Newly released recordings of 911 calls have laid bare the sheer terror and desperation of residents and camp staff caught in the catastrophic flooding that swept through Texas Hill Country last July. The calls, made public on Friday, 5 December 2025, capture the frantic voices of people stranded on rooftops, trapped in attics, and clinging to trees as floodwaters rose with terrifying speed.
Panic in the Dark: Voices from the Floodwaters
The recordings reveal more than 400 calls for help that overwhelmed the two emergency dispatchers on duty in Kerr County during the overnight hours of the Fourth of July holiday. The flooding killed at least 136 people statewide, with 117 of those deaths in Kerr County alone. Victims were primarily from Texas, but the list released by officials also included people from Alabama, California, and Florida.
One harrowing call came from a camp counsellor at Camp La Junta, screaming above the noise of terrified children: “There’s water filling up super fast, we can’t get out of our cabin... so how do we get to the boats?” Miraculously, everyone at that camp was rescued. The same cannot be said for nearby Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp for girls, where 25 campers and two teenage counsellors lost their lives.
In a shaky voice, a woman living near Camp Mystic reported, “We’re OK, but we live a mile down the road... and we had two little girls come down the river. And we’ve gotten to them, but I’m not sure how many others are out there.”
"I've Probably Got Five Minutes Left": Calls That Ended in Tragedy
Some of the released calls were made by people who did not survive. Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall warned the audio is deeply unsettling. In one calm yet devastating exchange, firefighter Bradley Perry, stuck in a leaning tree, asked for a helicopter. “The tree I’m in is starting to lean and it’s going to fall. Is there a helicopter close?” he said, after watching his wife, Tina, and their RV wash away. His final words to the dispatcher were: “I’ve probably got maybe five minutes left.” Bradley Perry died, though his wife was later found alive, clinging to another tree.
The speed of the disaster is horrifyingly clear in the call logs. Families were forced to move higher and higher, calling from second floors, then attics, and finally roofs, all within 30 or 40 minutes. One woman at Camp Mystic called twice, first stating, “There is water everywhere, we cannot move. We are upstairs in a room and the water is rising.” On her second call, she pleaded, “How do we get to the roof if the water is so high? Can you already send someone here? With the boats?” When she asked when help would arrive, the overwhelmed dispatcher could only reply, “I don't know. I don't know.”
Aftermath and Scrutiny of the Rescue Response
The volume of calls and the scale of the disaster prompted serious questions about the emergency response. Many residents said they were caught off guard with no warning. Kerr County leaders have faced scrutiny, especially after two officials told Texas legislators they were asleep during the initial hours of the flooding, and a third was out of town.
Britt Eastland, co-director of Camp Mystic, urgently requested search and rescue and the National Guard, reporting as many as 40 people missing. “We’re out of power. We hardly have any cell service,” he told dispatchers.
Dispatchers, inundated with endless calls, tried to offer comfort and practical advice, telling people to get to rooftops or higher ground. The Associated Press, which filed the public information request for the calls, compiled a chronology of the chaotic rescue effort using first responder communications and survivor testimony. The recordings stand as a chilling testament to a holiday weekend turned into a nightmare for the Texas Hill Country.
