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At Least 82 Dead in Texas Flooding, Including 28 Children; Desperate Search for Dozens Missing in Deadly Texas Floods; Trump Declines to Say If He Still Plans to Phase Out FEMA, Something We Can Talk About Later. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 07, 2025 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, the race against the clock to find survivors of the devastating floods in Texas. Dozens are missing, including children and a volunteer fire chief. 82 people have been killed, including 28 children. But officials warn the death toll is expected to rise this morning.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And President Trump signs a major disaster declaration for Texas over this tragedy, and he's vowing continued support for the state just as some local officials are pointing some blame at his National Weather Service.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking this morning. President Trump calls Elon Musk a train wreck on Truth Social. Musk asks, what's Truth Social? And also posts a new tweet about Jeffrey Epstein. Tesla stock is way down in foreign markets overnight as the mega billionaire tries to launch a new party.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: We are following the breaking news out of Central Texas. A desperate search is underway this morning for any survivors of a catastrophic flood that struck the region. At least 82 people have been confirmed dead, 28 of them are children. And the danger is far from over with more rain expected today in areas that were already hit hard.

New video into us this morning, showing the dramatic rescue of two flood victims who survived by clinging to a tree in the raging flashflood, floodwaters. The Kerr County Sheriff's Department says more than 400 first responders are part of the search and rescue efforts going on there. At least 41 people are still missing. Among them, ten campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp near the Guadalupe River that burst its banks early Friday, while most people were sleeping. More than four months worth of rain falling in just a matter of hours.

Two brothers from another camp in the area shared how they survived the rushing water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUFFIN BOYETT, FLOODING SURVIVOR: My brother here, he had to swim out of his cabin.

PIERS BOYETT, FLOODING SURVIVOR: The flood started getting bigger and it was going up to, we had bunk beds in our cabins and it was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice and we had to swim out of our cabins.

REPORTER: What time was it that you swam off?

P. BOYETT: It was like we woke up --

R. BOYETT: Yes, we had to wake up at like 4:00 A.M.

But on the way here, we saw all of like the other camps destroyed, like obliterated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Poor kids.

CNN's Pamela Brown is in Hunt, Texas, where those campers from Camp Mystic remain missing at this hour. You have a personal connection to this camp where the search is continuing. What are you learning this morning, Pamela?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've been hearing from so many parents, grandparents, harrowing stories of children barely making it out of their cabin alive, getting out and being on a log for miles on end, falling asleep on debris, and then waking up not knowing what happened.

But then, of course, there are the stories of those who did not make it out alive. Little girls at this camp who just came to have the best four weeks of the year at this magical place that I attended 30 years ago. You know, when you're at this camp, you're a Camp Mystic camper, you spend so much time in Mother Nature. That is where you spend the bulk of your time. But in this case, Mother Nature is the source of so much grief and shared sorrow.

And we are expecting an update later this morning, 10:00 A.M. Central Time, 11:00 A.M. Eastern, on where things stand with the search and rescue. As you mentioned, there are still many people missing, including ten campers from Camp Mystic and one counselor.

I'm here at the Hunt Store. This is sort of the heart of this town where people would gather to have food and drink and good times once they spent some of their day on the river. I came here last night and the community was still gathering here, obviously in a much different state. They were hugging, they were crying. They were sharing their grief.

And I spoke to the co-owner of this store, Haley Lehrmann, and she told me that basically everyone who is here has a story, has lost someone, and they're basically lucky to just be alive. [07:05:13]

Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

P. BROWN: Tell me about who you lost in this.

HALEY LEHRMANN, CO-OWNER, HUNT STORE: Oh, several people that we know personally and just connections through every person that was lost. There is some connection through Hunt and in the camps and just, you know, it's devastating and we're just with every one of them with our heart and soul, the praying.

And we do plan on doing a memorial, of course, that we are just so concerned with the families and people. And we just want them to know that we're all here for them,

(END VIDEO CLIP)

P. BROWN: And the sign behind me, I don't know if you can see it, but it says, Hunt strong. And even though, as you see, it's decimated, this community is strong and there's so many stories of heroism.

We spoke to the night guard of Camp Mystic, Glen Youngky (ph). He was on duty when the floodwaters began to rush in. And he gave a statement to us saying, I witnessed firsthand the courage and faith that your daughters displayed during some of the most terrifying moments of their young lives. Each of those sweet girls was cold, wet, and frightened, but they were also incredibly brave. They trusted me and we leaned on each other through a long, harrowing night together inside their cabin.

There're so many stories like that. I spoke to another parent who said the camp counselors jumped into action, saved their daughter's lives at Camp Mystic. They woke them up and got them out through a window and got them to safety. When the water was chest high, they were -- the camp counselors were handing the girls off to get them to a hill, to higher ground, risking their own lives, so many stories like that.

And, of course, we are still pressing for answers out here about how this happened, why there wasn't more warning. This is one of the most flood-prone areas in the country, and yet so many were caught off guard. Kate?

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, officials describe it as one of the most dangerous potential flood zones in the country. So, there are a lot of questions this morning. But just seeing the images of what you have seen and seeing the images that we are seeing from inside that camp, it is devastating to watch and to know that there are still at least ten children missing and a counselor.

Thank you so much, Pamela Brown, for sharing your personal story and the story of those who are there suffering through this. I really appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: And, sadly, we are going to hear so many more still, Sara, about as this continues to unfold.

At the very same time, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, he says that first responders are searching relentlessly for those missing, and he vows to find each and every one of them.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Center Point, Texas, another community hit so hard in Kerr County. And what are you learning there, Isabel?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good morning. As the death toll keeps rising with so many people still missing, we are seeing volunteers coming out by the hundreds over in Hunt where Pam is located, where Camp Mystic is located, downstream over to where I am at currently, which is Center Point. That's 25 miles. They are scouring the area by the Guadalupe River.

Here in the next hour, volunteers will be gathering right outside of this volunteer fire department to continue on with their search to remove debris. Yesterday, volunteers told me that during their first search of this area, this rural rough terrain, they found a victim. The second search, they found another victim. The third search, another one.

So, they're very clear-eyed here that despite the fact that they're holding onto hope as time goes by, they're very realistic that they're unlikely to find more survivors. One of them told me it's like searching for something you hope you don't find, a victim, but that it is so important for them to give these families closure over what happened to their loved ones.

And they're bringing everything they can, from horses to ATV, to dogs, to even their bare hands, removing heavy tree limbs, anything to search every nook and cranny in their attempts to find anyone's loved ones.

Here's one of the volunteers who told me how challenging of an endeavor this is. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARRA LOVELADY, INGRAM, TEXAS RESIDENT: It's unbelievable because you want to get to the bottom, you know, of your goal of the pile. And there's one over there. It's so tight. I couldn't even get, peel a branch off. I mean, it's like a knot. So, when people wonder, why does it take so long to find people, because you'd have to get a saw little at a time, it was -- I couldn't budge anything. Even men were up there and they could not budge it. It's just tight and 10 feet wide, 20 feet tall. You can't get in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:00]

ROSALES: I was struck by a conversation that I had here with somebody in the area who said, hey, why is it that over in comfort in Kendall County? They had an enhanced flood warning system with emergency sirens. They heard these sirens go off, but they didn't hear that in Hunt.

Well, we looked at the record, CNN did, and back in 2016, Kerr County officials discussed paying for that, that enhanced alert system. We have reached out to figure out why that plan never came to fruition, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Many times when you talk about a rural community, it comes down to the funding and if it's there and if it's not. But hearing that quote, it's like searching for something you don't want to find, that could not ring more true today as they continue that search.

Thank you so much, Isabel. John?

BERMAN: Yes. We're going to continue to fall of breaking news from Texas and get the latest forecast as concerns grow over new flooding.

For the first time, we're hearing from the night watchmen in Camp Mystic who's being hailed as a hero, the terrifying moments he witnessed when the flood struck.

And breaking this morning, it's back on. Elon Musk tweets about Jeffrey Epstein and President Trump says that billionaire is off the rails.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

BERMAN: All right. The breaking news this morning, at least 82 deaths now confirmed in the Texas floods as rescuers searching for dozens of people still missing.

With us now, Travis County Judge Andy Brown, essentially the commissioner of Travis County, Texas. Judge, thank you so much for being with us.

Can you give us an update this morning on fatalities in Travis County? What are you hearing now?

JUDGE ANDY BROWN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS COMMISSIONERS COURT: Yes. So, it's been a very devastating couple of days here in Travis County. The death toll currently stands at six people five that were directly in the flooded area. And we've got our first responders, emergency services, district number one, that today continuing the search for folks along those two rivers, Sandy Creek and Goat Creek.

Yesterday I had a look at the two creeks from our Emergency Services helicopter. The damage in those two creek areas and the homes around them is extensive, the rest of the county relatively, completely unscathed, and so it's really concentrated in those two areas.

BERMAN: That could be the nature of flooding sometimes, particularly flash flooding in some areas. I was going to ask you, you've had a chance to tour by air. What does it look like and how is the weather at this moment affecting the recovery operation? A. BROWN: So, we are under a flashflood watch until about 7:00 today. Hopefully, the rain will let up. You never know what those watches, what's going to turn out. From the air, it is clear that there are cars. I counted about 10 to 15 cars that were erect or buried along Sandy Creek yesterday, mobile home destruction, a lot of homes completely destroyed, others off their -- moved basically, but just so much destruction in those two areas.

And I talked to the person who's trying to reconnect water to that area yesterday, a company called Aqua. They are working very quickly. They brought water for those that don't have it. But as far as connecting the pipes, yes, that is being hampered by the rains.

BERMAN: Obviously, Travis County and Kerr County are very different and the situations are very different. But this morning, after this weekend of flooding, what are the questions that you think should be asked about early warning systems when it comes to flooding like this?

A. BROWN: I cut out a little bit. You said what are the warning systems for this?

BERMAN: I was asking what are the questions that you think need to be asked about the warning systems.

A. BROWN: Oh, the first question I have is funding for the National Weather Service and for FEMA going to continue. Because my team, we have meetings throughout the day with the sheriff's office, with EMS, with firefighters, first responders. Every single one of those meetings starts with an update from the National Weather Service. They're an absolute, critical partner to what we do. We could not do this without them. And, of course, the recovery effort would be impossible without the funding that we get from FEMA.

I was judged during Winter Storm Yuri in, you know, 2021. And the money that we got for recovery, the money, the assistance that we got from FEMA and the National Weather Service were absolutely critical. We work great with the TTDM (ph), the state emergency apparatus, but we have to have our partners at the federal government with us as well.

My understanding is that there have been warnings throughout this period here in Travis County. It just -- this rainfall was so unexpected. There's folks I talked to that have lived there for 42 years, never seen anything like this along that creek, and within an hour or so, they had about ten inches. It is just something that we're going to have to, I guess, get more used to and figure out how to deal with, because this is a unprecedented amount of rain in a short amount of time, especially in that part of Travis County.

BERMAN: And President Trump has said he wants to wean the country off of FEMA. Can you imagine the recovery that you're going through now without FEMA's help?

A. BROWN: Absolutely not. FEMA is absolutely critical to what we do. The people out there in along Sandy Creek and Cow Creek need the federal government in times like this. It is -- that is the role of the federal government, our emergency apparatus here in Travis County and in the state of Texas, frankly, would not work without the assistance of FEMA and the National Weather Service.

[07:20:08]

BERMAN: Judge Andy Brown from Travis County, we are wishing you the best. I know this is a very busy time for you. Our thoughts are with you. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Coming up still for us, well, the search efforts continue urgently in Texas. Millions of people are facing a new flood threat now. Rivers in North Carolina are now expected to reach major flood stage in just hours. We have an update for you on that.

And measles cases in the United States are still surging now to a new record high with more cases this year than any other year since the disease was declared, eradicated and eliminated in this country 25 years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: There's no crying in baseball, but maybe there should be for Yankees fans. The Yankees, though, would not go down, the sweep to arch rival, the Mets, they managed to pull off the win and snap a six- game losing streak in the finale of the Subway Series.

Let's go to CNN Sports Anchor Coy Wire. Well, at least they got one off there.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, and it was a good one too, Sara, good to see you.

Yankees, few games behind the Blue Jays for the division lead, on the verge of getting swept by their rivals, well, here's one way to get back on track. Aaron Judge, whack, his 33rd homer of the season, in the fifth, a two-run shot, putting the pin stripes up 5-0.

And then, Sara, in the seventh, Juan Soto hits a line drive to left.. And that's looking to rally but Cody Bellinger robs him then catches Francisco indoor trip, getting them out for the double play, maybe the play of the day. Unreal catch from Bellinger, Judge said he is never seen anything like it.

Yanks win 6-4.

Now after the Nationals lost to the Bo Sox 6-4, getting swept by Boston, the Nats announced the firings of their manager, Dave Martinez and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Washington's 37 and 53 this season and haven't finished above 500 since winning the World Series in 2019.

Concacaf Gold Cup, USA and Mexico meeting in the final for the eighth time, and the Americans came out hot. Fourth minute, Chris Richards sending a screaming header to the back of the net for the earliest goal ever scored in a Gold Cup final. But that was about as much celebrating as they do. 77th minute, Mexico clicked on for Edson Alvarez, who hammers home the game winning header. Mexico wins 2-1 to take home a record tenth Gold Club title.

Nico Hulkenberg started his F1 career in 2010. He's now 37 years old. And 238 races later, he finally gets his first ever podium finish, taking third in the British Grand Prix. It's his team, Kick Sauber's first as well. Other drivers like Max Verstappen, they were fist pumping in their cars, Sara, happy for him.

Lando Norris took first, but check out the moment Hulk's daughter, who wasn't there to see it in person, watched dad lifting that trophy from home.

Cuteness overload, Sara, incredible moment for Nico Hulkenberg.

Now, he was celebrating on his podium with some champagne as the winners do, but the team, they didn't really have much champagne because they weren't expecting a win. Other teams, like Mercedes, were sending them champagne so everyone can celebrate the monumental win for Hulkenberg.

SIDNER: I love seeing his little scream and joy. That was gorgeous on this Monday. We need that.

Coy Wire, thank you so much, I appreciate it.

WIRE: You got it.

SIDNER: All right. John?

BERMAN: All right. We do need that because we are getting some tragic breaking news. Just seconds ago, a brand new statement from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas. They say they are grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors there. This, the most comprehensive statement we have heard from this camp. What this now means for search efforts.

Stay with us. Our breaking news coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]