Central Texas is reeling after catastrophic flash floods killed at least 67 people, including 21 children, and left dozens still missing across Kerr County and neighbouring regions on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
With cell towers toppled and fibre lines washed away, first responders have struggled to coordinate rescues along the raging Guadalupe River.
To plug that critical communications gap, SpaceX’s Starlink has begun providing its new Mini satellite terminals to search-and-rescue teams and emergency vehicles operating in the hardest-hit zones. The suitcase-sized units can be powered from a vehicle’s inverter or a small generator and self-align with Starlink’s low-Earth-orbit constellation in under two minutes, restoring high-speed internet in places where terrestrial networks remain down.
Alongside the free hardware, Starlink says it is waiving one month of service fees for thousands of customers in the region, including anyone who previously paused their subscription. Residents who still have power—or who can run their dish off a battery pack—can bring their systems back online at no cost, staying in touch with relatives and receiving real-time weather and evacuation updates.
While this is the first large-scale U.S. deployment of the just-released Starlink Mini, it is not the company’s first foray into disaster zones. Starlink terminals have previously kept hospitals and relief centres online in Florida after hurricanes and have since appeared in earthquake-stricken regions of Japan and conflict zones in Ukraine.
The portability of the Mini kits—each weighing under 3 kg and fitting in a backpack—could make them even more useful for rapid-response teams worldwide.
Starlink engineers are staging additional Mini kits at a makeshift operations hub near Kerrville Municipal Airport, ready to dispatch them wherever first responders encounter “dead zones.” The company has not indicated how long the free-service window will last, but officials say connectivity will be crucial well into the recovery phase as residents file insurance claims and relief agencies coordinate aid.
