KERRVILLE, Texas – The Kerrville City Council voted Wednesday to extend its disaster declaration as crews continue responding to major flood damage across the city and Kerr County.
The decision came in an emergency City Council meeting, one week after Kerr County was hit again by devastating flooding.
City officials said the latest round of flooding caused broader damage than last year’s flood, which was largely contained to the Guadalupe River corridor.
“This year, the water was coming from all directions,” Kerrville Public Works Director David Barrera said. “Every creek you can imagine here in town was impacted.”
Barrera said city crews are still responding to damage to critical infrastructure, including roads, water and wastewater utilities, and drainage areas.
He said crews have only recently been able to reach some locations that had been inaccessible since the flooding began.
“We still have a long road ahead of us,” Barrera said. “We’re spread pretty thin, but we’re taking care of stuff.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said floodwater destroyed or heavily damaged about 135 homes in Kerr County. Officials said much of the county’s infrastructure also took a significant hit.
Barrera said the city is still assessing the full extent of the damage.
“What’s keeping me up is just the uncertainty of what we’re going to find or uncover as we gain access to some of these areas,” he said.
Residents and their local governments are patiently waiting to see those government dollars allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Amanda DeVeca-Renier with Rebuild.us, a national disaster survivor association, believes FEMA funds are being released more slowly than in past years.
“Historically, it’s moved faster under our current administration,” she said, in part. “It’s been slow, two or three or four weeks even. And so we can’t afford that. People on the ground deserve this assistance to move immediately.”
Kerrville officials are directing residents to the city’s website and Facebook page for up-to-date information on debris pickup, road closures, shelters and other recovery resources.
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