July 29, 2025
These two aerial images taken on November 20, 2024 and July 22, 2025 show the Heart O’ the Hills campgrounds on the banks of the Guadalupe River, before and after flash flooding that devastated 30 counties across Texas Hill Country, south central Texas on July 4th.
The severe floods killed 135 people, at least 27 of them children, on the eve of national 4th of July celebrations. It was America’s deadliest flood in almost 50 years and among the nation’s biggest torrential rainfall disasters since the mid-20th century. The total precipitation over the impact area in the Hill Country during July 3 to 6 is estimated to have been more than 15 billion cubic metres of water.
Camp Mystic grounds after the flood
Camp Mystic grounds before the flood
The storm occurred during exceptional meteorological conditions, with record levels of humidity and atmospheric instability due to the recent passage of Tropical Storm Barry. An estimated 500 millimeters of torrential rain fell over Kerr County alone, swelling the Guadalupe river in Kerrville more than 13 meters in just 45 minutes. The flooding of the river affected several children’s camps located on the riverbank, including Camp Mystic and Heart O’ the Hills, and caused, in addition to the loss of life, extensive property damage.
Early studies indicate a combination of factors behind the heavy rains, including the topography of Texas and weather conditions fuelled by rising global temperatures.
Credits:
2024: Google Earth
2025: NOAA NGS Emergency Response Imagery: Texas Flooding
