Deadly flooding hits Central Texas, officials warn residents to evacuate now

At least two people died in Central Texas as multiple days of heavy rain pushed rivers, creeks and low-lying roads into dangerous flood conditions, and authorities urged residents to seek higher ground immediately. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings and flash flood emergencies as rounds of storms moved across South and Central Texas.

Rainfall totals of 2 to 5 inches were common across Central and South Texas over a 24-hour period, and more rain was still in the forecast. In the Texas Hill Country, where steep terrain and narrow waterways can turn runoff into fast-moving floodwater, the threat was concentrated in places long known for rapid rises along the Guadalupe River and its tributaries.

The Texas Hill Country is known as Flash Flood Alley. Water can rise with little warning in river corridors and along creeks that cut through communities from Kerrville to Hunt, making evacuations and rescue operations race against the next band of storms. The danger is amplified when repeated rain falls on ground that is already saturated and drainage systems are overwhelmed.

The same stretch of country was hit far harder in July 2025, when deadly flooding near Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian summer camp on the Guadalupe River, left dozens of campers missing and eventually drove the death toll above 80. Texas inspectors had approved Camp Mystic’s disaster plan two days before that flood, and proposed funding for a $1 million warning system near camps was not approved.