Central Texas floods kill 138 as FEMA response slows

Flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County and surrounding Texas Hill Country counties killed at least 138 people on July 4, 2025, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic. FEMA response was slowed by Secretary Kristi Noem's policy of personally approving expenditures over $100,000, according to current and former FEMA staff. The disaster became a central exhibit in the August 2025 Katrina Declaration sent to Congress.