Heavy rains in Texas pause search efforts for flood victims and damage homes elsewhere

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday temporarily paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to dozens of high-water rescues elsewhere as storms damaged homes, stranded motorists and put some residents under evacuation orders.

It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth holiday floods, which killed at least 132 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr County alone, and 10 more in neighboring areas.

In Kerrville, where local officials have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water in the early morning hours of July 4, authorities went door-to-door to some homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that flooding was again possible. Authorities also pushed phone alerts to those in the area.

By late Sunday afternoon, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office announced that search teams in the western part of that county could resume their efforts. But more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) north in San Saba County, the floods damaged about 100 homes and knocked down untold lengths of cattle fencing, said Ashley Johnson, CEO of the Hill Country Community Action Association, a local nonprofit.

“Anything you can imagine in a rural community was damaged,” she said. “Our blessing is it was daylight and we knew it was coming.”

Latest flooding damages dozens of homes

Gov. Greg Abbott said on X that the state was making rescues in San Saba, Lampasas and Schleicher counties and that evacuations were taking place in a handful of others. Texas Task Force 1, a joint state and federal urban search and rescue team, had rescued dozens of people in the Lampasas area, Abbott said.

County officials ordered everyone living in flood-prone areas near the San Saba River to evacuate. Johnson said people were being moved to the San Saba Civic Center, which has become a safe, high place for people to receive aid and shelter.

“Everyone is in some way personally affected by this,” she said. “Everyone is just doing what they can to help their neighbors.”

A wide-ranging weather system brings heavy rains

The weather system brought multiple rounds of heavy rains and slow-moving storms across a widespread area, pushing rivers and streams over their banks.

Emergency crews rescued one motorist who was left stranded in waist-high rapids on a submerged bridge over the Bosque River and leaned onto the vehicle for support as crews tried to reach him with life jackets.

“He drove into it and didn’t realize how deep it was,” said Jeff Douglas, president of the McGregor Volunteer Fire Department. “Luckily he was able to stand next to the vehicle.”

In the west Texas city of Sonora, authorities called for evacuations of some neighborhoods due to rising flood waters. In a video posted Sunday afternoon on Facebook, Mayor Juanita Gomez said some water rescues had taken place and a temporary shelter for residents had been opened in the city’s civic center.

Kerrville residents get support from police, alerts

Under heavy rain, Matthew Stone was clearing branches and a log from a storm sewer in front of his home on Guadalupe Street in Kerrville on Sunday as several inches of water pooled up on the road.

Multiple houses on the street overlooking the Guadalupe River were severely impacted by the July 4 floods, and Stone had to pull his older neighbors from their home before water overtook it. He said he felt safe for now.

“My wife was freaking out, that’s for sure, but as long as that river is not coming down, we’ll be all right,” he said. “The cops have been coming back and forth, we’re getting lots of alerts, we’re getting a lot of support.”

In nearby Ingram, fire department spokesman Brian Lochte said search and rescue efforts would resume Monday morning.

Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July, the destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River, washing away homes and vehicles. Ever since, searchers have used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads.

The floods laid waste to the Hill Country region of Texas. The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old, all-girls Christian summer camp.

Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley, Camp Mystic lost at least 27 campers and counselors.

The flood was far more severe than the 100-year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, experts said, and moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system.

___ Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Juan Lozano in Houston and Michael Weissenstein in Dobbs Ferry, New York contributed to this report.