President Donald Trump announced plans to travel to Texas on Friday to meet with families impacted by the catastrophic flooding that struck over the Fourth of July weekend, leaving at least 110 dead and more than 170 still unaccounted for.
The president will be joined by First Lady Melania Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as confirmed during a Tuesday cabinet meeting at the White House.
“I’ll be going down on Friday with the First Lady. We don’t want to get in the way of first responders, because when a president shows up, the focus shifts. That’s not what we want. We want all attention on helping the people,” Trump said.
The hardest-hit area was Kerr County in the Texas Hill Country, where flash floods along the Guadalupe River caused widespread devastation. Texas Governor Greg Abbott reported Tuesday that 161 people are still missing in Kerr County alone, with another dozen missing across surrounding areas. Emergency responders have so far rescued over 850 individuals.
“They’re still holding out hope that there might be survivors,” Trump added. “It’s probably unlikely at this point, but not impossible. It’s a tragic, heartbreaking situation.”
Trump praised the coordination between state and federal emergency response teams, noting that multiple federal helicopters had been deployed to assist Texas search-and-rescue crews.
Earlier this week, Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Texas, unlocking critical federal aid. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also declared a public health emergency to bring more medical resources to the region. Meanwhile, the Department of Housing and Urban Development imposed a 90-day foreclosure moratorium on FHA-insured homes in Kerr County.
Among the most heartbreaking losses were dozens of children attending Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp in Kerr County. Six remain missing, including five campers and one counselor. Confirmed fatalities include 8-year-old campers Renee Smajstrla and Eloise Peck, 19-year-old counselor Chloe Childress, and the camp’s 74-year-old director, Dick Eastland.
Twin sisters Blaire and Brooke Harber, swept away from their grandparents’ riverfront cabin, were found 15 miles downstream. Their grandparents are still missing.
President Trump’s visit comes amid a full-scale mobilization to bring relief, comfort, and closure to the affected families.