'More water than last year’s flood': Texas Hill Country dealing with another devastating flood

HILL COUNTY, Texas - At least two people are confirmed dead after severe storms led to a flash flooding emergency across South and Central Texas.

Gov. Abbott Gives Update

What we know:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been meeting with emergency management and public safety officials. 

He gave an update on the state’s ongoing response to the severe storms on Thursday afternoon. You can watch that full news conference in the video player above.

What they're saying:

"Protecting life remains our top priority as we work our way through, extraordinarily in many ways, record-breaking rain. Once again, life-threatening, catastrophic flooding remains our main risk tonight and overnight through the early morning hours. There will be an ongoing risk of some tornadoes. 59 counties are in flood watch. You're going to expect very heavy rain tonight in these large area," Abbott said.

The governor pointed to several new river level records that were set overnight and said there are no more than 2,300 state emergency responders helping in the area.

"We are not out of this scenario yet," Abbott said.

Texas Flooding Deaths

What we know:

Gov. Abbott confirmed two deaths, one in Kerr County and one in Uvalde County.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said the man who died in their county was a 65-year-old man whose RV home was swept away by floodwaters overnight.

The Uvalde Police Department said the victim in their area was a 74-year-old man whose vehicle was swept off U.S. Highway 83. Police said his family resides out of the state and ignored warnings not to proceed up the roadway.

What we don't know:

The victim’s names have not yet been released.

Texas Hill Country Flooding

Big picture view:

According to the National Weather Service, more than 28 inches of rain has fallen in parts of the Texas Hill Country over the past three days.

Between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, the Guadalupe River rose more than 47 feet. The NWS predicted it would reach a crest similar to last year’s catastrophic flooding. 

Across the Hill Country, hundreds of people have been rescued, and more than 80 evacuations have been ordered, according to the Texas Game Wardens.

The first responders are currently using boats and helicopters to reach people stranded by the dangerous rising water.

But without new warning sirens that were installed just months ago in response to last year's deadly flood, many officials fear things could have been much worse.

What they're saying:

Residents in the hardest hit counties – Kerr, Uvalde, and Kendall counties – are bracing for this year’s flooding to be more damaging than last year’s because of the massive amount of rain that’s fallen.

"This is reminiscent of last year’s July 4th flood. We’ve taken on a significant amount more water than last year’s flood. This morning, there was about 200,000 cubic feet per second of water coming through the Guadalupe, which was significantly higher than last year," said Judge Shane Stolarczyk, with the Kendall County Commissioner’s Court.

"When we first got here about an hour ago, it would be under the bridge. And then it just kept rising and we kept moving back from the water. Definitely the highest I’ve seen," said Becky and Barney Cash, who live in Kendall County.

"It definitely was not as strong over this side of the road. And then over the guardrails, it’s definitely bigger than last year," added Macy Massey, another Kendall County resident.

"I’m worried if houses are going to get flooded," said Harper, a Boerne resident.

How to help the victims

What you can do:

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country set up a relief fund to support nonprofit organizations involved in recovery efforts.

If you'd like to help the victims, visit www.communityfoundation.net. 

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