(NewsNation) — With just two dispatchers on duty, more than 400 calls were placed to 911 in Kerr County, Texas, as floodwaters swept through during the July 4 weekend.
Officials released audio of those calls on Friday, five months after the floods ripped through the Texas Hill Country, killing 130 people.
Overwhelmed with calls, dispatchers had only seconds to gather details before shifting to the next emergency, sometimes telling callers they had to hang up as dozens more waited on the line.
Many callers were climbing from first floors to second floors, then into attics and even on top of rooftops, calling back multiple times to update dispatchers as the water chased them higher and higher.
The hardest hit area was near the town of Kerrville, Texas, which is home to Camp Mystic, a century-old girls’ camp where 27 people, including the camp owner, died.
“We live about a mile down the road from Camp Mystic, and we’ve already got two little girls who have come down the river, and we’ve gotten to them, but I’m not sure how many else are out there,” one caller said.
“I’m stuck in this room. I can’t get out. There’s water, there’s doors, windows broken, and there’s water coming in through it,” another caller said.
Authorities were stretched thin and overwhelmed by the number of calls. One Camp Mystic caller had to call back a second time to ask when help was coming, and the dispatcher could only answer, “I don’t know.”
“Once the basic critical information was collected, and no more assistance over the phone could be provided, telecommunicators were faced with a difficult decision to disconnect and move on to the next call,” Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall said.
FILE – Campers belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic’s cabins near the Guadalupe River, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman, File) 
FILE – This aerial photo shows buildings at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) 
A Camp Mystic sign is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
Officials ride a boat as they arrive to assist with a recovery effort at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 
Texas National Guard service members assigned to Task Force Storm work in teams along the Guadalupe River bank conducting search and rescue operations and removing debris near Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas. (courtesy Texas Military Department) 
FILE – A building at Camp Mystic is reflected in water after a flash flood swept through the area, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman, File)