Introduction to the Flood Disaster
KERRVILLE — Nearly 300 miles from home, a fire engine from Midland creaked to a stop at a crosswalk outside Notre Dame Catholic Church, where a weary congregation battered by floodwaters days earlier trickled into the limestone sanctuary for Sunday Mass. From the sidewalk, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio — another visitor hoping to help mend the flood-ravaged community — clasped his hands and gave a slight bow toward the fire engine. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the pastor murmured in a hushed voice before heading inside.
The Aftermath of the Flood
Worshipers on Sunday filled church parking lots — and in one case, the streetside outside a Walmart — across Kerrville, the seat of Kerr County. The area was hard hit after the Guadalupe River swelled tens of feet over its banks in the early morning hours of the Fourth of July, leading Gov. Greg Abbott to proclaim Sunday a day of prayer for “the lives lost, those still missing, the recovery of our communities and the safety of those on the front lines.”
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, center, speaks to Rosalie Castro of Kerrville and her husband Greg Castro during a mass at Notre Dame Church, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Kerrville, to pray for those who have lost their lives and persons that are missing. (Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
The Toll of the Flood
The flood’s toll — over 59 people confirmed dead, including 21 children, and an untold number still missing — has continued to climb as authorities, now on their third day of a sweeping search-and-rescue operation, have worked around the clock to recover the lost and assess the damage. At least 10 people also died in nearby Central Texas counties, for a total of at least 78 dead from flooding over the July Fourth holiday weekend, state officials said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Calls for Prayer
Appeals for prayer have punctuated the drumbeat of updates from local and state officials, as leaders urge Texans to seek solace and strength amid the unfolding tragedy that has captured the nation’s attention. The updates in part have centered on Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in the Hunt area that draws girls from across Dallas-Fort Worth. During one of Friday’s news conferences, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for the “on-your-knees kind of praying.”
Heeding the call, some Kerrville residents with Impact Christian Fellowship gathered outside the local Walmart over the weekend, offering what they described as a “drive-thru prayer service.” Waving at passing motorists, they held signs that read simply: “PRAYER.” One of the congregants, Matt Olden, said several people had stopped to receive a blessing, including a parent whose daughter had been at Camp Mystic and was confirmed to have died.
Response to the Flood
From their perch overlooking Junction Highway — the road that winds into Ingram and then Hunt, two of the areas hardest hit by the flood — Olden said they had watched with gratitude as a “continuous parade” of military vehicles and first responders from across the state passed by. “We want to reach out to others [who] are hurting because God’s been so good to us,” Olden said. As of Sunday, 11 campers and a counselor remained unaccounted for after the historic floodwaters that tore through the region. Local and state officials have said the area is a popular camping destination around the Fourth of July, making it challenging to determine the exact number of people who may be missing.
People attend a special Mass by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller at Notre Dame Church on Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Kerrville, to pray for those who have lost their lives and persons that are missing. (Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
International Support
The call for prayers was echoed from Rome, where Pope Leo XIV, speaking in English from the Vatican’s papal window, expressed “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 flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States.” “We pray for them,” the first American pope added.
Community Response
In Kerrville, hundreds of worshipers crowded into the pews of Notre Dame Catholic Church, the turnout so large that staff placed metal folding chairs on the ends of the aisles to fit a few extra. García-Siller introduced the congregation to Pastor Scott Janysek, who was recently appointed to lead the church but had not yet stood before them. He used his first address to highlight how their community would come together to rebuild, rising above any differences in faith. Among them was Emily Gutierrez, a Kerrville resident praying for relatives who lived — some are still missing — along the river. In the aftermath of the flood, Gutierrez said, one of her teenage cousins was found with “just his head and one arm sticking out” from a mound of debris. He was recovering on Sunday after he was hospitalized.
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