Overview
- A slow-moving mid‑July storm sent rivers and creeks over their banks, producing record or near‑record crests on the Guadalupe and Nueces rivers and triggering hundreds of high‑water rescues.
- Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a major‑disaster declaration covering at least 28 counties and surveyed damage from Kerrville as state teams shift focus from search‑and‑rescue to debris removal and rebuilding.
- State officials say more than 2,700 personnel and dozens of boats and aircraft responded and that responders rescued roughly 530 people while two flood‑related deaths were confirmed.
- Preliminary assessments show heavy losses in Kerr County with about 135 homes destroyed or heavily damaged and roughly 490 homes and 100 businesses also damaged, creating a large need for long‑term housing aid.
- Local churches and relief groups are supplying meals and cleanup help even as officials warn that downstream communities such as Carrizo Springs and Cotulla remain at risk while forecasters watch a developing Gulf system.