Editor’s note: The following story includes information from 911 calls on the morning of the Hill Country floods. KSAT is being judicious with what we publish, but this still may be hard to read.
KERR COUNTY, Texas – Amid catastrophic flooding and cries for help on the morning of July 4, newly released 911 calls reveal Kerr County dispatchers remaining calm and steady-handed, while several community members were attempting to help their neighbors.
Five months after the Hill Country floods claimed 117 lives in Kerr County and did millions of dollars in damage, KSAT obtained the 911 calls from that day through an open records request.
The release includes 435 emergency calls over the course of six hours, beginning at 2:52 a.m. In all, there are 23 hours of calls.
In the earliest call released, the general manager of the River Inn Resort warned dispatchers of water surging at an alarming pace. His next call warned that a big flood was incoming.
And he was right.
Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. alone, officials said two dispatchers fielded 106 calls, receiving multiple calls a minute. They calmly took information from worried, nervous, and panicked callers who had been caught off guard by the water quickly rising around their properties, homes or campsites.
“We are stuck on a roof off Highway 39,” the caller said. “We need a boat or a helicopter. The water is rising.”
Calls came in from people who found themselves standing in a flooded vacation rental, on the roofs of vacation homes or camping trailers being jostled by floodwaters. No matter the situation, the message remained the same: “Help is on the way.”
While the callers became more frantic, the response from dispatchers became an act of repetition. They never wavered from the message that they were doing everything possible to reach the people who needed it.
Camp Mystic calls describe conditions, cabin of girls unaccounted for
Dozens of calls came from those at summer camps, including Camp Mystic, located along the banks of the Guadalupe River. Twenty-five campers and two counselors died from the flooding, as well as camp owner Dick Eastland. One camper remains missing.
One of the first calls from the camp came just before 4 a.m. Over the next few hours, staff and campers relayed the gravity of the situation to dispatchers.
Camp Mystic Director Britt Eastland, Dick Eastland’s son, called for help shortly after 7 a.m.
“Here at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas – we need search and rescue … We’re missing as many as 20 to 40 people,” Britt Eastland told dispatchers.
Britt Eastland informed dispatchers that there was little cell service and no power at the camp, urging them to call the National Guard.
“We are missing a whole cabin full of girls,” another caller said.
One caller asking for medical help worried about the flooding making it hard for first responders to get to them.
“Yeah, I believe we tried to go out there, but we’re not able to make (the) location,” the dispatcher said.
Several families of the 27 girls who died are now suing Camp Mystic for wrongful death, alleging the camp did not provide evacuation training, ignored flood warnings and failed to evacuate campers.
Earlier this week, Camp Mystic announced enhanced safety plans for when it partially reopens in summer 2026.
Calls showcase people being rescued, community helping one another
Among the 911 calls released, were several calls from people trying to help others swept away by floodwaters.
“I know you’re overwhelmed,” a caller told dispatchers, “but I’m wondering if a group of us could search... and how and where we can start looking.”
At 6:11 a.m., someone called describing their efforts to rescue a man caught in the river on a fence, using a rope.
Another man called at 8:52 a.m., telling dispatchers that there was a woman stuck in a tree.
“Hang on! It’s going down,” the man is heard yelling to the woman. “I’ve called for help!”
Others called to report that they and their loved ones had been rescued, so that first responders did not continue to search for them.
Dispatchers told callers to help if they saw someone in immediate danger, but were not accepting any outside volunteer searches because it was too dangerous.
Why is KSAT publishing some audio from these 911 calls?
KSAT 12 submitted an open records request to the Kerrville Police Department for audio from the 911 calls on July 4 in an effort to bring transparency to what occurred that day.
We are publishing details of the calls, not to relive that morning, but to answer questions about what resources were available.
In doing so, we hope to highlight the reality of what people went through that morning so that it never happens again.
KSAT 12 has been judicious in what we chose to publish, as well as what we chose not to publish.
KSAT reported widely on the community coming together to support one another in the days and months following the tragedy.
These new records show that even in the earliest, most raw moments of the chaos, dispatchers and community members were doing what they could to help each other.
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