00:00From July 4 to 6, 2025, a large and devastating flood event took place in and downstream from
00:11the Texas Hill Country, in the U.S. state of Texas. During the flood, water levels along
00:17the Guadalupe River rose quickly and significantly when 5 to 11 inches, 130 to 280 millimeters,
00:24of rain fell in just a few hours. As a result, at least 82 people died, with at least 41 reported
00:32missing. Flooding began on July 4, after large amounts of rain fell on central Texas.
00:39Six flash flood emergencies, which included the cities of Kerrville and Mason, were issued the
00:44same day. The Guadalupe River surged an estimated 29 feet 8.8 meters in the Hunt area, where over 20
00:51children were declared missing from a summer camp. A total of 25 people died on July 4,
00:57with search and rescue operations still underway. July 5 saw more flash flood emergencies and flood
01:04warnings over the Lake Travis area which is part of the Colorado River watershed. On July 6,
01:09the New York Times stated, Among all deadly flooding events in the United States, including those caused
01:15by levee failures, seasonal rains, and hurricanes, the Hill Country floods will most likely rank among
01:21the deadliest since 1925.
01:30Carl Jeter heard the screams early Friday morning as he was surveying the flood damage on the deck of
01:35his home in Center Point, Texas. When he went to investigate, he saw a young woman sitting in the
01:41branches of a tree above racing floodwaters. Mr. Jeter went to find help. Two boats from the fire
01:47departments in Burnie and Center Point arrived. Rescuers climbed up the tree and tossed the woman
01:53a life jacket that she put on before releasing her grip on the branches and dropping into a raft.
01:59Her survival story was even more remarkable than her rescue. She had been camping with her family in
02:04Ingram, 20 miles upriver when she was suddenly swept into the rising river before dawn and carried
02:09downstream for miles. She was dodging RVs and refrigerators and all kinds of things in the
02:15river, Mr. Jeter said. She crossed four dams and went under bridges to get here. Mr. Jeter, 70,
02:23said the flooding was the worst he had ever seen in the flood-prone region, and he was shocked the
02:28woman managed to survive the storm, which caused the Guadalupe River near his home to rise more than
02:3320 feet in less than two hours. Mr. Jeter said he brought the woman into his house and gave her hot
02:38chocolate and a shower before helping her telephone her family members. Then she went to a local
02:44hospital where she spent the night and remained on Saturday, he said. Chris Shadrock, spokesman for
02:50the city of Burnie, confirmed the woman had been rescued from a tree but said he had no information
02:55about her condition. He did not release her name. It wasn't clear what happened to her family members.
03:02At least 32 people died from the Central Texas floods and many more were missing, officials said
03:08Saturday morning. Rescuers from the city of Burnie rescued seven more individuals on Friday,
03:13according to Mr. Shadrock. On Saturday, water levels had lowered, though flash flood warnings were
03:20still in effect in some parts of Central Texas. Source, New York Times.
03:25She's up there. It's receded a lot. There's another boat. All right.
03:30Margaret. Jacket they're putting on her.
03:39For many Texans, the flooding on Friday surfaced memories of a deadly swelling of the waters along
04:04the Guadalupe River on July 17, 1987. The river rose 29 feet on that morning, sweeping away a
04:12school bus and a van that were carrying teenagers from a church camp southwest of Comfort, Texas,
04:17which is about 15 miles southeast of Kerrville. Ten of the teenagers were swept away and killed,
04:2333 others, and four adults, were rescued. Some of the survivors held on to the upper branches of
04:30cypress and pecan trees, praying until helicopters arrived to carry them to safety, the New York Times
04:36reported. At the time it was the worst flooding of the Guadalupe River in 55 years, the Times reported.
04:43Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge, said at a news conference on Friday morning that the flooding
04:48this time might exceed what took place in 1987, based on the waterline at his property along the river.
04:54As in Friday's flooding, in 1987, five to ten inches of rain fell in the upper headwaters of
05:01the Guadalupe River basin. In Hunt, Texas, where the Guadalupe River forks over seven inches had
05:08fallen since Thursday afternoon, which was the highest total at the site since the early 1990s,
05:14the rapid rainfall led to a fast rise of the river that accelerated to over 29 feet before sunrise on
05:20Friday, the second highest crest ever recorded. Still, it might have even gone higher. As the
05:26waters rose 20 feet in two hours, they flooded the instrument box that the U.S. Geological Survey
05:32uses to send river gauge data. The box stopped transmitting at 4.35 a.m. local time on Friday.
05:40In 1987, though, warnings were issued early in the morning to summer camps along the river,
05:45and it was unclear why the church vehicles crossed the swollen river. All but one body was recovered.
05:52More than a year later, a sheriff's deputy in Kendall County, Texas, said of the missing
05:57camper that a cresting river would create sandbars, and a body could end up buried,
06:01possibly until another big flood comes to turn things upside down again. New York Times
06:08I'm not going to make it. Man dies saving family from Texas Hill Country floodwaters.
06:20Through tears and shock, 27-year-old Julian Ryan's family members said the father,
06:25brother, and fiancé died a hero. Ingram, Texas, Christina Wilson and her fiancé, Julian Ryan,
06:32were at home in Ingram when the devastating floodwaters started to rise along the Guadalupe
06:37River in the early morning hours on Friday. They lived at their house near the river with their
06:42children and Ryan's mother. Everything happened fast, trees were thrown like toothpicks, and water
06:48quickly rose, leaving families with little time to comprehend what was happening. When the water
06:54started to rise, Ryan sprang into action, those actions ended up being the last of his life.
07:00Through tears and shock, the 27-year-old's family members said the father,
07:04brother, and fiancé died a hero. He died a hero, and that will never go unnoticed,
07:10Ryan's sister, Connie Salas, said. Wilson said that within 20 minutes,
07:16the water was up to their knees in the house. It just started pouring in,
07:20and we had to fight the door to get it close to make sure not too much got in.
07:24We went back to the room and started calling 911, Wilson said.
07:29That's when Wilson said her fiancé punched out a window to try to get her, their children,
07:34and his mother to safety. It severed his artery in his arm and almost cut it clean off, she said.
07:41Wilson said they kept calling 911, but no one could get to them in time to save him.
07:46By 6 a.m. he looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and said,
07:50I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all, Wilson said. She said his body wasn't
07:56recovered until hours later when the water receded. Now, loved ones are left with only
08:02memories of the man they call a hero. He is the hero in this story, Salas said.
08:08They're now left questioning the preparations and response to the catastrophic flooding.
08:13When they said my brother was dying, they should have went to him first.
08:17That's how I see it, Joseph Rounsley said. Ryan's best friend remembered his buddy as a gentle soul.
08:24He's the kindest person I've ever met in my life, and I'll forever love him no matter what,
08:29Chris Roberts said. Now, Wilson, Salas, Rounsley and Roberts stand together,
08:35saying more needs to be implemented to avoid anything like this from ever happening again.
08:40They believe flood sirens could have saved lives. Everybody would have been worried.
08:45What's that noise? Wilson said. We would have left. We would have gone anywhere else.
08:52We had so many places that were safe.
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