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Catastrophic Flooding In Central Texas Leaves Many Dead And Missing; New Flood Warnings, Orders Evacuations; President Trump Signs Disaster Declaration For Texas; Texas Faces Catastrophic Flooding; Chris Warren Reports On Texas Floods. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 06, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNKNOWN: We had bunk beds in our cabins, and it was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice and we had this from out of our cabin.

UNKNOWN: On the way here we saw all of like the other camps destroyed like obliterate.

UNKNOWN: The devastation, there are just no words.

UNKNOWN: This is when we need to come together and help each other out.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Thank you for joining us as we continue our special breaking news coverage of the catastrophic flooding in Texas. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Officials now say at least 80 people are dead and at least 41 people are missing across Central Texas. In Kerr County, the area that saw the worst of the flash flooding, officials say now 68 people have been confirmed dead.

Among them, 28 children. Our CNN crews on the ground in Kerr County have been receiving emergency alerts in just the last hour. The concern at this moment is the risk of more flash flooding as the rain in that area picks up. Texas Governor Greg Abbott a short time ago talked about those concerns as he was also warning people to stay off the roads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG ABBOTT, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: There is more heavy rainfall that's expected that will lead to potential flash flooding broadly in these regions, the big country, Concho Valley, Central Texas, and once again, Kerrville. A particular threat for people who are driving on roadways. Some of the lives lost in Central Texas were people who were swept away in vehicles or in similar crossing type situations. Know that rising water on roads can occur very rapidly. You may think that you can drive through it only to find out when you're in there that it's too late.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Hundreds of emergency responders and volunteers are working around the clock as they continue to search for survivors. They are looking, of course, in trees under bridges, all along the river banks of the Guadalupe River. Many of those survivors, as you see in some of these videos here, have been airlifted to safety, and there is, of course, hope to find more survivors.

Local and state officials have, at this point, also recovered a number of bodies, they say, that have yet to be identified. Ten campers, meantime, and one counselor are still among the missing from Camp Mystic. That is the all-girls summer camp that was hit so hard by these powerful floodwaters along the Guadalupe River. That's in the town of Hunt, Texas. You see some of the aftermath there of what happened at the camp where more than 20 feet of water -- that water rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours.

CNN's Isabel Rosales joins us now on the phone. So, Isabel, I mentioned just at the top of the hour that you are among the CNN crews, of course, there on the ground who'd been getting these emergency alerts. You actually had to scramble now for a second time because of some flash flood warnings. Give us a sense of what you're seeing, where you are, and what that was like even just in the evacuation process because, obviously, you're around a number of other people as well getting those alerts.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORREPONDENT (via telephone): Right, and what a large evacuation process that was because I've been on the ground here all day with these volunteers. You're talking hundreds of volunteers searching through the Guadalupe River, the tributaries that feed into the Guadalupe River. We didn't know anything was wrong until we saw a Kerr County sheriff's deputy with the lights turned on just rushing up and down the road, telling people over the speaker, hey, you need to leave. Get away from the river. Get out of the road. Leave right now.

And I started asking people what's going on, and that's when they told me a wall of water is coming from up north. The water is building and that's when we got the emergency alert telling people to move to higher ground, high confidence of river flooding at the north fork of the river. People aren't taking their chances and that's exactly the phrase that I got from a firefighter there that based on what happened here in this community, how it was devastated on Friday overnight, they're just not going to take that chance.

So when the law enforcement say leave, they leave. I had other several other volunteers from Center Point, from Comfort, all over here in Central Texas calling me with that same information. So it's clear that all in this area here, they have been evacuated. And as I'm speaking to you, Erica, I did follow the the United Cajun Navy. We're at an area here where rescuers are still operating. I see law enforcement. They're checking out a mobile home, but they're not sure what the situation is there.

Maxine (ph), my producer's up there, kind of taking a look and they told him to step back a little bit. So they're testing that, and whether anyone might be inside right now.

[17:05:00]

But it's just been a massive effort. You're talking about a large body of water, multiple communities impacted. Volunteers have come out with everything that they've got, dogs, ATV, horses even, going through this rugged rural, rough terrain with debris, barbed wire, fire ants, all sorts of dangerous stuff all around them, slugging it out through the mud, trying to flip over heavy tree limbs, and trying to see if there's anyone there who was taken away by the current of this flood water.

And you have loved ones wanting to know what happened to them, and they're trying to give them that closure. And in fact, I had Fred Hernandez, a resident of Boerne, Texas, telling me you're searching for something you hope you don't find, but at the same time, you have family members who are missing. You hope that there are people out there looking for them, and if you can get them that closure, then that counts for something. So this is what is uniting people no matter where they're from here, looking for that closure for someone else, a stranger.

But this is all uniting them, and they're not gonna stop day or night unless, of course, they're evacuated. But they told me they're gonna be right back here tomorrow. Erica?

HILL: Yeah. It is a massive, massive effort. Isabel, really appreciate it. Glad you and your team are safe. I also want to bring in Ed Lavandera. He is in Ingram, Texas. Ed, you were also evacuated, and I know -- it was pretty busy on the road as you were trying to get out of there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was. We actually happened to be right at the spot where that North Fork of the Guadalupe River connects with the Guadalupe River. And that is where, similar to what Isabel experienced that we just saw this, all the authorities frantically urging people to evacuate the area as quickly as possible, and it created a long line of cars, of people that were driving from Hunt all the way to Ingram. Highway 39 (inaudible) has dissipated substantially and is, you know, the river is down there in the distance, but I don't -- we haven't seen any real change to it just yet.

So, but clearly, there's a great deal of concern about, what the rainfall that has been taking place a little bit to the north and west of here, and what that's gonna mean for the tributary levels and the river levels here in the coming hours. So, obviously, those warnings going out for a great deal of that concern. Part of the traffic that we saw leaving the area, Erica, were also a lot of the power crews that were -- had been fixing power lines throughout the day.

There's been in this particular area of Hunt, which is just several miles downstream from Camp Mystic, and this is a stretch that we have seen for the last few days has been some of the areas that have been most intensely searched for victims of this flooding. And, obviously, we can't say with any certainty right now exactly what's going on with that, but I presume that much of that has come to a halt for the time being as they wait for these rainstorms to pass through and for the dangers and the threat of flooding to dissipate as well.

But there was, you know, moments there where it was just kind of these videos frantic effort to get people evacuated from those areas as quickly as possible, Erica. HILL: Yeah, understandably, and important to follow those alerts, of

course, as we know, Ed, really appreciate it. Thank you. We'll continue to check in with you. As the days pass, we are hearing a number of, frankly, just harrowing stories coming out of this tragedy in Texas, stories of survival.

Joining us now is one mom who, with her four children, was camping in a campground in Kerr County. Amanda Sue Jones is with us now. Amanda, I know this was a long, very difficult, night for you and your family. Just, first of all, how are you doing? How is everyone doing today?

AMANDA SUE JONES, FOUR KIDS SURVIVED HTR CAMPGROUND FLOODING: We're all still in shock and still replaying in our minds, you know, what could we have done differently. Just, basically just going through the trauma of it, just hoping some of those people that we saw in distress were saved.

HILL: You -- you and your family were able to get out. As I understand it, your husband basically, who's from Kerrville, I believe, just stayed up all night kind of watching.

JONES: From Ingram.

HILL: Oh, from Ingram.

JONES: Yes.

HILL: Kind of watching -- watching the water levels. What was that moment like when he said that's it? We've got to go.

JONES: So I knew that, like, we were receiving the alerts, you know, through our devices, and we just kind of, you know, were used to it. But we were so close to a fork of the river. We were about 20 yards where our tent was set up. And it was raining throughout the night, so, you know, not all of us wanted to be out there. Otherwise, my kids would have been out there fishing all night.

But basically, my husband would get up, you know, and go check the water and I would listen for him, you know, none of us really slept, you know, I'd listen for him to come back in and I was just kind of waiting for him to be like, let's go. And then once the water kind of started coming over the bank is when he came in and said, we need to go now. And it was just -- my -- the whole family just immediately went into let's just get out of here.

[17:09:57]

One of my sons grabbed all the dogs. I grabbed the two smaller children. We even had two little orphan ducklings with us that we threw in a bucket and packed with us that we had brought from home. But we basically, and just my oldest son is amazing. He just immediately started throwing stuff into the vehicle and the trailer. Of course, we weren't able to get, you know, all of our stuff, but that's -- doesn't matter to us at this point.

HILL: Yeah. JONES: We just basically, all mobilized. And once my husband said it's time to go, we're like, okay. If he said it's time to go, then it must be serious.

HILL: Yeah. And so -- and I know you've camped in this spot before. There was, I think, maybe a little bit of flooding last year. Nothing, obviously, like this.

JONES: Right.

HILL: Once you were able to get safely to higher ground, with your family and the animals, you encountered some pretty rough moments as I understand it in what you witnessed.

JONES: Yes. Yes. And I think we pulled out of the campsite and we parked it. We were still on the island what we thought was higher ground, but then we're, you know, the kids needed to use the bathroom, so we're gonna go up to the headquarters of the camp. So we crossed over the little bridge and went up there, and everything seemed pretty calm for the most part there. And we saw some flooding. A kayak had, you know, gotten swept away from somewhere. We saw that, but nothing crazy until after we had used the facilities and you just hear mayhem hit.

The first sound was just the sound of the campers and cabins just crushing against each other. That was the first of it and that's what caught our attention. So, I immediately went to our stuff -- went through all our belongings, found PFDs, life jackets for all the children, and said, you know, put this on immediately, you know, told them everybody put this on. My husband was already going and seeing what he could do to help, so it was me and the kids at that point.

And then you start hearing the screams for help, and then a gentleman had come out of the bathroom and was saying his family was still in, and his family was down there. And at this point, it was such a matter of minutes before the water rushed in and created this raging river just right there with, you know, within where the campers were. It was just immediately like just a whole new river there.

HILL: So he had -- this gentleman had come up to use the facilities himself.

JONES: Yes.

HILL: His family was still where they were camping.

JONES: Yes.

HILL: And in those few moments, the waters just overtook that area where his family was?

JONES: Yes. It was just -- it was so fast. It was unreal. Like I said, we stayed in this area last July, the July when it flooded before, and it was just kind of slowly rising, but this was just like nothing I've ever seen. It just happened so fast, and it was just so devastating, and just the cries for help, and somebody was asking for a rope, and I sent my oldest son, you know, with a ratchet strap because I was like, this is all we have. Like, I'm just scrambling through our belongings looking for anything to throw to them, and I don't think that it was of any use, but we tried.

HILL: Yeah. I mean, that's all you can do. It's -- you paint such a difficult picture, right, of hearing these screams and hearing just the strength of that water around you. Could you see anything at this point? Some of the videos I've seen are so dark, that I imagine that too. I mean, that adds to the horror and to the -- just the unknown of the moment.

JONES: Right. It is. It's like you didn't see it coming, and that's, like, probably the worst part for all of us is that's what we're -- as a family, that's what we're dealing with is the stuff that, you know, wasn't caught on cameras, you know, the -- I've seen the family -- I just remember a man. I don't remember anyone with him. He was -- made it through the water and he was up to, like, waist deep water and then a camper of probably, like, over a 30-foot camper is just being taken like it's nothing and it ran into him and I didn't see him afterwards.

And it's just moments like that that weren't captured that you see these people are trying and it is just the devastation and the power of the water was just -- I mean, it was moving these cabins like they were nothing.

HILL: Yeah. And, I mean, can you -- for people who have never been to this area, can you give us a sense of you were down, you mentioned you were near a fork in the river. You were tent camping, but the fact that there were cabins, how big is this this camping area and how close would some of these other spots, right, whether they're cabins or tent camping or even an RV, how close would they have been to the water?

[17:14:54]

JONES: Oh, the cabins are pretty close to the water as well. The only thing is where the campers are, I don't think that from their, like, from their vantage point, I don't think they could see the water that where the campers are because the cabins take up the waterfront. And then just kind of like the way the water rushed in, like, of course, it was pitch black, but --

HILL: Yeah.

JONES: -- even if someone walked out, unless they walked down to the water, I mean, they just -- they just didn't have the viewpoint of the river like we did --

HILL: Yeah.

JONES: -- io the -- where -- how the cabins do.

HILL: They would have had no idea, and to your point, just how quickly that water rose. The way you and your family scrambled though, saved yourselves and, you know, were trying to help others. Obviously, you know, a testament, but you have four kids. Correct me if I'm wrong on their ages, but I believe 17, 12, five, and four?

JONES: Yes.

HILL: So, I know you said everyone's still processing things. That's got to be a big -- that's a lot, especially your oldest son that you're mentioning was out helping. Are they talking about it at this point?

JONES: Oh, yes. And we've tried to talk about it, but it just -- it just spirals into what could -- what should we have done differently? What could we have done differently? You know, like, when we, you know, pulled up to the bathrooms, like, if we would have started honking and screaming or anything, like, you know, but then if we didn't, then we would have kind of been the bad guys who woke everybody up for nothing.

It was just it was so hard to tell. Like, when we crossed the bridge, we couldn't even see into the darkness.

HILL: Yeah. I mean, you have no idea what's happening in that moment.

JONES: No.

HILL: Your husband is from Ingram and, you know, it sounds like he spent a fair amount of time in this area as well.

JONES: Yes.

HILL: How is he doing? I would imagine, he may know some other people who were affected.

JONES: Oh, for sure. And I think mostly he wants to -- he wished he could do more for the city of Ingram and go -- you know, wish we would have stayed to help out, but with the small children, like, there's just -- you know, there's not much we could do, but he's definitely impacted and seen just places that, you know, since the floodwaters haven't gotten that bad in so long, just seeing the devastation.

HILL: Yeah. And the alerts -- alerts continue. You know, the governor, just saying a short time ago, just in the last hour or so, how concerned he is about more weather that may be coming. Do you still have family -- does your husband still have family in the area?

JONES: Yes. Yes.

HILL: And they're okay.

JONES: So, he's been communicating with them and making sure they're safe, and I think everyone's pretty devastated there as well.

HILL: Yeah. Understandably. Amanda, this is -- it's a lot for anyone to go through. Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us and also to give so many people who are not familiar with the area just an understanding of how quickly this happened, and how difficult it was in those moments. Because so many people I know trying to wrap their head around it as they also are trying to wrap their arms around you and so many others from afar. Thank you again for taking the time, and keep holding those kids tight.

Well, as we look at where things stand in the area, FEMA, of course, has now been activated in Texas. The Coast Guard flying additional helicopters, planes with thermal detectors to also help find survivors. We're to take a closer look at that federal response, how it is helping in the search in Texas. That's ahead right here. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

HILL: We are back with our breaking news coverage of the deadly flooding in Texas. We can tell you at this hour, at least 80 people are now confirmed dead. Dozens remain missing. We are also getting new video from Friday, which shows the Coast Guard here pulling victims up out of raging floodwaters near Kerrville, Texas. CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman is in Kerrville right now. Leigh, we also just heard from local officials. What more did they have to say, especially as we're in the middle of these alerts as I understand it that are coming right where you are?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good to be with you. Yeah, the rain is already starting here. We've heard some cracks of thunder in the area that we're in now, but the biggest piece of information coming from the officials in that press conference that wrapped up just a few moments ago, they talked about those missing campers from Camp Mystic that we've been focusing on for several days now ever since those floodwaters started to rise early Friday morning.

Ten girls are still missing. One camp counselor is still missing at this point. Obviously, those search and rescue efforts are continuing, but, Erica, it's important to put into context that's not the only camp that sits along the Guadalupe River there. There's about a dozen or so other camps that are in that area, and nearly none of them evacuated out despite there being National Weather Service warnings issued on Thursday afternoon about flooding concerns. It's something that we asked city officials about. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: (Inaudible). We know that there is a National Weather Service order issue on Thursday after talking about these flood washes and issued (inaudible). Why not preemptively evacuate these camps (inaudible) questioned (inaudible)?

DALTON RICE, CITY MANAGER. KERVILLE, TEXAS: No. Again, it is still a great question. And when you looked at the National Weather Service, notification when you look at that map, that map showed Kerr County kind of in the Northeast corner, and that spread all the way through San Angelo.

[17:25:01]

So there's a lot of information. That's a wide area that must be addressed. And so as we're, you know, preparing for it, unfortunately, the rain hit at the most inopportune time and right in the most inopportune areas where the north and south fork hit. It converged and so here we are. So, again, we want to continue to focus on those rescue operations, and at that, we're not taking any more questions. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Now you see right after that, they cut off the questions, only allowing four to be asked after that press conference happened today, but people here want to know why there were not evacuation orders --

HILL: Leigh, I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment. The president is speaking. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE VIDEO)

DONALD TRUMP, PREISDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Alright. We will continue to be there and we're working very close with representatives from Texas, and it's a horrible thing that took place. Absolutely horrible. So we say God bless all of the people that have gone through so much, and God bless -- God bless the state of Texas. It's an incredible place. Any questions, miss?

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, are you still planning to phase out FEMA?

TRUMP: Well, FEMA is something we can talk about later. But right now, they're busy working, so we'll leave it at that. Go ahead.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER & WRITER: For the trade letters that you're sending out on Monday, Secretary Bessent said that it would be a three-week extension and that rates could go back up to the April 2nd level on August 1st. Is that what we should --

TRUMP: -- sending letters out on Monday having to do with the trade deals. It could be 12, maybe 15. You know, Secretary of Commerce right here, and I guess, Howard, I would say it could be maybe as many as 15 or so. And they'll be going out on Monday, and some will go out on Tuesday and Wednesday and it'll -- and we've -- we've made deals also. So we're gonna have a combination of letters, and some deals have been made.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, your reaction to Elon Musk starting a third party.

TRUMP: I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system. And I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous.

UNKNOWN: (Inaudible) the key back, the golden key back from Elon.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

UNKNOWN: What's your message going to be to Netanyahu tomorrow?

TRUMP: Well, we're working on a lot of things with Israel and one of the things is probably a permanent deal with Iran. Otherwise, they have to give up all of the things that you know so well. The attack turned out according to every single atomic energy commission, that was a complete and total obliteration. And we had the pilots, as you know, at the White House on Friday. They were incredible. And they confirmed that.

They know better than anybody, by the way, but they confirmed that every bomb hit its mark perfectly. And they would have to start all over again at a different location. This one is, as the you know, the word I used was the correct word, obliteration.

UNKNOWN: What will your message be on Gaza to Netanyahu?

TRUMP: I think we're close to a deal on Gaza. We could have it this week.

UNKNOWN: Democrats are framing (inaudible) federal cuts for the debts over in Texas (inaudible).

UNKOWN: (Inaudible)Hostage.

TRUMP: Yeah. I think there's a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week, during the coming week pertaining to quite a few of the hostage. Yeah. You know, we've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out. We think we'll have that done this week.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, do the tariff rates change at all on July 9th or do they change on August 1st?

TRUMP: What are you talking about?

UNKNOWN: Tariff rates. Do they change on July 9th or August 1st?

TRUMP: They're gonna be tariffs. The tariffs are gonna be the tariffs. I think we'll have most countries done by July 9th. Yeah. Either a letter or a deal.

HOWARD LUTNICK, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: But they did -- but they go into effect on August 1st. Tariffs go into effect August 1st, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now. Okay?

UNKNOWN: Are you investigating whether some of the cuts to the federal government left key vacancies at the National Weather Service or the emergency coordination?

LUTNICK: They did not.

TRUMP: No, no. They did -- I'll tell you, if you look at that, that -- what a situation that all is, and that was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup, but I wouldn't blame Biden for it either. I would, just say this is a hundred year catastrophe, and it's just so horrible to watch. [17:29:57]

UNKNOWN: Are you planning to visit Texas, Mr. President --

TRUMP: Probably on Friday. We wanted to leave a little time. I would have done it today, but would just be in their way. Probably Friday.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, have you been briefed on the ship that was hit in the Red Sea? Do you know if the Houthis attacked that ship today?

TRUMP: We'll give you a report sometime tonight or tomorrow.

UNKNOWN: The D.C. City Council has not approved the new stadium for the commanders. If they don't approve it, will you step in?

TRUMP: Well, we'll see what happens. I've been looking at the deal. And, you know, I don't blame them. They have to -- it's a very important piece of property. It's a great piece of property. So, we'll see. But if I can help them out, I will. You know, ultimately, we control that. The federal government ultimately controls it. So, we'll see what happens.

I saw the plans. I saw the stadium. The owner is very, very successful and a very good man. I know him a little bit. And it'll be a great place for the NFL to be there. I can tell you that. So, if they want to negotiate a little tough, that's okay with it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Do you like to see the commanders change the name back to Redskins?

TRUMP: Well, do you want me to make a controversial statement? I would. I wouldn't have changed your name. But that's there. It just doesn't have the same -- it doesn't have the same ring to me. But, you know, winning can make everything sound good. So, if they win, all of a sudden, the commander sounds good. But I wouldn't have changed your name.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Why not help Ukraine the same way you help Israel?

TRUMP: Say it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Why not help Ukraine the same way you help Israel?

TRUMP: I am helping Ukraine. I'm helping it a lot. And it's a war that should have never happened. It's a war that should have never started. If I were president, if the election weren't rigged, and it was rigged, rigged just so badly -- and that has come out. Read Miranda Devine in the "New York Post" today.

The election was totally rigged. And if it weren't rigged, you wouldn't have a war with Russia right now, and you wouldn't have had inflation, and you wouldn't have the horrible Afghanistan, the way they left. Not that they left, we would have been out before them, but the way they left. I think the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.

You wouldn't have had the October horror show with Israel and Hamas. You wouldn't have had any of it. You wouldn't have had the recent showdown with Iran. You wouldn't have had any of it. And you wouldn't have had inflation.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Well, you said you had a strategic call with Zelenskyy the other day. What strategy did you just say?

TRUMP: It was a good call. He's being hit very hard, as I said he would. He's being hit very hard. And I was very disappointed with my goal with President Putin. I was very disappointed.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Mr. President, in light of the floods, do you think that the federal government needs to hire back any of the meteorologists who are fired in the last month?

TRUMP: I would know that. I really wouldn't. I would think not. This was the thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people in there, and they didn't see it. It's -- I guess they said once in a hundred years. They've never seen anything like this. So, I wouldn't -- I mean, people are trying to blame the school. They're trying to blame the camp. They're trying to blame -- it's just a horrible thing. But, no, I wouldn't say that now.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE), are you expecting any deals to be signed this week, and what countries are closest to that?

UNKNOWN: Well, the president is right in the midst of discussing all sorts of deals with all sorts of countries. And the gentleman to my right is going to decide. And I'm going to be with him when he makes that decision.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: So, we've just been listening there to President Trump. He, of course, is leaving New Jersey. He's going to be making his way back to the White House.

Now, CNN senior reporter Betsy Klein is with us. So, Betsy, a few comments, a few questions specifically about the flooding in Texas, questions about both FEMA funding and whether he will continue with those cuts. Also, whether any of the cuts and the vacancies at the National Weather Service may have led to any issues there. The president taking both of those on. What more did we hear from him, Betsy?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. I mean, as we have been tracking the scale and scope of the devastation of the storm, it has been very clear that the full state, local, and federal government is going to need to work together very closely to respond.

And we heard from President Trump. He has been in touch with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other state and local officials. He described these floods as absolutely horrible. He said that the federal government will continue to be there.

Now, we know that earlier this morning, the president signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, Texas which really unlocks more aid and response from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When he signed that, he sent a letter to Abbott that said, he wrote in Sharpie -- quote -- "Our wonderful secretary, Kristi Noem, is available all -- at all times."

[17:35:00]

The president said that he himself will visit probably this Friday. Of course, the footprint of a presidential visit can be quite large. So, taking caution not to disrupt the ongoing search and rescue efforts right now.

We have a little bit more information on the federal response on the ground, according to a Homeland Security official. The U.S. Coast Guard since Friday has been assisting with search and rescue efforts. There are three C-144 fixed-wing aircraft with thermal cameras. That is so important

as they are trying to detect movement on the ground. There are two MH- 65 Dolphin helicopters.

There's a guy named Scott Ruskin who is a member of the Coast Guard. He is a swimmer who has been assisting with search and rescue efforts. He has assisted more than 165 people. This is his first mission response. So, really notable there. The Coast Guard has assisted with more than 200 rescues so far.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has seven shelters that are now open with food and water. As of 1:00, the official told me 137 people are staying in those shelters. That is expected to grow. They are deploying additional assets to the area.

The president has been talking about phasing out FEMA. He said that is something we can talk about later.

HILL: Yeah. Betsy, really appreciate the updates. Thank you. Stay with us. We're going to fit in a quick break here. We'll be right back. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:40:00]

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HILL: As we continue to follow the breaking news out of Central Texas, we can tell you now 80 people have been confirmed dead from the severe flash flooding. Those historic flash floods just came out in a matter of minutes. Torrential rain in Kerr County causing the Guadalupe River to surge in some places by more than 20 feet in less than two hours overnight into Friday.

Today, search and rescue efforts continue throughout Central Texas. First responders there are now entering the third day of searching for survivors. This just gives you a snapshot of some of what they are dealing with in terms of the debris and the areas that they're searching. Dozens across the state remain missing.

We've talked a lot about Camp Mystic, of course, which is in Hunt, Texas. At this point, officials say 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are still missing. That is one of a number of camps located along the river.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is joining us now. So, Marybel, you -- I want to point out, too, you're there on the side of the road in Kerrville. You have also been getting these alerts that our other colleagues have been getting in the area. Did you have to evacuate anywhere?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erica, those alerts have been ongoing throughout the afternoon. We have -- we actually had to move several times because we weren't allowed access into certain areas.

And then here in Kerrville, this is as close as we can get to the Guadalupe River. That is just behind the building, that brown building that you're seeing on camera. Now, that rain, Erica, is complicating the search and rescue efforts.

Here in Kerrville, this entire road was filled with first responders with the vehicles of volunteers. We even saw locals trying to get to that river bank by horse This was right before we got that emergency alert that said there was a high confidence of flooding.

As you can see now, there's just but a few of those vehicles here because everybody left. They're very sensitive, as we can imagine, to the threat of additional flooding, especially given how quickly the water levels of the Guadalupe River rose during the early morning hours on Friday.

Now, we were here yesterday, just on the other side along the river. That is where an RV park used to be. And I say used to because that flash flooding, it completely destroyed it. There is nothing left. There were 200-year-old trees that were uprooted. The plumbing of the RV park completely uprooted. And on the river, there were slabs of concrete. There wasn't even a car wedged between the downed trees.

So, as you can imagine, this is adding more difficulty to those search efforts, especially if the people that are on the ground have to clear out because of threat of more flooding. That further delays the possibility of finding people hopefully alive. But otherwise, you know, the bodies of the victims of this flooding.

But I will tell you, Erica, what we've been hearing all throughout the day is despite these obstacles, despite the weather, and despite the time that has passed by, the last thing that people here say they are going to lose is hope.

HILL: Yeah, which is so important. Marybel, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, as we just heard from Marybel, there are these concerns about the risk of flash flooding in the area now increasing. There are watches and warnings in place, alerts hitting people. We have the latest forecast for you ahead right here in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:45:00]

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HILL: Throughout the hour, as we continue our breaking news coverage here of the catastrophic flooding in Texas, we've been talking to you about the alerts of some of our crews on the ground we're getting, needing to evacuate areas where they are. That is because of the rain that is expected, rain that is falling in some cases already in certain areas, a number of those areas hit hard by the flooding.

Governor Greg Abbott a short time ago warning residents about what could be coming.

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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): There's more heavy rainfall that's expected that will lead to potential flash flooding broadly in these regions, the Big Country, Concho Valley, Central Texas, and once again Kerrville. A particular threat --

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HILL: Meteorologist Chris Warren is with us now. So, Chris, as we look at the forecast in these areas, especially those that were hit by the flash floods in the early hours of Friday, what are they looking at in the coming hours?

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: Erica, right now, this is a look at some of the showers and even intense thunderstorms causing some of that flash flooding that is now happening. Not what we saw the past couple of days but still a rise in the rivers and streams.

[17:50:00]

Here's Kerrville right here. The Guadalupe River is roughly through here and then the North Fork and then the South Fork in here. This was the thunderstorm earlier that our reporters got alerts on their devices saying they -- to move, to evacuate. That was this storm right here that caused that. You can see that's now moving over here.

This rain still within the drainage basin of the Guadalupe River. And the broad scene here, it's evening. You tend to get with the daytime heating, the warmth of the day, you get an uptick in storms. And that's what we're seeing right now with some thunderstorms that have been popping throughout the afternoon and the evening.

Here are the watches and warnings. The watches are in green. The warnings are in red. And this is right around where the devastation that -- all the pictures that we've been showing you, the video, that's right in here. So, these flash flood warnings are for some of those same areas that we're watching. Again, the green are the watches. So, I like to think of watches like flash flood watches as we're watching for warnings. And when you get a warning, like in the red, you need to take an action. You need to evacuate. You need to get to higher ground. Whatever you're told to do, that's what you have to do. That's when you act.

So, the future radar showing after dark, most of the storms waning, going down quite a bit. And then as early as tomorrow morning, storms picking back up, popping once again, and then this really should be it for most of the week. And that's what the forecast is showing us right here.

Chance for some storms tomorrow. Overnight lows in the 70s, highs in the 90s. So, it is going to be hot, but it does look like it's going to be dry. In fact, too dry is part of the reason, one of the ingredients that led to this disaster.

You may wonder, well, how could dry ground lead to a flooding event? Well, when we're looking here in the areas that were impacted, exceptional drought, the most intense form of drought. And you think about the land. Think about maybe your lawn, your front lawn. When you go through a dry spell, it can get hard. Well, think of the ground. It's almost like being baked. So, it takes a while for the water to soak into that and a lot of it runs off because it's so hard initially before it starts to be able to absorb some of that water. So, that's one thing.

The other thing is a couple of X tropical systems that were going up to the north, able to bring even more moisture to what the gulf already supplies to Texas. So just one more ingredient that helped lead to this disaster.

And then here's the Guadalupe River right here as it goes through Kerrville. Here's the South Fork and the North Fork. This is going back to Friday. This is during the overnight hours. We're looking at well over 12 hours of rainfall.

And not just rain, the scary -- the kind of rain you would expect, like, in a movie. Like, you wouldn't really believe it. It seems fake. That kind of intense with the thunderstorms that are happening. And not just here in Kerr County, but all throughout this area outside of Austin and San Antonio over the past couple of days.

And Erica, that led to what was under a foot of water here on the Guadalupe River to two stories worth of water here in just a matter of hours.

HILL: Yeah, it is really remarkable. When we look at it, it gives us a good sense of what's coming down the pike potentially. When could folks in the area see things improve weather wise?

WARREN: Significantly improvement as far as the rain by tomorrow night. Tomorrow should be our last day of showers and storms. And even, Erica, there's a good chance that a lot of people could end up being dry tomorrow because -- you think about these showers and storms. Think about it as a big pot of water. You crank -- you put on the stove, you crank it up, you know you're going to start to get bubbles, but you don't know exactly where.

And in this case, not everybody gets the bubbles, not everybody gets the rain or the showers. But the showers that do fall, Erica, could be intense, and you're not completely out of the woods yet in terms of flash flooding.

HILL: Yeah. And that is why it is important to have those alerts coming and for people to heed them when they do, which it sounds like people have been doing over the last couple of hours. Chris, really appreciate it. Thank you.

So many of you, I know, are wondering how you can help the victims in Texas. Head over to cnn.com/impact. There, you'll find a list of vetted organizations in terms of what they need, or you can also text flood to 707070.

Still to come here, the very latest from Texas, including the account of one man who helped rescue a victim he found floating on a pile of debris in the river. Stay with us. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:55:00]

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HILL: And thank you for joining us as we continue our special breaking news coverage here of the catastrophic flooding in Texas. I'm Erica Hill in New York alongside Pamela Brown in Kerr County, Texas.

Officials now say at least 80 people are dead. At least 41 people remain missing across Central Texas. In Kerr County, the area that, of course, saw the worst of that flash flooding, officials say at least 59 people have been killed, among them 21 children. And Pamela Brown, of course, is on the ground there in Kerr County.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica. So, we had to evacuate from where we were at Camp Mystic. We got an emergency alert saying that there was a flash flood warning until 7:30.

So, here we are in front of a fire station now just down the road. And these folks behind me here, these emergency responders were involved in search and rescue. And now, they're involved in storm mitigation.

[18:00:00]

But it's really all hands-on-deck approach here where I am. We've talked to a lot of family members on our way here who came to help search for their loved ones.