The president and the first lady were set to tour areas devastated by flooding in Central Texas. The administration has faced scrutiny over its level of preparedness and its disaster response.

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

Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter Wednesday morning instructing flags on state property to immediately be lowered statewide.

From fundraisers and benefits to nonprofit organizations doing the hard work, here's a list of ways to help victims of the July 4 weekend 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.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.