The beauty of the Texas Hill Country has long been its rivers—winding, wild, and life-giving. But this summer, those same waters turned deadly. After days of relentless rainfall in late June 2025, flash floods swept through towns and rural areas from Kerrville to Wimberley, catching even lifelong residents off guard. Roads vanished. Homes were uprooted. Families became separated in a matter of minutes.
As of this week, officials have confirmed 120 deaths, with at least 160 individuals still unaccounted for. The numbers alone are staggering, but each represents a life—a parent, a child, a neighbor—lost in a tragedy that has shaken Texas to its core.
Rescue and recovery teams, including the National Guard and dozens of local volunteers, continue to search through debris fields and swollen creeks. Makeshift shelters have sprung up in churches and community centers, where loved ones wait for news—sometimes clinging to hope, other times just needing a hand to hold.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen,” one emergency responder said. “But the spirit of this region is strong. We may be broken right now, but we’re not defeated.”
Among the missing are schoolteachers, veterans, grandparents, and summer campers. Candlelight vigils are being held nightly. Families are posting handwritten flyers across town squares, pleading for any scrap of information.
Texas Governor Alejandro Santos has called for a statewide day of mourning, while federal assistance has been deployed to assist overwhelmed hospitals and first responders.
In the midst of devastation, stories of heroism have emerged—neighbors forming human chains to pull strangers from rising water, farmers using their tractors to rescue families from rooftops, teenagers kayaking supplies to the elderly.
While the numbers are grim, the unity on display in the Hill Country is unwavering. This is a region defined not just by loss—but by resilience, love, and the promise to rebuild, together.