Victims of Texas floods: ‘The river rose and everything we owned was underwater’

In the city of Kerrville, the rain is no longer pouring down, but the sky still looks leaden. The sun comes out intermittently. Life is slowly returning to normal. Cars are on the streets, businesses are open. Occasionally, helicopters fly overhead. In Louise Hays Park, however, rescue crews continue to search for people, whether dead or alive, among the downed trees. Local authorities have reported 82 deaths so far, including 28 children, in the city and Kerr County. The Guadalupe River, which runs through the park, burst its banks early Friday morning, leaving in its wake a trail of destruction unprecedented in this area of south-central Texas, about 60 miles from San Antonio. Residents recall that two nights ago, the river rose so high it almost covered the bridge.

The main access to this green space is at the intersection of Cully and Thompson Streets in a city of about 25,000 residents. Despite the police tape placed there to keep people away, pedestrians continue to pass through. “This was a park where children played. It’s very hard knowing they’re gone, thinking about their parents,” says a woman in her 50s who looks out from the bridge, alluding to the deceased children. Many of the victims were kids spending a few days at Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls where 750 children were staying at the time of the disaster. “I work nearby. My house wasn’t affected, but all I can think about is those children they’re going to find dead,” the woman says, close to tears.

Beneath the bridge, rescuers sift through the mud and debris. There are dogs, drones, boats, chainsaws, a broken swing set, fallen trees, an all-terrain vehicle overturned in the water, a crane, railings, clothing, a sofa, a refrigerator. A truck attempts to tow a sunken car that several workers have tied with a rope. It almost pulls it out, but fails twice.

“They had set up a tent here to celebrate the Fourth of July, but the disaster started in the early morning and destroyed everything,” recalls Kim, a blonde woman with green eyes who is chainsmoking nervously. “It was around 2 a.m., it all happened so fast.” Kim delivers food, and the storm caught her out driving. She says she lives about eight miles from the river. Her family and home are safe. “I was lucky. But I know people who were affected and people who are dead. They weren’t my friends, but they were acquaintances of people I love.”

This woman moved to Kerrville in 1994, and says she’s never seen anything like this. “Now community outreach is starting. Cleanup, assistance, searching... People are coming from all over the community. I have to work, but I’m absolutely going to help because that’s what we’re supposed to do,” she says. “This could take weeks. It’s very sad; I’m sure there are people still underwater.”

James Caller is also watching the rescuers from a railing. They’re about 300 feet away, wearing boots and yellow vests, cleaning the river. “I hope they find someone alive, because I could have been one of them,” he says. Caller is 75 years old, has a gray beard, and is wearing shorts and a cap. “The water started to fall so intensely, the river rose, and everything we had was underwater.”

The cook at Church’s, a fried chicken restaurant across from the park, says they were closed until Saturday. They reopened Sunday morning, but have barely had any customers. The three workers are there, but no one else. They are surprised when a car pulls into the takeout lane around 11 a.m.. A few blocks from there, Rafael Villarreal is still in shock as he watches a rescuer inspect a sunken car. He’s wearing a hat and a green polo shirt, says he’s lived in Kerrville for two years and has his business near Riverside Park. But the storm has made him homeless. “I’m staying in a motel for now.”

According to his account, at 3 a.m. the local Fire Department ordered him and his family to evacuate their home. “I gathered all my things, and, you know, as I was sitting there in the truck, I was watching the river rising really fast.” He didn’t have time to get the vehicle out, and the water swept it 160 feet from where it was parked. “We had to get out immediately, or else it probably would have swept us away too,” he says.

They were able to leave their house around 4 a.m. and returned at 6 a.m. The river was just beginning to recede at that point. “It happened very quickly; there was no way to warn everyone and get everyone out. There were a lot of people in town celebrating the Fourth of July, at campsites and inside RVs.”

Villarreal is negotiating with his insurance company to get reimbursed for the damage to his truck. He’s also trying to find a place to live. In the meantime, he’s offered to help with the recovery. “There’s not much we can do because we don’t have any equipment or anything, but we’re donating what we can, food and things like that. I used to come to this park all the time. These trees were so beautiful, and now they’re just gone. It’s crazy to see them like this.”

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a natural disaster emergency declaration this Sunday to address the flooding in Texas.

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