Mother Nature is swinging a heavy fist again with a fresh flood threat slamming Central Texas, halting desperate searches for the missing after July 4’s deadly deluge.
Catastrophic flooding that began on July 4 in Kerr County and beyond has morphed into a renewed crisis as of Sunday, with heavy rains and rising rivers like the Guadalupe and San Saba forcing evacuations, suspending rescue efforts, and deepening an already tragic toll of at least 129 dead statewide and 166 still unaccounted for, CBS News reported.
Let’s rewind to July 4, when Kerr County, particularly Kerrville, took the hardest hit as the Guadalupe River surged over 20 feet in under an hour.
That disaster claimed at least 103 lives in the county alone, including heartbreaking losses of children at Camp Mystic, a summer camp by the river.
Low water crossings and small bridges turned into death traps, isolating folks on patches of dry land and stalling emergency crews.
Fast forward to this weekend, and the nightmare refuses to relent as thunderstorms dump 1 to 2.5 inches of rain per hour on already soaked ground.
A flash flood warning, issued Sunday morning by the Austin-San Antonio branch of the National Weather Service, underscored the urgency as flooding was either underway or imminent.
That warning, set to lift by 12:15 p.m. local time on Sunday, did little to ease nerves in a region watching the Guadalupe at Hunt teeter on the edge of flood stage again.
In Kerrville, police hit pause on ground searches before 8 a.m. Sunday, citing the extreme danger—a move that’s frustrating but necessary when rivers are ready to roar.
The Kerrville Police Department took to social media, pleading, “We will provide more information soon, but for now, all search crews need to evacuate the river corridor.” Their warning to volunteers is clear, but let’s be real—when the government tells you to stand down, it’s often because they’ve waited too long to act themselves.
The city chimed in with its dire alert: “This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation.” Fine words, but where’s the proactive infrastructure to stop these floods from becoming annual tragedies instead of just social media scolding?
Across Central Texas, evacuations are in full swing as authorities keep a wary eye on rising water levels, especially in San Saba County, where the San Saba River is forecast to swell over 30 inches, higher and faster than it did on July 4.
Gov. Greg Abbott, stepping up on Sunday, announced rescue operations in San Saba, Lampasas, and Schleicher Counties, while expanding a federal disaster declaration just days before cover more affected areas.
With 161 missing in Kerr County alone and a massive search involving volunteers, drones, dogs, and multi-agency crews hampered by brutal weather and terrain, it’s a gut punch to see efforts stalled—yet another reminder that nature doesn’t care about our timelines or progressive promises of climate fixes.
Statewide, the death toll sits at a staggering 129, with 166 souls still unaccounted for, and while the heart aches for every family torn apart, it’s time to ask why we’re always reacting instead of preparing.
These floods aren’t new—Central Texas knows this pain too well—yet the same low crossings and vulnerable spots get hit year after year without serious investment in infrastructure over feel-good environmental policies that don’t hold water, literally.
Let’s honor the lost and missing by pushing for real, no-nonsense solutions—stronger flood defenses, better early warnings, and less red tape for emergency response—because Texans deserve action, not just hashtags and hollow sympathy from bureaucrats who’ll forget this by next week.
