Western Texas Water Rescues Continue After Deadly Floods
Sandego.net – Water rescues underway in western Texas as communities recover from catastrophic flooding that has killed two people and prompted hundreds of emergency operations. The Hill Country region, which faced similar devastation roughly a year ago, is once again dealing with severe weather impacts. By Thursday afternoon, Governor Greg Abbott announced that over 230 rescue missions had been completed across the state, with extensive resources deployed to help affected residents.
Active Rescue Operations in Multiple Counties
Boat crews are conducting water rescues underway in western Texas, particularly in the southwestern areas of Ozona, according to Crockett County Fire and Emergency Medical Services officials. Water rescue teams are simultaneously working in Sutton County, where a voluntary evacuation has been ordered for Sonora residents. Social media photos show that floodwaters have completely covered many roads and highway sections in both counties.
The southern Hill Country communities experienced the heaviest impacts this week. Governor Abbott stated that emergency responders have deployed more than 85 boats, twenty aircraft, and 200 high-profile vehicles to support ongoing rescue and recovery efforts throughout the region.
Two Fatalities Confirmed in Flooding
One victim was a man who was carried away in a recreational vehicle, as Governor Abbott confirmed on Thursday. John Mark Steward, 65 years old, died after being swept from his mobile home in Kerrville. His wife shared details with The San Antonio Express-News about the tragedy, though CNN has not independently verified Steward’s death with local officials.
The second victim was a 74-year-old man whose identity remains unreleased. Police reported that he died while driving near Uvalde. A Department of Public Safety crew spotted his car floating in floodwaters about four miles north of the city at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time. The Uvalde Police Department later confirmed the man’s death on Thursday.
Rising River Levels and Weather Outlook
Some southern Texas areas received rainfall equal to a full year’s precipitation during this week’s storm. The weather forecast is now improving for the hardest-hit locations. While scattered showers may continue, the threat of major additional rainfall has passed. Heavy rain in Friday’s flooded areas has ended in Sonora, and downpours in Ozona are expected to decrease later Friday afternoon and evening.
A flash flood emergency was in effect early Thursday for Kerrville, Ingram, and Hunt—communities that suffered terrible losses during last year’s floods, which killed at least 130 people, including twenty-five girls and two counselors. Officials warned that a dangerous flood wave was moving down the Guadalupe River before it reached a crest of 37.94 feet in Center Point on Thursday morning, a level slightly below the previous year’s peak.
A river gauge located downstream from Center Point in Comfort recorded a remarkable twenty-five-foot rise within one hour, eventually cresting more than one foot higher than last July’s floodwaters.
Evacuations and Infrastructure Damage
More than eighty people were evacuated from riverside campgrounds before water levels reached dangerous thresholds, according to the governor. In Comfort, forty-two relatives attending their family’s forty-year reunion left a riverside hotel on Thursday morning, as reported by CNN affiliate KENS.
“We grabbed just what we needed and what we could get right away,” Amy Thogmartin, who had traveled from Brooklyn, told KENS. “But the priority was to get out. And we’re glad we did, because the people that got back immediately after that, maybe 20 minutes later, the water had risen maybe another 10 feet.”
Video from the Hill Country showed water flooding streets and engulfing bridges while first responders pulled stranded residents from strong currents. Families surveyed extensive damage throughout the region. The Texas Department of Public Safety reported on Friday that a bridge in Uvalde County collapsed due to the flooding.
One family described sheltering for several hours in their Kerrville home’s attic as floodwaters rose beneath them, until a rescue boat finally arrived. In Boerne, video recordings showed a group of deer being swept away by the powerful floodwaters.
All children’s summer camps in Kerr County verified that water rescues underway in western Texas operations were successful, with no campers reported missing or injured during the emergency evacuations.
