At least two people have died and hundreds have been rescued from flash flooding in central Texas after days of torrential rain caused rivers to rise at catastrophic speed. Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed on Thursday evening that a man was killed when his recreational vehicle was swept away near Comfort, and a woman died after her car was inundated in Uvalde. More than 230 rescues had been carried out by state game wardens, firefighters, police and National Guard units using boats, helicopters and high-water vehicles, the governor said.

According to the National Weather Service in San Antonio, a “large and deadly flood wave” was moving down the same river system that claimed more than two dozen lives at a children’s camp a year ago. Rainfall totals reached 25–50 cm (10–20 inches) over two days, with 20 cm falling in just two hours early Thursday. One gauge near Kerrville recorded a rise of 9.7 metres in four hours. The Nueces River, normally a dry riverbed for much of the year, was forecast to swell overnight to twice the flow of Niagara Falls, a volume that would set a record, Governor Abbott added.

The flooding struck a region still recovering from the July 2025 deluge that killed more than 130 people, including campers and counsellors at Camp Mystic. Meteorologists note that the Hill Country’s steep terrain and thin soil over limestone cause rainfall to shoot into narrow river channels, producing rises so rapid they have been described as “river tsunamis”. This week’s storms were fuelled by hot air over the central United States that kept the system slow-moving, dumping nearly a trillion gallons of water on the three hardest-hit counties over three days, according to former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue.

Flood watches remained in effect for more than six million residents across 57 counties, with some expected to last through Friday evening. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of Uvalde, and officials in Kerrville urged residents to shelter on upper floors. Nearly 90 road and highway closures complicated rescue efforts between San Antonio and Del Rio. The governor declared disasters in dozens of counties, and emergency operations were continuing as river levels were still rising in some areas. The death toll remained provisional.