Texas Hill Country flood recovery begins after 2 killed, hundreds rescued

HILL COUNTY, Texas - For the second year in a row, the Texas Hill Country is facing a long recovery after devastating floods. 

Texas Hill Country Flooding

What's new:

Close to 30 inches of rain has fallen in parts of South Central Texas over the past three days.

Thankfully, as of Friday morning, that rain is now slowing and the floodwaters from the Guadalupe River and elsewhere have been receding, giving the region a much-needed break.

FOX 4 Meteorologist Josh Johns, who was reporting from Kerrville in Kerr County, said the river appeared to be about 12 to 15 feet lower than it was at this point on Thursday. 

The water was flowing fast enough to fill up an Olympic-sized swimming pools in about 2 seconds on Thursday morning. Now it would take about 20 seconds, he said.

"So that kind of gives you an idea of how much less volume is flowing down the river. Still, you can hear the roar from it. You can see the waves from it as the rapids continue to move downstream from the Guadalupe River," he said.

There was one bridge in Uvalde County that collapsed overnight. The Texas Department of Public Safety said the FM 481 bridge failed due to flooding.

People are still urged to avoid the area and never drive around barricades.

Texas Flooding Deaths

What we know:

The death count still stands at two – a 65-year-old man who died when his RV was swept away in Kerr County and a 74-year-old man who died when his car was swept off a flooded roadway in Uvalde County.

Family members identified the victim in Kerr County as John Mark Steward. 

Steward’s wife, Jennie, was away on a business trip to North Texas when the flooding hit. "My heart is broken, I am devastated. My husband, Mark, was found and went to be with Jesus. Thank you for all the search and rescue people," she wrote on social media.

"He couldn’t make it over from that house to this one because the stream was extremely strong and high," Mike Eifert, Steward's neighbor, told FOX 4's Alex Boyer. "After that, he got in contact again, and he told me that the house was falling apart."

The Uvalde Police Department said the victim in their area was a 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.

While there were fewer lives lost during this year’s devastating flood, there were still hundreds of rescues. Texas Game Wardens and other first responders used boats and helicopters to help families trapped due to the high water.

Relief and Recovery

What's next:

Now that the relentless rain has subsided, people can begin to focus on recovery and cleanup from all the damage.

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.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also encouraged people to donate to the Rebuild Texas Fund at www.rebuildtx.org.

How This Year’s Flood Is Different

Dig deeper:

Despite the catastrophic impact of the floodwaters, residents said they were more prepared this year.

Local officials ramped up warning alarms after last year’s flood killed more than 100 people. People visiting the area said they got cellphone alerts and sirens that were installed just months ago in response to last year’s floods worked as expected.

"They detect water when water hits the base of it. The alarm sounds immediately and autonomously. Nobody has to sit there and try to push a button, guess or do the forecasting or any of that kind of guess work involved. Water hits it. It goes off 130 decibels, like deafening loud. Imagine two ambulances outside your window. That's what it sounds like," said Eoin Guiry with River Sentry, the company that developed the automated warning system.

River Sentry said three of its siren towers were knocked over during the flooding, but all six are now working again.

This year’s floods were also more widespread.

Last year, the heaviest rain was more isolated and fell in the headwaters of the Guadalupe River. That’s further up past Camp Mystic in western Kerr County.

This year, there were about four counties that saw more than a foot of rainfall, including Uvalde County. It means there was more widespread flooding and other were affected.

The Guadalupe River and other Hill Country rivers, including the Llano and Pedernales rivers, could still rise because of some of the rain overnight. They’re still going to be high for a while and will need to be monitored very closely.

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