{"id":139393,"date":"2026-07-16T08:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/texas-flooding-surges-from-huge-rainstorms-as-rescuers-pull-people-from-rising-waters\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:50:25","slug":"texas-flooding-surges-from-huge-rainstorms-as-rescuers-pull-people-from-rising-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/texas-flooding-surges-from-huge-rainstorms-as-rescuers-pull-people-from-rising-waters\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas flooding surges from huge rainstorms as rescuers pull people from rising waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Pedernales River floods underneath State Highway 87 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UVALDE, Texas (AP) \u2014 Catastrophic flooding in Texas after days of pounding rain<\/a> forced authorities to rescue dozens of people from rising waters before sunrise Thursday while many more fled to higher ground across a region still recovering from devastating floods just a year ago.<\/p>\n

The National Weather Service in San Antonio said a \u201clarge and deadly flood wave\u201d was barreling down the same river wrecked by floods<\/a> last summer when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Forecasters urgently warned \u201cMove to higher ground now!\u201d as rivers rose hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate word of any deaths or injuries from the flooding. Several tornado warnings were also issued. The Texas Hill Country floods<\/a> over the July Fourth holiday last year killed more than 100 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy happening two times in one year,\u201d said Josiah Rodriguez, who woke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year there was no warning of it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The storms and flooding threatened multiple counties close to the border with Mexico and in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. City officials in Kerrville urged people to shelter at the highest levels of their homes.<\/p>\n

Images along a creek in Kerr County showed propane tanks that had been pushed onto a bridge and a mess of tangled trees.<\/p>\n

Uvalde residents isolated by floodwaters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off outside access.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way into the city at this point in time. Rescues have been happening overnight,\u201d said Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police. Multiple people trapped in vehicles were being rescued, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing is they\u2019re communicating with our emergency dispatch center and we\u2019re getting crews to them quickly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Uvalde officials were deploying boats for rescue operations and planned to fly helicopters after daybreak, Alvarado said. Phones buzzed with warnings throughout the night, warning of flash flooding in the morning.<\/p>\n

Texas Game Wardens rescued more than 40 people, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Flooding could reach last year’s deadly high<\/strong><\/p>\n

The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to last year’s flood, the weather service said.<\/p>\n

Gauges in some spots along the Guadalupe River showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in a matter of hours overnight Thursday.<\/p>\n

One gauge outside of Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.<\/p>\n

Close to Camp Mystic, which remains shut down<\/a>, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.<\/p>\n

Flooding hits towns still rebuilding<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volunteer firefighters spent the night helping people evacuate and answering calls about rising water in Ingram, just up river from Hunt, where summer camps dot the shores of the Guadalupe, Ingram Mayor Claud Jordan said Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

While the water didn\u2019t rise as high as a year ago, he believes this round of flooding was more widespread and \u201cworse\u201d in his city. \u201cThe rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a bunch of businesses that haven\u2019t reopened from last year. They\u2019re still trying to rebuild from the July 4 floods,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cThis doesn\u2019t help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Families rush to higher ground<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Wednesday, Uvalde police had ordered mandatory evacuations for some parts, with first responders notifying people affected directly. Others were asked to stay vigilant in case more evacuations are needed.<\/p>\n

Some people walked out of their homes into the street to see the water growing closer every hour, their faces worried. People living along the Leona River scrambled to pack up their cars and head out, although many did not yet know where they should go. One man threw two kayaks into his truck bed, just in case.<\/p>\n

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened, and brown water created large rapids in the typically calm river, which was pushing up against the town\u2019s high bridge and into neighborhoods by Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Another test for the Texas Hill Country after the Camp Mystic disaster<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Texas Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area\u2019s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before quickly filling the narrow river basins.<\/p>\n

The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.<\/p>\n

The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in multiple counties under flood watches, with some were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.<\/p>\n

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties. As of late Wednesday, six million residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Erulenfeld and Kala Martin watch as the Pedernales River floods near Old Kerr Highway on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Members
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. prepare to perform a water rescue on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A flood-damaged car hangs from a fence on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Members
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. rescue a woman from flood waters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pedernales River floods underneath State Highway 87 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez)(AP Photo\/Joel Angel Juarez) UVALDE, Texas (AP) \u2014 Catastrophic flooding in Texas after days of pounding rain forced authorities to rescue dozens of people from rising waters before sunrise Thursday while many more fled to higher […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-139393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139393"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139413,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139393\/revisions\/139413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139393"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=139393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}