making major cuts to federal funding, impacting agencies like FEMA which lead the response to natural disasters.

‘I just signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Kerr County, Texas, to ensure that our Brave First Responders immediately have the resources they need,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

‘These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing.

‘The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders.

‘Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State.

‘Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!’

Texas’s Division of Emergency Management predicted the number of dead as a result of catastrophic flooding in Kerrville would top 100.

In an email sent out Saturday, the state disaster office told partners the number of dead would surpass 100, two different sources confirmed to the Daily Mail.

‘Our state assets and local partners are continuing to search for live victims,’ the head of TDEM W. Nim Kidd told reporters at a press conference Saturday.

‘Our hope and prayer is that there is still people alive that are out there.’

As of Sunday morning, 59 had been confirmed dead, and another 12 campers missing.

Of the dead, 38 are adults and 21 are children, local officials said.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, 59 people had been recorded dead in the floods in Kerr County, including 21 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference.

In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain in the middle of the night. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teen son.

‘My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,’ she said.

The hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors.

The area is especially popular around the July Fourth holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing.

‘We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,’ Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said earlier.

‘I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,’ Greg Abbott said in a statement.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said she has ‘activated US Coast Guard and FEMA resources’ to help those impacted by the Texas floods.

The director of Camp Mystic was killed while trying to save girls from the horrific flooding that swept through the Texas summer camp.

Richard ‘Dick’ Eastland, 70, was killed while trying to rescue campers from the rushing waters, reported KSAT.

His nephew, Gardner Eastland, confirmed the death in a Facebook post on Saturday. Eastland’s wife, Tweety, was found safe at their home, according to The Kerrville Daily Times.

Twenty-seven girls are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, and five of their fellow campers have died after the rushing waters destroyed the all-girls private Christian summer camp.

Ricky Gonzalez told CNN about the moment he and his friends only just managed to escape the Airbnb where they were spending their Fourth of July weekend.

‘Some of us don’t know how to swim. The water was almost 30 feet deep. I can’t swim personally,’ he said.

‘We made sure all the floaties were inflated, air mattresses, coolers, getting everything ready, just in case that we need to, you know — survive.

Gonzalez added that he was FaceTiming his sister at the time, ‘basically giving my last goodbye’.

He said that at one moment, ‘it crossed my mind that some of us aren’t going to make it out alive’.

‘In my mind, I was just thinking, “Well, I might see some of my friends pass away this morning,”‘ Gonzalez said.

Luckily, a family took the group in, gave them food and drove them to the airport.

Georgia-based Republican Congressional candidate Kandiss Taylor has claimed the floods were ‘fake’ in a bizarre social media post.

‘Fake weather. Fake hurricanes. Fake flooding. Fake. Fake. Fake,’ Taylor wrote on X on Saturday, the day after the floods deluged central Texas.

She later back-pedaled after facing criticism, claiming she ‘wasn’t talking about Texas’ and was instead ‘referring to legislation being proposed due to weather modification’.

Dozens of children are still missing from Camp Mystic, where an all-girls Christian school was staying over when the floods hit.

Highland Park United Methodist Church, where former President and Texas governor George Bush used to pray, has issued a statement.

‘The situation unfolding in the Texas Hill Country is deeply heartbreaking—but even in the midst of such sorrow and uncertainty, we hold on to hope and the promise that God is near to those who suffer,’ the church said in a message to followers.

‘This crisis affects many in our HPUMC family and our local Park Cities community, including generations of women and families touched by Camp Mystic. 

‘One of the girls unaccounted for, Hadley Hanna, is a part of our church family. Please pray for her safety and for her parents, Doug and Carrie, along with her two sisters.

‘In times like these, it’s natural to feel a wave of emotion—grief, confusion, fear. Yet as followers of Jesus Christ, we trust that we are never alone in our sorrow.

‘You can help these families and others affected by the flooding in Central Texas by donating online. We are currently working with partners to assess the greatest needs.I hope you’ll join us in worship tomorrow.’

The Guadalupe River, which runs through several towns around 100 miles south-west of Austin, broke its banks on July Fourth, causing the monster floods.

Communities including Kerrville and Ingram have been devastated by the deluge, and dozens of children who were camping at nearby Camp Mystic are still missing.

The Peruvian-American Pope offered his ‘sincere condolences’ and prayers for the families in central Texas, including 27 children who are still missing from an all-girls Christian summer camp located along the river which burst its banks.

‘I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones – in particular their daughters who were at summer camp – in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States,’ he said during his Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican.

‘We pray for them,’ he added.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several counties including Kerrville County in Texas, which has seen the worst of the flooding so far.

Meteorologists have warned that ‘flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible’ in the region until 1pm on Sunday.

The warning covers Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Medina, Travis and Williamson counties.

Officials have predicted another two to four inches will fall on average over the area, with up to 10 inches possible in the worst-hit regions.

Residents have started questioning why officials did not warn them about the floods until 1.18pm on July 3 – the day they began – and framed them as only ‘moderate’ storms.

The National Weather Service escalated the alert to a flash flood warning at 1am Friday, followed by a more serious Flash Flood Emergency by 4.30am.

But by this point, water was already pouring into families’ homes.

Many Texans have blamed the slow updates as part of the reason at least 52 people have lost their lives and dozens remain missing.

The National Weather Service fired around 600 people in recent months as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to federal services.

It had recently begun the process of hiring 100 new employees.

Trump has also proposed cuts to FEMA and NOAA, federal agencies which conduct climate research and help prepare states for natural disasters.

Greg Abbott described a scene of pure horror on Saturday as he visited Camp Mystic.

The scenic site was at the epicenter of the flooding, and dozens of children were camping there when the deluge struck.

Reece Zunker and his wife Paula are among those who died in the devastating floods, and their two young children are still missing.

The couple’s family and local soccer team confirmed their deaths on social media, while one relative said their house was spotted ‘floating down the Guadalupe River’.

Tivy Boys Soccer team paid tribute to their coach in a Facebook post, saying he ‘rebuilt the soccer program and left a legacy’.

‘His passion for his players, students, co-workers, community and his family will never be forgotten,’ the team wrote.

Dozens of people commented on the post to share the ‘incredible’ impact he had on their lives.

Officials have said 52 people have been confirmed dead, including 15 children, since the deluge began in central Texas on Thursday.

The majority of those who died were in Kerrville County, where the Guadalupe River broke its banks in the early hours of the Fourth of July.

Rescuers were continuing to comb the river for dozens of missing people on Sunday. The death toll is expected to rise.