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A Year After Catastrophic Hill Country Floods, Recovery Varies Sharply Between Neighboring Communities

The stark contrast in who has rebuilt and who remains displaced highlights persistent gaps in federal aid and insurance that could shape future disaster policy.

Ashlee Willis grew up in Sandy Creek and returned two years before the flood. After she, her mother and stepfather, and her aunt lost their houses, she has spent much of the past year living in an encampment of RVs.
Brandy Gerstner puts her arm around her daughter, Ashlee Willis, at the family farm in Leander on June 14. The family and volunteers have been clearing weeds and invasive grasses so saplings can be planted along Big Sandy Creek, where a flood last year uprooted hundreds of trees.
Ashlee Willis, center, sits with her friends June 14 after several hours of removing weeds and invasive grasses from her family’s Asher Acres farm in Leander. The friends plan to return to the farm for an overnight campout this Fourth of July, a joyful act of defiance on the anniversary of the Big Sandy Creek flood.
Brandy Gerstner walks through her home in July 2025, after heavy rains caused massive flooding of Big Sandy Creek in Leander. All of the homes on the property were ruined, and the family is still fighting with their insurance company for the money to rebuild.

Overview

  • A violent storm last July sent torrents through the Texas Hill Country, killing scores of people and destroying hundreds of homes along the Upper Guadalupe River and Big Sandy Creek.
  • Communities on the Upper Guadalupe have received federal help, church and foundation support, and are rebuilding homes raised above flood level.
  • Residents of Big Sandy Creek report little FEMA relief, ongoing disputes over flood-insurance payouts, and many families still living in RVs or temporary shelters while reconstruction is stalled.
  • Volunteers, neighbors and nonprofits have driven most cleanup and restoration work at Sandy Creek, with TreeFolks planning to plant about 900 trees to restore the damaged riparian forest.
  • Survivors have organized, testified to a state panel and pressed local officials for road repairs, flood gauges and more reliable disaster funding, a push that could affect how future aid is allocated.