Texas flooding: Kerr County begins recovery efforts

KERR COUNTY, Texas – Recovery efforts are ongoing in Kerr County. 

The county received 20 inches of rain over the past few days, which led to lots of flooding.

What they’re saying:

Paul Hawkins, a longtime Kerrville resident, picked up debris along the Guadalupe River Friday afternoon.

“We just kept having flood, after flood, after flood. Then, flood wave, after wave. It kept getting higher and higher, and it actually got up a little higher than it did on the Fourth of July last year,” he said.

He says a white cross that was knocked over was supposed to honor the victims of last year’s flood.

“We just had it all looking really nice and stuff, and people were starting to bring their children back, so they could play here, and it was really nice again, and so just buckle up, get back to work, and get it straightened out here just as fast as we can,” Hawkins said.

After the devastation last year, Hawkins reflected on how the community feels.

“It’s a bad blow, and it’s really depressing. Even though we needed this rain to fill up our reservoirs and fill up our aquifers because they were way, way low, and this will get that done, but here in Hill Country it’s a land of extremes, you either get too much or you don’t get enough, and that’s just the way it is,” he said.

Dig deeper:

Multiple roads are still closed in Kerr County. Officials say at least six bridges have major damage, but they have to wait for water to fully recede to further assess.

Chunks of the road are washed away on Town Creek Road, and other parts are covered with rock and sediment.

On Third Street, part of the sidewalk is washed up, the guardrail is damaged, and tree limbs and debris are clogged on the sides of the bridge.

Kerr County officials say they were much better prepared for this flood than they were last year.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said they had to do multiple water rescues this week, and there were 232 calls for service on Thursday, July 16. 

Officials set up an incident command center before the weather hit.

Statewide, there are two deaths from this flood event. One of the victims was identified as John Steward. 

FOX 7 Austin confirmed Steward graduated from Westlake High School in 1979. He also played football, ran track and sang with the Madrigals.

Officials say there are no reports of missing people in Kerr County.

“Much different than the loss of life that happened between this one and the last one, that goes back to, we weren’t caught off guard by something nobody expected,” State Rep. Wes Virdell (R-Kerrville), said during a press conference.

Alerts and sirens went off as they were supposed to.

“The flood warning system, something that is very important to everyone here. The good news is it worked, and it worked the way it was designed to work,” Tom Jones, Precinct 1 Commissioner for Kerr County, said.

The county says 17 people were in a shelter Friday morning that was cleared by the afternoon.

Texas flooding: How to help

What you can do:

If you want to volunteer for recovery efforts, click here.

If you want to donate to help out, click here.