More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to high-water rescues elsewhere as officials warned that the downpours could again cause waterways to surge.
It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth floods, which killed at least 129 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr County.
In Kerrville, where local officials have come under scrutiny about the warnings given to residents, authorities went door-to-door to some homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that flooding was again possible. Authorities also pushed alerts to the phones of those in the area.
Ingram Fire Department officials ordered search crews to immediately evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor in Kerr County until further notice, warning the potential for a flash flood is high. Search-and-rescue efforts were expected to resume on Monday, depending on river flow, fire department spokesman Brian Lochte said.
"We’re working with a few crews and airboats and SAR (search-and-rescue) boats just in case,” Lochte said.
As heavy rain fell Sunday, National Weather Service forecasters warned that the Guadalupe River could rise to nearly 15 feet (4.6 meters) by Sunday afternoon, about five feet above flood stage and enough to put the Highway 39 bridge under water in Hunt, the small town where Camp Mystic is located along the river.
“Numerous secondary roads and bridges are flooded and very dangerous,” a weather service warning said.
The rains were also causing other waterways to swell farther north in Texas, where emergency crews rescued one motorist who was left stranded in waist-high rapids on a submerged bridge over the Bosque River. The man 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.”
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 nor 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.”
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.
The sheer amount of rain was overwhelming. Former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist, calculated on July 5 that the storm had dropped 120 billion gallons of water on Kerr County, which received the brunt of the storm.
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