As rescue efforts end, volunteers and retired responders reflect on the toll — and the hope — of bringing closure to families.

Max Chesnes is the Tampa Bay Times' environment and climate reporter, covering public lands, water quality, wildlife and everything in between. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Instagram @MaxChesnes. Anyone can view a sampling of recent comments, but you must be a Times subscriber to contribute. Log in above or subscribe here.

The flash flooding deluged summer camps in Kerr County, dotted along the Guadalupe River, and also left families in Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson Counties looking for family

Kerr County officials said Wednesday that their priority is to continue to search for missing people and get families closure as recovery efforts continue across Hill Country following the deadly floods.

The record of frequent, often deadly floods in Central Texas goes back more than 200 years to July 1819, when floodwaters spilled into the major plazas of San Antonio. That city on the edge of the Hill Country was hit by major floods again in 1913, 1921, 1998 and 2025, to cite a few examples.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ordered state legislators to convene a special session on Monday as the death toll rose to at least 120 people and 172 reported missing in Fourth of July flooding in the Hill Country.

An Atlanta attorney is among those presumed dead after heavy flooding devastated parts of Central Texas over the July Fourth holiday.

Devyn Smith clung to a tree as muddy, debris-laden water rushed beneath her. She was ripped more than 15 miles from where she and five of her family members had set camp the night before.

After touring the flood zone in central Texas, President Donald Trump is taking part in a roundtable event with first responders and local officials at the Hill Country Youth Event Center.