HUNT, Texas – The Fourth of July holiday turned into a night of terror for a family staying along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, where rising floodwaters forced seven people — including a 94-year-old grandmother — to seek refuge in an attic for hours as cars floated by and screams echoed outside.
Betty Matteson, who has lived on the property since the 1980s, lost everything when her riverside home was overtaken by floodwaters. Her home and a nearby rental cottage, her only source of income, were both destroyed.
Like many of her neighbors, Matteson did not have flood insurance. She said it had simply become too expensive.
“I’m not sure what will happen as far as the restoration of my home,” Matteson said during a FaceTime interview from Georgetown, Texas, where she is now staying with family. “I don’t know if I can recover my home, if it will be livable or if they can remodel. But, in the meantime, I’m taking it easy. Relaxing.”
Her grandson, Barry Adelman, described the harrowing night in vivid detail. The family was jolted awake around 4 a.m. on July 4 by a family friend downstairs.
“The first thing we saw was cars with their headlights on and people inside — horrible, horrible screams of people in the cars — not in the car — just floating by,” Adelman said.
Adelman initially thought they might be able to drive out, but the fast-rising waters quickly made that impossible. Instead, the family climbed into the attic, trying to fashion an escape plan with Christmas lights tied to the chimney.
“We’re on that roof in the rain… trying to make a rope,” Adelman recalled. “The water was churning, swirling. Cars hitting the house. We just had to wait and pray.”
At one point, Adelman prayed aloud with his grandmother, unsure whether they would survive.
Eventually, the water receded enough for them to escape, but the devastation was everywhere.
“We saw people up in the trees,” Adelman said. “That was, oh my gosh, that was really rough.”
In the aftermath, the family has applied for FEMA assistance but has yet to receive any aid. Without flood insurance and no financial relief, they are relying on donations from the public.
Despite the loss, the family said they are grateful to be alive.
“My heart is really going out to all the families that are grieving and suffering and all of the loss of life that they’re dealing with,” Adelman said.
More recent coverage of the Hill Country floods on KSAT: