Heavy rains caused flash flooding on Friday, July 4, leaving extensive damage and claiming at least 80 lives across several Texas counties. A number of people are still unaccounted for; among them are those from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls retreat in Hunt, Texas, where 6.5 inches of rain fell in a three-hour period.
Samaritan’s Purse North American Ministries (NAM) and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team (BGEA-RRT) are deploying to hard-hit Kerr County, Texas. Our teams have been on the ground since Saturday, working with local emergency management and church partners to see how we can best help these deeply hurting communities.
Disaster Relief Unit 5 and support equipment will depart from our Southwest Ministry Center in north Texas early on Monday. They will stage at Community Bible Church in San Antonio and be at the ready once our host partner church is confirmed.
Staff members are also continuing to assess in central Texas to see if there are other areas that need assistance. Additional details will be provided as they become available. Check spvolunteer.org for volunteer information, once it is finalized.
On Sunday, Franklin Graham posted the following via Facebook: “This morning I joined Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem via phone from Alaska to pray for families gathered in a church in Kerrville, Texas, to await word about their missing children and loved ones. I read Scripture to them and prayed for them, and Secretary Kristi Noem prayed for them as well. We need to continue to surround these devastated families and communities in prayer. Also pray for the hundreds involved in search and rescue efforts with more rain predicted.”
Intense search-and-rescue efforts remain underway. More than 800 people have been plucked from the waters so far, including many saved by helicopter over the past two days.
People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas, on July 5.
Kerr County, nestled in the Hill Country and home to Camp Mystic, was hit hard, and the majority of reported deaths are from that area. The mayor of Kerrville, Joe Herring, said the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes early on Friday morning.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared Sunday, July 6, as a day of prayer for the state in light of the deadly flooding and the continuing search for survivors.
