photo by: Contributed

Kansas Task Force 1 was deployed to Kerrville, Texas, on Saturday, July 12, 2025, to help with search and rescue following devastating floods. The deployment is part of a mutual aid agreement between states.

The state of Kansas sent two swift-water search and rescue teams to Texas on Saturday to help areas affected by heavy rainfall and flooding.

“Our hearts go out to the families and communities in Texas who have been impacted by these devastating floods,” Gov. Laura Kelly said in an news release. “Kansas is always ready to send assistance to other states when disasters strike.”

Kansas Task Force 1, consisting of two teams, left from Olathe on Saturday for Kerrville, Texas, in Kerr County. The Guadalupe River surged on July 4, killing at least 129 people in the county, including campers at Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp in nearby Hunt, Texas. More rainfall Sunday afternoon paused a search for more than 160 people still missing in the county.

National Weather Service forecasters warned that the river could rise to nearly 15 feet by Sunday afternoon, about five feet above flood stage and enough to put the Highway 39 bridge under water in Hunt.

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management received the request for aid from Texas under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid agreement that offers interstate assistance during a disaster.

The rescue teams are staffed with personnel from the Kansas State Fire Marshal and fire departments in Chanute, Kansas City, Olathe, Salina, Shawnee and Sedgwick County.

“Our goal is to provide professionally trained rescuers and equipment where they are needed most, support rescue efforts, and help alleviate suffering caused by the devastating flooding in Texas,” Kansas Fire Marshal Mark Engholm said.

Under the aid agreement, Kansas and assisting departments will be reimbursed for costs associated with the deployment, the release stated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.