INGRAM, Texas – Standing at the spot where her RV once stood, singer-songwriter Julia Hatfield grapples with the memories of the night when raging floodwaters forced her and her husband to flee their home at Blue Oak RV Park on July 4.
“It was rising a foot or two a minute,” Hatfield recalled of the flood that devastated Kerr County.
Hatfield was still in disbelief as she surveyed the changed landscape.
The songwriter, whose appeared calm during a now-viral interview just days after the disaster, has now returned to process the trauma and to share her story of survival.
Nature’s swift turn
For Hatfield, the river had been a source of daily joy and inspiration before it became life-threatening. She had spent peaceful days kayaking its waters and never imagined how quickly things could change.
“Between the sights, the sounds, the smells — it’s definitely a visceral experience,” Hatfield said, describing the flood’s early-morning hours.
She watched in horror as nearby cabins began to float away. She saw a man stranded on a rental cabin’s porch with no way to get to safety.
Community response
Despite losing her home, Hatfield’s immediate response was to help others, a reaction she attributes to her upbringing.
“How I was raised — mom and dad,” she said.
The outpouring of support from the community has reinforced her faith in human connection.
“We live in a divisive time, and the world would have you think that everybody’s against each other,” Hatfield said. “Leave it to something like this to be what brings people together. It makes me proud to be a Texan.”
Moving forward
Two months after the disaster, Hatfield acknowledged the ongoing process of recovery.
“We’re doing a lot better... I think time helps everything,” she said, though adding that perspective remains challenging.
The experience has left Hatfield with a profound respect for nature’s power.
“You just see the power of nature, and things can go south really fast,” Hatfield said, noting that the trauma will take time to process.
For Hatfield, the flood has forever changed her relationship with the Guadalupe River she once knew so intimately.
As she continues to heal through her music and the support of her community, her story stands as a testament to both nature’s might and human resilience in the face of disaster.
More recent Hill Country Floods coverage on KSAT: