KERR COUNTY, Texas – Several people shared harrowing stories of the devastating floods in the Hill Country on July 4, describing how rising waters forced them to flee their homes, seek refuge in trees and mourn the loss of loved ones.
The people spoke on Thursday during public testimony at the state Senate and state House joint committee hearing on disaster preparedness and flooding.
According to officials, 108 people were killed in Kerr County in connection with the floods in the Texas Hill Country. An additional nine bodies were recovered in Kendall County.
Residents along the Guadalupe River have said they were caught off guard and had no warning when rainfall struck. Kerr County does not have a warning system along the river after several missed opportunities by state and local agencies to finance one.
‘Our house was swallowed by the river’
A Hunt resident named Nancy told lawmakers she was at a house on the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic on July 4.
“My family has had property on the South Fork for nearly a century,” Nancy said. “My mother went to Camp Mystic, so did I.”
“Our home is 35 to 40 feet above the normal river water level, and by the time my father happened to wake up at 3 a.m., the water was already at the house,” Nancy said.
Nancy shared that she was staying with her family that night. They raced out of the home and into a vehicle to avoid the floodwaters.
“We drove out onto Highway 39, but there was nowhere to go,” Nancy said. “All the routes to higher ground on Highway 39 are fenced, and the water was rising too fast for us to make it to higher ground on foot.”
To avoid being swept away by the floodwaters and potentially being killed, Nancy said she and her family climbed on top of their vehicles and into nearby trees.
“We ended up staying in the trees for several hours,” Nancy said. “We watched other cars shoot down the river and massive trees. We planned for what we would do if our tree were the next one to fall down.”
Nancy, who was visibly emotional, shared that some of her dear friends and close neighbors died in the floods.
“Our house was swallowed by the river,” Nancy said.
“Today, I’m asking for your help because this community really needs help with recovery, and we need preparation for the next floods,” she said. “Had there been early detection for the high waters and sirens, we may have been able to leave to get to higher ground safely.”
Woman lost 11-year-old daughter and parents in floods
Alicia Baker said she was at the committee hearing on behalf of her 11-year-old daughter and her parents, who did not survive the floods.
“My parents bought a cabin out here in 2008, so this was our regular happy place,” Baker said. “The river that we loved so much killed them.”
Baker requested that lawmakers consider incorporating sensors in the water.
“My suggestion would be that instead of just sirens, we actually have sensors in the water that would then alert sirens to go off,” Baker said.
She shared her belief that if there were only sirens, people could potentially tune them out.
“If we have gauges in the water already, put a sensor on them,” Baker said. “If it gets to a certain point, that’s when the siren goes off.”
Baker was one of the first parents at Ingram Elementary School on July 4, hoping to receive crucial information about her loved ones.
“My parents were found on Saturday (July 5), but they weren’t identified until Sunday (July 6). By then, they had already been taken to Bexar County,” Baker said.
Baker told the committee that her daughter was not identified until Thursday, July 10.
“The only thing that identified her at all was her charm bracelet,” Baker said.
Couple evacuated in the middle of the night
Laurie Lowe said that she and her husband live on the “once beautiful” South Fork of the Guadalupe River.
“We are familiar with floods. With an outside light, I could see the flood rising and moving aggressively towards our home,” Lowe said.
Around 4:05 a.m. on July 4, she and her husband self-evacuated in a large pickup truck as the “floodwaters were fully surrounding their home.”
As Lowe and her husband attempted to leave the area in the truck, she told the committee that the floodwaters were moving closer to the vehicle.
Highway 39, in front of Lowe’s home and around 100 yards away, was at a higher elevation.
“Had we turned left on 39, we knew that we would run into lower water crossings now flooded,” Lowe said. “We also knew that if we turned right on Highway 39, we would be driving toward two flooded state bridges.”
“In a normal flood, you stay put, but this is no normal flood,” Lowe said.
Lowe shared that she and her husband proceeded to drive on Highway 39 in the middle of the night and eventually came across an official with the Hunt Volunteer Fire Department.
“It was the three of us out in the middle of the highway. It was totally dark; I think the power went out,” Lowe said.
Lowe said that she and her husband were fortunate enough to come across a shelter on Highway 39 as they picked up another couple.
“My husband and I picked up a couple who were wet and barefoot in the middle of the highway,” Lowe said. “Texted a friend to open the Hunt Methodist Church. We drove them there. Soon, it (the church) had 50 to 60 people taking refuge in the dark as the power was out.”
More Hill Country flood coverage on KSAT