July 18, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – Central and South Texas endured a second round of catastrophic flooding this week, as record-breaking rain sent the Guadalupe River and other Hill Country waterways surging over their banks. [1][3] The disaster struck almost exactly one year after the July 2025 floods that killed more than 130 people across the region, including 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic. [2] As of Friday afternoon, at least two people had died and more than 570 had been pulled from high water by state and local crews. [3][6]
The story this year is painfully familiar, but it is not identical. The same river threatened many of the same towns, yet a faster warning system and a more coordinated response appear to have changed the outcome for thousands of residents. [6] This article walks through how severe the flooding became, who was rescued and who was lost, whether the safeguards built after last year did their job, how officials responded, and what families living near these rivers should do as the water recedes. [1][6]
Quick Links
- How Bad Did the Flooding Get This Time?
- Who Was Rescued, and Who Did Not Make It Out?
- Did the Warning Systems Built After Last Year Actually Work?
- How Are State and Local Officials Responding?
- What Should Families Near These Rivers Do Now?
How Bad Did the Flooding Get This Time?
The scale of the rainfall was staggering. Nearly one trillion gallons of rain fell on the three hardest-hit counties over three days, enough to fill roughly 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools or supply 11 million homes for a year. [3] Uvalde County alone received more rain in that stretch than California saw over the previous month, according to a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [3] The Hill Country is especially prone to this kind of disaster, because its signature limestone sits under only a thin layer of soil, so heavy rain shoots downhill and fills the narrow river basins fast. [3]
The rivers rose with terrifying speed. A gauge on the Guadalupe at Center Point climbed 32 feet in just four hours and later crested at 37.94 feet, slightly below last year’s record height. [5][6] Downstream at Comfort, the river rose 25 feet in a single hour and crested more than a foot higher than it did last July. [6] The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency, its highest and rarest alert, for the stretch from Center Point through Bergheim, with catastrophic flooding also likely along the Frio, Leona, Sabinal, and Nueces rivers. [5][6]
The damage matched the water. A section of a bridge collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde County, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10 near Ozona, and the Texas Department of Transportation closed a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 57, with parts not expected to reopen until Monday. [3] Roughly six million Texans sat under a flood watch at points during the week. [3] Even the border felt the surge, as about 600 large buoys placed on the Rio Grande to deter illegal crossings broke loose in the rising water, with roughly 480 recovered by Friday, a local congressman said. [3]
Who Was Rescued, and Who Did Not Make It Out?
The rescue effort was enormous. State crews saved more than 270 people while local crews around Uvalde and Zavala counties pulled out more than 300, bringing the statewide total above 570, Gov. Greg Abbott said. [6] Near Ozona, more than 50 people were evacuated by boat from flooded apartments and a waterlogged RV park, and first responders cleared roughly 50 homes in flood-prone areas of Kerrville. [3][6] In Kerrville, one boutique owner returned to find four feet of floodwater had rushed through her store, leaving it a total loss. [3]
One rescue captured the stakes. Footage released by the governor’s office showed a Department of Public Safety air crew landing on a rooftop in Uvalde and lifting a young girl, her family, and their two dogs to safety. [4] Scenes like it played out across the region as game wardens and boat teams reached families cut off by the current. [6]
The losses were heavy even so. Two men, ages 65 and 74, died in the flooding. [4] John Mark Steward, 65, of Kerr County was swept away when his mobile home floated down Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, according to his wife, though CNN reported that authorities had not independently confirmed the death. [4][6] His wife said she was visiting her parents when a neighbor called overnight to warn that the water had reached their door. [4] The second victim’s death carried a hard lesson. The 74-year-old man drove past law enforcement warnings and up a closed roadway before his vehicle was caught in the current near Uvalde, police said. [4][6] It was a stark reminder of the state’s plea to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” [1]
Did the Warning Systems Built After Last Year Actually Work?
For a region still grieving, the clearest bright spot was that the safeguards installed after last year’s disaster performed as intended. Officials said the warning systems built since 2025 activated early in Kerr County, alerting residents before the water rose. [6] Much of that capability was privately built. River Sentry, a Texas company, installed 105 flood-warning towers along the Guadalupe over the past year, and its founder said the towers were “critical in intervening and saving lives” this week. [6]
The results showed up in personal accounts. The owner of a Kerrville RV park where people died last July said sirens sounded around 2 a.m. this time, early enough to get everyone out safely, a warning that never came in time the year before. [6] A local resident described a steady stream of phone alerts, texts, and sirens. “The learning experience from last year was major,” he said. [6] State lawmakers likewise pointed to increased funding for warning systems and flood mitigation as a reason the response improved. [2]
The record is not spotless. The river still crested near last year’s level, two people died, and communities that flooded on Wednesday were deluged again days later. [3][6] The honest takeaway is that better warnings and local investment reduced the toll without eliminating the danger, which is the realistic measure of any preparedness effort. Systems can buy families time, but they cannot force anyone to use it.
How Are State and Local Officials Responding?
The state moved quickly and at scale. Abbott deployed more than 2,350 emergency responders and 1,400 vehicles, along with more than 90 boats, 20 aircraft, and 200 high-profile vehicles, and directed state agencies to remain fully engaged. [1][6] “Protecting life remains our top priority as we work through extraordinarily record-breaking rain,” the governor said, calling life-threatening flooding the state’s main overnight risk. [1]
To bring in federal help, Abbott issued a major disaster declaration for 28 counties and requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration to unlock additional resources. [3][6] After flying over the region, he described “pockets of devastation” and said the damage in Uvalde looked far worse from the ground than from the air. [6] Officials framed the week as proof that last year’s tragedy changed how Texas prepares. “Because of everything that was learned and experienced in the flood last year, everybody in Texas has been far more prepared to deal with what has happened this year,” Abbott said, adding that the state is now “very aggressive” once rain and rivers begin to rise. [6]
Local leaders struck a more somber note. “We are still reeling from what happened a year ago,” Kerrville Police Chief Jerel Haley said. “To have this happen again so suddenly is literally quite devastating for a lot of us.” [6] The state urged residents to check road conditions and report damage at Disaster.Texas.Gov as the response continued. [1]
What Should Families Near These Rivers Do Now?
The immediate threat was easing by late Friday. Heavy rain had ended in the hardest-hit towns of Sonora and Ozona, and while isolated showers remained possible, forecasters said the risk of additional significant rainfall had largely passed. [6] Even so, officials cautioned that runoff can keep creeks and rivers rising long after the rain stops upstream, and some neighborhoods flooded twice in a single week. [2][3]
The practical guidance is simple and worth repeating. Heed local alerts, never drive through flooded roadways, and do not go sightseeing near swollen rivers. Kerrville police specifically asked residents to stay home, noting that “a lot of people driving around to take a look” was making the emergency harder to manage. [2] Following those basic instructions is the single most effective thing any household can do when the water is rising.
This week also underscored a value that no system can replace, which is personal readiness. The households that treated the sirens and alerts as real and moved immediately are the ones that made it out. A family that had gathered for a 40th annual reunion in Comfort grabbed only what they needed and left, then learned the water had risen roughly 10 feet in the 20 minutes after they fled. [6] Warning systems and public dollars matter, but individual judgment remains the last line of defense once the water starts to rise. [4][6]
What It Means to the Average American
The Texas floods carry lessons that reach well beyond the Hill Country. The first is that investments in preparedness can pay for themselves in lives. The warning towers and sirens funded after last year’s disaster gave families minutes they did not have in 2025, a concrete data point in the larger debate over how public and private dollars for mitigation should be spent and judged. [2][6]
The second is that accountability cuts both ways. State and local officials earned credit for a faster, better-coordinated response, and it remains fair to ask why flood-prone bridges, crossings, and highways stayed vulnerable enough to collapse or close for days. [3][6] Recognizing what worked and pressing on what did not are not in conflict. They are two halves of the same responsibility.
The third is the oldest lesson of all. Warnings only work when people act on them. One man drove past a barricade and did not survive, while families who left immediately did. [4][6] For readers far from Texas, the takeaway is not regional. Nearly a trillion gallons of rain, a 32-foot river surge, and a failed bridge show how quickly an ordinary forecast can turn deadly, and why taking local alerts seriously is never optional. [3][5]
Final Thoughts
A year after the Guadalupe River claimed more than 130 lives, the same water threatened the same towns, and this time the community was more ready for it. [2][6] That is not cause for celebration, because two families are grieving and entire neighborhoods face a long cleanup, but it is a meaningful improvement worth recognizing. [3][4]
The story of this week is a balance that Americans understand instinctively. Government has a role, and the state’s rapid deployment of responders together with the locally installed warning network clearly helped. [1][6] Individuals have a role too, and the difference between those who heeded the sirens and those who drove past the barricades could not have been starker. [4][6] As the water recedes and federal aid is requested, the Hill Country will rebuild once more, carrying forward the hard-earned lesson that preparation, accountability, and personal responsibility are strongest when they work together. [3][6]
Works Cited
[1] Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Abbott Provides Update on State Response to Severe Flooding.” Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott, 16 July 2026, gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-provides-update-on-state-response-to-severe-flooding.
[2] Chappell, Bill. “Flood Sirens Blare in South Central Texas as Rivers Reach Perilous Heights.” NPR, 16 July 2026, npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896458/flood-sirens-texas-rivers-reach-dangerous-heights.
[3] Bedayn, Jesse, et al. “Texas Floods Have Left High Waters and a Big Cleanup Job After Hundreds of People Are Rescued.” AP News, 17 July 2026, apnews.com/article/texas-floods-warning-cleanup-hard-hit-2f17c4d45a7189d7a7c404fdadac545a.
[4] England, Adam. “Young Girl Is Airlifted to Safety in Dramatic Video as Death Toll Rises to 2 amid Extreme Floods in Central Texas.” People, 17 July 2026, people.com/young-girl-airlifted-safety-dramatic-video-death-toll-rises-two-extreme-floods-central-texas-12021355.
[5] Berger, Eric. “Flood Risk Ends for Houston, but a Major Event Is Unfolding in Central Texas.” Space City Weather, 16 July 2026, spacecityweather.com/flood-risk-ends-for-houston-but-a-major-event-is-unfolding-in-central-texas.
[6] Park, Hanna, and Dalia Faheid. “Water Rescues, Evacuations in Western Texas after Catastrophic Floods in Hill Country Kill 2.” CNN, 17 July 2026, cnn.com/2026/07/17/weather/texas-flooding-risks-damage-hnk.