Newly released 911 calls show Texas Hill Country deadly flood chaos

Five months after the deadly Texas Hill Country flood, newly released 911 calls reveal panic, desperation and heartbreaking pleas.

The two emergency dispatchers on duty were overwhelmed, inundated with calls from people dealing with an increasingly difficult situation. More than 400 calls to emergency services included people trapped in their homes, at summer camps and even in trees. Some called repeatedly to let rescuers know where they were and warn them that their situation was becoming increasingly urgent.

“We’re okay but we live about a mile from Camp Mystic and we already have two little girls coming down the river and we reached them, but I’m not sure how many others there are out there,” one caller said.

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Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp located along the Guadalupe River, lost 25 campers and two youth counselors due to flooding. Dick Eastland, the camp’s long-time manager and co-owner, tragically died in the flood while trying to rescue campers.

Britt Eastland, Camp Mystic’s co-director and Dick’s son, also called 911 and asked for the National Guard to be called because as many as 40 people were missing. Associated Press reported.

A counselor at Camp La Junta said water filled a cabin “super fast” as campers screams could be heard in the background. Everyone in the cabin and the rest of the campers at Camp La Junta were rescued, according to the AP.

In another conversation, a woman frantically says that she and two elderly people are trapped in a house and cannot go out. He begged for help and told the officer he was scared.

A search and rescue volunteer holds a T-shirt and backpack that says Camp Mystic on July 6, 2025, in Comfort, Texas. (Danielle Villasana for Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Another caller said people went to attics and rooftops to escape the rapidly rising waters and swam away, screaming for help.

“I think we have people floating in the water, screaming for help, and we can’t get to them,” the caller said. “If anyone can reach us by helicopter or something, are people in their attics and on their routes?”

The dispatcher informed him that help was on the way, but the water was “slowing us down a little bit.”

Campers’ belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic’s cabins near the Guadalupe River following flash flooding in the area on Monday, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (Eli Hartman/AP Photo)

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“The tree I’m in is starting to bend and will fall. Is there a helicopter nearby?” Firefighter Bradley Perry calmly reported the incident to the officer, adding that he and his wife, Tina, saw their trailer washed away, according to the AP.

Perry’s failure to survive made him one of more than 130 people who died in the deadly July 4 floods. His wife was later found alive, clinging to a tree, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.