"Catastrophic" flooding in Texas has resulted in at least 6 deaths, according to a Kerr County official on Friday.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed the flooding-related deaths, with the toll expected to rise, WOAI News 4 San Antonio reported.
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office and Comfort Volunteer Fire Department were evacuating people along the Guadalupe River amid the flooding, KSAT reported.
Information regarding the deaths were pending notification of next of kin.
Search teams used boats to conduct rescues as fast-moving water threatened riverfront communities near wildlife habitats and campgrounds.
Officials said there were missing people and they were blocking off an area to prepare for helicopters, WOAI reported.
The Austin American-Statesman reported that girls-only Camp Mystic confirmed it had notified parents that their daughters may be missing.
The station also reported that an entire Kerrville family was missing "after their house swept away by floodwaters."
The City of Kerrville has issued a disaster declaration.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said the state was providing resources to Texas Hill Country communities dealing with the flooding, including Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt.
"The state of Texas is surging all available resources to respond to the devastating flooding around the Kerr county area. That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety. The immediate priority is saving lives," Abbott posted on X.
KHOU reported that Comfort, Texas, officials urged all residents in low-lying areas to "evacuate immediately."
The flooding resulted from more than 6 inches of rain in the county area overnight in Texas Hill Country.
The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet – from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet – in 45 minutes between 10 a.m. EDT and 10:45 a.m. EDT near Comfort, Texas, according to measurements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The river's gauge at the unincorporated community of Hunt, where the river forks, recorded a 22-foot rise in just about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 1/2 feet.
"We think the river's higher than that," Fogarty said. "The gauge is completely underwater.”
A local Walmart was being used as a temporary reunification center for those displaced by the rising water, WOAI said.
"Life-threatening flood on the Guadalupe River this morning. 2nd highest river height exceeding 1987 flood," WOAI meteorologist Chris Suchan posted on X with video from Kerrville.
Kerr County is located about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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