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At Least 51 Dead, 27 Campers Still Missing In Texas Floods; Residents Grapple With Devastation Left By Massive Floods In Texas; Noem Defends Federal Government Response To Texas Disaster; Volunteers Helping With Search And Rescue Efforts In Texas. At Least 51 Dead, 27 Campers Still Missing In Texas Floods; Devastating Flood Sweep Through Texas Hill Country; Area Of Texas Hill Country Known As "Flash Flood Alley"; Desperate Parents Search For Missing Children; Campers Share How They Survived Floodwaters. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 06, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:30]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And welcome to this special edition of CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Boris Sanchez, coming to you live from Hunt, Texas, where right now a desperate search is underway following historic flash floods that have claimed the lives of more than 50 people, including more than a dozen children.

At this hour, dozens remain missing, including nearly 30 people believed to have been caught in flood waters just outside where we are right now. This is Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp in Kerr County, the hardest hit part of Texas with the highest number of fatalities. This camp, where we are, is right on the Guadalupe River. You may be able to hear it behind me. It overflowed after multiple months of rain fell in a matter of hours, and all that water rushed into this camp extremely quickly.

You may be able to see behind me the high-water mark on those trees, more than a dozen feet off the ground. On the way to the site this morning, we saw a wide expanse of damage. Homes and businesses scarred, overturned vehicles, trees and debris lining the roadway, as well as signs that this remains a rescue effort.

We saw multiple emergency vehicles with Jon boats attached, clearly preparing for another day of searching, with obviously every hour at this point, precious as crews work to find any sign of life. Now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott visited Camp Mystic yesterday. He described the scene as horrendously ravaged. Here he is updating the public on rescue operations as they stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): We will be relentless in going after and ensuring that we locate every single person who's been a victim of this flooding event. We're not going to stop today or tomorrow. We will stop when the job is completed. Between now and whenever that day arrives, when we -- when the job is completed. This is a 24/7 operation day and night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It is still a difficult situation for residents as rain continues to come down. Just moments ago, we were dealing with really heavy downpours and they're still working to figure out exactly when it's going to stop so that they can clear more of the debris that's in the way and the devastation left in the wake of these floods. We spoke to a local store owner who shared with us that they'd never seen anything like it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK, HUNT, TEXAS RESIDENT: I grew up with this store. I've known -- like I said, I've danced here. I've been here. Sat by the fireplace in a rocking chair and drank a beer. The devastation -- there's just no words that I can -- that I can say that describe what I'm seeing.

My ranch it was completely under water. The water got that high. Just unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Rescue crews have been battling poor conditions with debris and downed trees blocking boats and other rescue vehicles from reaching certain areas, areas that crews are still trying to access. Texas Congressman Chip Roy talked about the heroism that he has seen in the community since these floods hit. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): Where we are right now in terms of what we've done to be able to protect people, move them, get them out of the camps, and the heroic efforts of people that worked in those camps. Directors of the camps, people who own the camps, who not just risked their lives, gave their lives to try to save the lives of those kids. That's who they are as Texans. And I'm so proud of that.

And I'm so proud of the work that everyone has done to do that. And now, we've just got to finish the job and be with the people. And importantly, pray for the families who have lost their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And finishing the job is going to get exponentially more complicated as more rain is on the way. My colleague Leigh Waldman joins us now. Leigh, what's the latest where you are?

[06:05:02]

It looks like we're having some issues there with Leigh's signal. We'll come back to her. But right now, the Trump administration is working with state officials in Texas on disaster relief. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is in Texas. And yesterday she said that President Donald Trump indicated that he would honor Governor Greg Abbott's federal disaster declaration. Governors have requested federal disaster declarations. They don't necessarily declare them. Governor Greg Abbott made the request on Saturday. It comes at a time when other states have had difficulties getting their disaster declarations confirmed by the White House.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump, both offered condolences to the victims on social media. Let's get the latest from the national angle on this with CNN's Camila DeChalus. She joins us live. Camila, what are you hearing from federal officials in the White House?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Boris, that's right. President Trump has said that he is willing and he wants to work with state and local authorities to really make sure that the state officials get the resources that they need in order to help residents that have been most impacted in this area, and he said that he is committed to giving federal aid. But it's pretty notable to talk about what has recently happened in these last few months that could really store and really thwart those efforts.

For example, these past few months, the DOGE led efforts have led to a lot of buyouts only mostly 20 percent of the FEMA staff has been cut. And these are crucial resources that really help when times like these -- when areas like these are really hit by natural disasters.

Also, you have the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, defend President Trump, saying that he's committed to upgrading the weather forecasting systems. But just in this fiscal year, the budget that they put out to Congress when it comes to these national resources that really help predicting and forecasting weather, climate, there have been significant cuts to those services. Take a listen to Noem defending Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: That is something and one of the reasons that, when President Trump took office that he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology. And the National Weather Service has indicated that with that, and NOAA, that we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.

But I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump. And we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that may have felt like a failure to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Noem has been asked several questions regarding just the recent cuts and even the staffing levels at this agency that has been so critical to predicting weather forecasting. And she has been a little bit defensive, saying that she still pointing to President Trump and still saying that he's really committed to making sure that they upgrade the technology system. But it's not just that. It's also the staffing levels that are big concern. And so, it's really shining a light of how crucial these agencies are especially in times like this. SANCHEZ: Camila DeChalus, thank you so much for the reporting. Let's go back to Leigh Waldman now. Leigh, take us through what you're hearing, what the latest is on these efforts.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, good to be with you. So, we know that there's going to be another update from officials at 10:00 this morning. But even in the darkness that we're seeing right now, just outside of Camp Mystic, the rescue operations are still underway. There was a drone flying earlier. There was law enforcement outside of the camp earlier.

But I want to point something out to you. You can see this tree toppled over and, in the distance, you can hear the Guadalupe River flowing ferociously still days after this catastrophic flooding.

The camp is off in the distance. You can't see anything out here. If it weren't for our camera lights, that's how dark it was when that water rose and flooded into those girls' cabins. That's why the situation was so incredibly scary for all of those kids who were out here at this camp.

You know, I used to live in San Antonio for two and a half years. Driving through here I've never seen anything like it. Up the road, there's the Hunt store, which is a beloved fixture in this community. People go to watch live music. They go to have lunch there.

I have friends who were there on Thursday and they -- it's destroyed. It's gone. There was a post office right behind it, a brick building that is completely washed away. That shows you the power of the water.

And people flocked to the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe, as we call it here, because it's a historic fixture. It's something we flocked to in the summertime. You float down the river. You flock to the river because that's where the good times are, especially during the summertime here.

So, that's why so many people were along the river when this flooding started. That's why it's so catastrophic that we're seeing here.

SANCHEZ: Leigh Waldman, thank you so much for the reporting. Let's get some perspective now with CNN's senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, thanks so much for being up early with us this morning.

[06:10:00]

Let's talk about the coordination between local and federal officials. You have the DHS secretary Kristi Noem here. What is the process for a federal disaster declaration, and how long does it take for that relief to get to where it's most needed?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. So right now, we are still, as Governor Abbott made clear, in what's called the response phase. So, I think in that phase you're not seeing tremendous changes in terms of how the Trump White House is deploying federal resources. Look, this is a local response. Then the state capacity comes in. Other states come in to support, and then the federal government has assets, you know, helicopters, trucks, other things that they will deploy. We are seeing that -- as you're reporting we're looking at pictures of work as it has worked even, you know, however big this tragedy is, where we're going to see or we should look for changes is in -- is in this disaster declaration phase. This is what's called the recovery phase, which is how are you going to get these communities back to normal?

We don't know what the Trump White House wants or how it will judge it. All we know is that Trump has said he wants to put more on the state. And so, even though Governor Abbott requested the declaration and Kristi Noem said, yes, we're -- we're accepting the -- we don't know how much money is behind that.

And recovery for these communities is the -- is a really hard part because they really don't have the resources to get not just -- to get the basics back up and running, electricity, water, transportation. And so, that's what we will be looking at in the weeks and months ahead.

SANCHEZ: And, Juliette, to the point about staffing at the offices of the National Weather Service and the folks that are in charge of making sure that these warnings get to where they need to go in time for folks to make it out, what is your view on that? Are they properly staffed to handle this kind of major weather event when many of these offices, these NWS offices around the country, they no longer operate 24/7?

KAYYEM: I've been one of many screaming from the rooftops that these are government capacities that you only miss when you need them, right? That you may say, oh, we can just cut NWS or NOAA and that's fine. That's just part of the DOGE process.

But we will find out whether there is a direct connection between what was happening to NWS and NOAA and warnings. I've seen some of the what we call tick-tocks (ph), and it appears that NWS and NOAA were doing these alerts. What we don't know is why were there gaps in local response?

It may be this was such a historic storm, no one could have done anything. But this is something that we have to learn more generally. Unless you believe this is the last major climate disaster the United States is ever going to have, we need to focus on weather, science, alerts, early warning systems, and the capacity to get people out so that they can survive.

Human life is all that matters in these disasters. Time is short. We need to invest in the capacities that save people's lives. It's not just weather. It's, of course, FEMA, coast guard, local and state capacity.

This is something that, you know -- look, you know, no government thinks that they every -- let me put it a different way. Every administration ends up having to deal with disasters. And the more that we can invest in preparing and anticipating them, the fewer horrors than what we're seeing this weekend will happen as we see them.

And so, we'll find out specifically about this. But more generally, we need to invest in these systems to protect us from the climate harms that are surely going to come in the weeks and months and years ahead.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no doubt about that. I wonder, Juliette, you mentioned a moment ago the view of President Trump and his administration of FEMA, that emergency management and disaster relief is something that should be left to states. How effective a model do you assess that would be for dealing with something like this where an immense amount of resources are needed very quickly?

KAYYEM: Yes. So, I think it just depends on your philosophy of government. And so, part of it is that government -- people need government in moments like these. This is not the time to say, well, you can do it on your own. I mean, people are -- we are part of a collective as a society. And when harm happens to people, whether it's a red state, a blue state, we don't care where they're from, we assist.

[06:15:00]

The Trump philosophy of recovery, in particular, is what we want more on the states. No one quite knows what that looks like because we've had 40 years of disaster management in which states request support from the federal government. And that's what the federal government does.

I don't like there not -- I'll be honest with you. I don't like there not being standards. The reason why is because we have to treat each of these states equally.

Politics always come into play in disasters. There's no question about that. What we can't see happen is partisanship. In other words, certain governors benefit because they support the president and certain governors do not. As we've been alluding to, we certainly know Trump has gone to war with governors from blue states. We can't do that to the American people.

This is when they need us. They need the federal government the most. So, we need standards. We need objectivity to determine what will the states be expected to do now, and what will the federal government be expected to do? We've seen none of those details to date, and we won't see them in time for what's going to happen in the days ahead in Texas.

SANCHEZ: Juliette Kayyem, always appreciate hearing your point of view. Thanks so much for joining us.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Just witnessing how widespread this devastation is, I can tell you that there are a lot of folks in Texas right now who need a helping hand. For more information about how you can do that and help these folks, go to CNN.com/impact or text "flood" to 70-70-70.

So, we mentioned a moment ago there is more rain in the forecast for central Texas. Some of the areas hit hardest by these deadly floods as search and rescue enters now its third day. Any additional rain could complicate those efforts.

Let's go to meteorologist Tyler Mauldin, who joins us now. Tyler, talk to us about exactly where this rain is headed and how much is coming.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, Boris, I have on the radar right now some light showers in the area, a stronger thunderstorm just to the north of Kerrville, pushing through Mason right now. So, you may start to see some rainfall in your area, Boris, and maybe some lightning strikes too.

Any rain that we pick up is just going to add to what we saw on Friday and on Saturday. We have the chance for more in the way of flooding here. So, a slight chance of flooding in the area due to this rain. A flood watch is in effect through this afternoon, because we are going to see more in the way of showers and thunderstorms.

The showers that are on radar right now, they are going to taper off here in a couple of hours. But by this afternoon, though, during the heating of the day, when you start having that summertime heat and humidity build up, presto, you get some more thunderstorms. So, that will be a quick splash and dash in the Kerrville area. Those then die off once the heating of the day starts to cool.

Then by tomorrow morning, going on into the afternoon, we hit repeat. It's not until we get to Tuesday that we really start to see some drier air come into the area. But regardless, whatever we pick up right now in these hardest impacted areas is just going to add insult to injury.

We could see roughly two to four inches of additional rain over the next 24 to 48 hours. But then notice this, again, after Monday we start to see some drier air come in less in the way of cloud cover, less in the way of precipitation, and more in the way of dry, sunny skies -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and that rain just complicates every aspect of the rescue effort. Hopefully, some relief on the way soon. Tyler Mauldin, thank you so much.

We have plenty more to come this morning on CNN. Search and rescue operations underway in central Texas after this deadly flash flooding. We're going to look into the logistical challenges faced by these teams.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:23:32]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF W. NIM KIDD, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: You have assets in the air that are still doing searches. You have boats that are in the water doing searches, and you have ground crews doing searches. As the water recedes, new areas being uncovered and searched, and you have human and canine that are working those banks and will continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was the chief of the Texas Department of Emergency Management at yesterday's news conference explaining exactly what resources first responders are using to try to find survivors of the flooding in central Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state is, quote, "surging all available resources" to the region, trying to get folks the help that they need.

This flooding disaster in Texas is bringing out volunteers as well from many places. We're joined now live by Ryan Logue. He's an incident commander for the United Cajun Navy. It's a volunteer-based organization that responds to natural disasters. Ryan, thanks so much for sharing part of your morning with us.

I know you primarily operate out of Louisiana, but you're involved in these operations. Share with us some about -- some of what you've seen since you got word of this catastrophe.

RYAN LOGUE, INCIDENT COORDINATOR, UNITED CAJUN NAVY: So, since this started, I saw -- actually, a Kerrville native and I'm with the organization and actually from here so this -- the impact of this has impacted me personally.

And since this happened, the devastation -- what's hard to see on the news is that this devastation is all the way from the North and South Fork, where the beginning of the Guadalupe River is, all the way down into New Braunfels, and even farther south than that which is almost 100 miles away.

[06:25:08]

So, this devastation isn't similar to a hurricane or tornado in the ways that you're seeing it in the circular or a, you know, kind of an area that's easier -- I wouldn't say easier, but easier to get a bigger group and search --

SANCHEZ: More accessible, sure.

LOGUE: -- in that way. Yes, accessible. And now, we are having to go down and there's 100 miles of river that we have to search. And so right now, with the state and -- the state and local officials which -- I mean, I know with the news and so much going on, I want everybody to know they have done a wonderful job. They are working day and night, and they are working tirelessly but they -- should be nothing but praised at this point.

I know it's how -- I know how this world is right now, but they need to be praised. They have been doing a great job, Governor Abbott. I'm grateful that Secretary Noem came down here and -- you know, our local officials are doing great jobs, Sheriff Leitha -- everybody is doing wonderful jobs. But, you know, as we see this --

SANCHEZ: From our reporting, we've seen that they've saved hundreds of people. They've rescued hundreds of people from campsites like the one I'm at now at Camp Mystic, where there is something like 27 people still missing.

I wonder what it's like as the Cajun Navy heads out, especially with all the challenges you're facing not only the debris, but also more rain coming down. How hard is it to try to find folks in conditions like this?

LOGUE: It's -- that -- so that's been one of the toughest things so far, is being able to coordinate getting people to certain places due to one -- we have -- along the Guadalupe we have cypress trees that are anywhere from 60 to even like 100 feet tall. And those are just -- I mean, you can't get helicopters in there to get thermal imaging.

We are -- you know, right now I'm coordinating -- I've been all night up -- all night. Pardon me. Been up all night coordinating people, getting horses out there. You know, anything that somebody may call like a redneck toy, we are turning into assets for the search and rescue.

We are -- the grassroots efforts on this have been amazing. Ever since I started this over 48 hours ago, we have had volunteers from over six states. I have people coming from Lubbock, Amarillo over eight hours, 10 hours away in our own state coming to help here.

I mean, it's nothing short of amazing. It really does show that this country is more united than divided.

SANCHEZ: And it is tremendously appreciated. And obviously, during times like these, people look to folks that are helping and trying to get people out of harm's way and provide relief to those who need it. So, I wonder what your message would be to those who are in dire straits right now, who perhaps have loved ones that are unaccounted for as this rescue effort continues? Talk to us about the reasons that you're hopeful that folks will be found.

LOGUE: We -- up until I left the river last night talking -- working with some of the groups that I have -- a few different kind of special ops groups going out that have horses, boats and drones. Everything that we can to get to some of the hard -- you know, harder to navigate parts. And, you know, we're still finding victims, which is an unfortunate part.

And outside of that, all we can do is pray. There's -- I mean, it's -- the videos that you see on news, on your stations, on all the stations, it does not do justice to what's going on down here. Sorry, I'm getting a little choked up.

I have a seven-year-old daughter and it's not -- you know, what we see on the news is Camp Mystic. We see the devastation to those children. Yes, but our whole community is absolutely torn up.

We have -- I mean, people who were sleeping in their houses in our community were torn away in the middle of the night. And the -- I feel like that should be the focus right now is that this whole community -- that this whole state is coming together and we are going to rebuild this. We're going to do it with the help of the state. But we're all going to -- as part of the Cajun Navy, we are all -- we're going to stay here until every last person is found and every person is taken care of in every way.

We are delivering food to first responders. Anybody in need up until the last person is still here looking for people, anything that we can do to take off law enforcement from vetting volunteers. I am coordinating with all the local volunteer fire departments and police departments that I can get a hold of to if they have organized search crews going out, sending volunteers there.

Tomorrow at Center Point, I'm expecting anywhere from 600 to a couple thousand people showing up from all over the state to start going up and down the river, because that's kind of the middle point of where everything started.

[06:30:09]

So, it will be a (INAUDIBLE) --

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes (INAUDIBLE) --

LOGUE: -- today's going to be a big day when it comes to understanding the true devastation of it because of the amount of grassroots efforts that we're going to have.

SANCHEZ: Understood. Ryan Logue, thank you so much for what you're doing, man. We very much appreciate your message and your work. It is felt out here. Thank you so much.

LOGUE: It's an honor. Thank you all very much.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Still to come, we're tracking the latest as devastating floods sweep through Central Texas. At least 51 people killed. Some 27 remain missing here at Camp Mystic.

We're going to bring you the latest as we get it. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:16]

SANCHEZ: We want to get you up to speed with the latest information, the breaking news from here in Texas Hill Country. Here's what we know so far.

At least 51 people have died in catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River. Most of the victims in Kerr County. Search and rescue teams are still racing to find some 27 people missing from Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe, where we are right now.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Trump administration is committed to using federal resources to help after Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested federal aid. Clearly a situation that is going to take a long time to sort and not only recover from, but also get a sense of just the extent of the devastation, which we're hoping to do today.

The owner of an RV park along the Guadalupe River says that she watched in horror as a family of five was swept away by the devastating flood. Lorena Guillen, who shot this video, says it all happened in a matter of minutes before RVs, cars, and entire cabins were washed away with almost no warning.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOREAN GUILLEN, RV PARK OWNER: The river was raging. It was so powerful that just there was nothing you could do.

I mean, it took minutes before all of the RVs got washed away. The cabins from our next door neighbor were banging against our trees. You can see the markings on all the trees were got all the damage and they were just breaking into pieces.

And you could see cars floating with the lights on and you can hear people honking in the car. You know, we knew there was somebody there, but we just couldn't get to them. And it was just all you can see is the lights of the vehicles and the screaming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Heart-wrenching scenes like that one playing out all over central Texas.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez has more on the damage and rescue efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The damage across Kerr County is just so widespread.

We're here in Kerrville, Texas on the side of the Blue Oak RV Park. Now, this is an RV park that was gearing up for the 4th of July celebrations. It was a perfect day. The property owner, Lorena Guillen, tells us. It was sunny. It wasn't too hot.

She had purchased $1,000 worth of fireworks to set them off to their visitors that were here, some of whom were long-term RV visitors. Other ones were just here for the holiday weekend.

However, she tells us that quickly changed going into the night. It was around 2:30 a.m. when she noticed it was raining heavily, and before she knew it, the river, the Guadalupe River that you see behind us, had just completely swelled up. There were people that were frantic on this property, and one family of five, she describes, were screaming for help. They were clinging to a tree as their RV got swept away by the current. Eventually, and even though people were trying to help that family, that family was also swept away from the current, and it is unclear if that family is among those who have been found. This is a tragic story that we've heard over and over again in different parts of the county. We know even on this property, earlier there was a group of volunteers searching a mangled car along the river that crashed into a tree because they believed somebody could potentially be in there. Sheriff deputies were called to the scene, but fortunately, nobody was inside the car.

Now, Lorena Guillen says the focus is on helping this community that has been completely devastated and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. She says that here, her RV park, everything is completely gone. Two-hundred-year-old trees are uprooted. Concrete slabs and pieces of metal are really all that remain. But she says she's hopeful that this community will move forward.

Right now, they need all the help that they can get, and we know that more federal resources could be on the way with Governor Greg Abbott issuing a state of disaster declaration to help get some resources here on the ground.

And while they wait for that to happen, she says volunteers have rallied to help this community, bringing in donations as needed, and also helping with the search and rescue efforts.

We're in Kerrville, Texas. I'm Marybel Gonzalez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, thanks to Marybel for that report.

This happened so quickly, and the devastation is so widespread that questions are being raised about the warnings that were issued that these waters were coming and how so many were seemingly caught off guard.

[06:40:04]

So how did this system get so dangerous so fast? Let's go back to meteorologist Tyler Mauldin to help us understand.

Tyler, when were the first warnings issued?

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on-camera): So the first flood watch was issued on Thursday and then between midnight on Friday Boris, and lunchtime on Friday, the local National Weather Service office issued more than two dozen flash flood warnings, including four flash flood emergencies all in this area.

And that's because the signs were starting to come together early on Thursday that a flood event could take place. You had this system stalling over Central Texas, tapping into some very, very tropical moisture and just raining in the same area, not budging. And that same area, Boris, not only is it prone to flooding, but this area has been dealing with an exceptional drought through July 1st. So that water, as it fell, Boris had nowhere to really go.

SANCHEZ: And Tyler, how quickly did the water rise? Does that explain how widespread this is?

MAULDIN (on-camera): Yes, it absolutely does. I mean, in this area, we saw approximately a foot of rain. Localized areas saw a little more than that.

And to put that, to add some color to that, let me show you this graphic here. Flood stage is at nine feet for the Guadalupe River. At 2:00 a.m. on Friday, we weren't at flood stage. We were nowhere close to that. In fact, the river was at below a foot, 0.7 feet. By 5:45, so just a mere three hours and some change, we were all the way up to 23 and a half feet.

So we reached major flood stage in a matter of three hours. That means that we exceeded flood stage in a matter of minutes. So, when you interview someone such as the RV park owner and they say this happened in minutes, that is true because you can see that spike there going from one foot to more than two stories of water rise.

That's an unbelievable, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and you can see some of it here behind me where the high water mark is. There's debris up on those trees. Those trees are more than a dozen feet up.

Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin, thank you so much for giving us that perspective.

When we come back, dozens killed by flash floods, dozens more missing. We're going to hear from a father who made a frantic search to find his missing daughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:10]

SANCHEZ: Amid all of this devastation, one family is holding on to hope of finding their daughter and her friends alive after they went missing in the Texas flooding.

The father of one of the missing girls spoke to CNN's Ed Lavandera as he was searching and calling out his daughter's name in Hunt, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Your daughter was here with two friends?

TY BADON, SEARCHING FOR MISSING DAUGHTER & FRIENDS: Yes, three.

LAVANDERA: Three friends.

BADON: Yes. LAVANDERA: So, it was four of them.

BADON: Correct. And she and the young man, they went to elementary school and high school together. And the young, one of her friends, Ella Cahill (ph), that's her boyfriend, Aiden (ph) is, they went to school through high school, so they've known each other a long time.

The other girl, her name is Reese (ph). I can't remember her last name right now. She is Ella's (ph) roommate at UTSA, so we've never met her or her parents. But God bless her, and we pray that all four of them are still alive.

LAVANDERA: All four are missing?

BADON: Yes. Yes, they're all missing. And, you know, it's been 4 o'clock yesterday morning that we were told that, you know, they were on the phone with Aiden's (ph) dad, who they own the house where they were. It was a very nice house. He's no longer there.

And Aiden (ph) said, hey, you know, I've got to go. I've got to help Ella (ph) and Reese (ph). So he gave the phone to Joyce Catherine (ph). Joyce Catherine (ph) said, they just got washed away. And then a few seconds later, the phone went dead, and that's all we know.

So we presume that she got washed away as well. And if you go back to where the house is, it's not a good sign. And that's why I was telling you, my son and I are walking, and I thought it was a mannequin. It was a little boy, about eight or 10 years old, and he was dead.

So, we just --

LAVANDERA: You saw that this morning?

BADON: Yes. So, you know, we're just walking and doing the same thing we were doing when we stumbled across him. Hopefully we can find our children, our daughter and her friends, alive.

So, anyway, I ask you, if you would pray, and whoever watches this thing, pray. We got together and picked up our son and came over here. And we waited around at a center, and God bless them, they're doing a great job. It's in Ingram, Texas, at the elementary school, and they're kind of like the place where all the survivors are brought. And we were hoping that we would hear our daughter and friends' names called, but they never did call.

So we said, this morning we're going to come out and try to find them ourselves.

LAVANDERA: I mean, you're walking through this mess --

BADON: Yes.

LAVANDERA: -- hoping for a miracle.

BADON: Amen. Keep the faith. It's all we can do. So, that's all I got, Ed. Thank you. [06:50:08]

LAVANDERA: Can you tell us about your daughter?

BADON: Yes, she's a beautiful girl and I think I sent you a picture. Just a wonderful girl. Couldn't ask for a better daughter. All two schoolers, just easy, you know, no shenanigans or anything like that.

I mean, she was a normal girl. We would have fun, but yes, we loved her dearly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our hearts go out to that gentleman and his family. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much for bringing us that report.

Our breaking news coverage continues in just a moment.

Coming up, we hear from two young campers who raced to safety from the rising flood waters. Don't go anywhere. We're back in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:26]

SANCHEZ: Campers in Texas are recounting the nightmare of waking up in their cabins to flooding as high as their bunk beds. We heard from two brothers describing how the water destroyed their campgrounds in Kerr County.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUFFIN BOYETTE, CAMP SURVIVOR: I'm one of the campers from Camp La Junta, one of the camps that flooded. And I had a first-hand view of the flood.

And so, the cabins were flooding and the walls were like, they like, they broke down. And all of the campers in those cabins had to go up on the rafters and they had to wait there until they could swim out. And my brother here, he had to swim out of his cabin.

PIERS BOYETTE, CAMP SURVIVOR: The flood started getting bigger and it was going up to -- we had bunk beds in our cabins and it was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice and we had to swim out of our cabins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time was this?

P. BOYETTE: It was like, we woke up at 2:00a.m.

R. BOYETTE: Yes, we had to wake up at like 4:00 a.m.

On the way here, we saw all of like the other camps destroyed, like obliterated. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And tell me, how'd you guys get out of there? Did they put you guys on buses or did you have to wait?

R. BOYETTE: Yes, yes, we had to get on a bus.

P. BOYETTE: Yes, we had to get on a bus. We were in other cabins for, like cabins on hills, for about 17 hours. We until --

R. BOYETTE: We hosted a cabin and buses get here. And it was not fun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: They are so lucky. Our coverage is going to continue after just a short break.

More on the rescue and recovery efforts happening right now in Central Texas as the forecast for more rain is on the way.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)