Photo: ABC 7
Central Texas Flood Recovery: 78 Days After the Tragedy
Two and a half months have passed since the catastrophic July 4th weekend flooding that devastated Central Texas, claiming at least 135 lives and leaving communities in Kerr County, Travis County, and surrounding areas grappling with unprecedented loss and destruction. As autumn approaches, the affected regions are slowly beginning to rebuild while implementing new safety measures designed to prevent future tragedies.
FEMA recently closed its last recovery center in Kerrville, while a Fort Worth DNA lab worked around the clock to help identify victims and bring answers to families.
The Disaster’s Toll
At least 135 people were killed during the flooding, with at least 117 deaths occurring in Kerr County alone. The disaster was centered around the Guadalupe River, which rose to near-unprecedented levels during the holiday weekend storms. Kerr County officials reported that at least 108 people died in flash flooding over the Fourth of July weekend, including 37 children. Travis County also suffered significant losses, with at least ten deaths confirmed according to local officials.
The tragedy struck with particular force at Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian girls camp in Kerr County, which became a focal point of the disaster’s impact on young lives.
Legislative Response: A Quarter-Billion Dollar Investment
In response to the devastating floods, Texas lawmakers acted swiftly during a special legislative session, passing comprehensive flood protection and youth camp safety measures. State legislators spent over a quarter-billion dollars toward the relief and prevention effort.
Governor Greg Abbott signed several key pieces of legislation in early September, including Senate Bill 5, which allocates significant funding for disaster response and prevention. The bill pulls $240 million from the rainy day fund for the state’s match for federal disaster response funds and other disaster needs, $50 million for sirens and rain gauges in the Central Texas flood region, $28 million to improve weather forecasting and $50 million for new emergency preparedness initiatives.
The measure creates three separate funding mechanisms: a $200 million funding match for federal disaster money plus other state needs, a second pot setting aside $50 million to establish a grant program for local government agencies, and additional resources for infrastructure improvements.
Conversely, Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 18 — a bill passed unanimously in the second-called special session that would remove bureaucratic “red tape” when repairing flood-control structures — because he said it did not fall under any of the specific categories laid out in the special session call.
Infrastructure and Safety Improvements
The legislative package addresses multiple aspects of flood preparedness and response. House Bill 20 requires the secretary of state to oversee a program for political jurisdictions to select nonprofits or financial institutions to receive donations after disasters, while also creating new criminal offenses related to disaster scams, such as stealing donations meant for recovery.
Beyond financial measures, additional legislation addressed everything from speeding up dam repairs, to improving weather forecasting, to providing funding for areas hit by flood waters. The state has also implemented new youth camp safety regulations and improved early warning systems throughout the affected regions.
Only 2.5% of residents in Kerr County had flood insurance before the recent flood, highlighting the critically low adoption rate in flood-prone areas. Homeowners in Central Texas are not legally required to have flood insurance solely due to riverside location, but loan requirements may mandate it for rebuilding in flood plains.
Federal Support and Ongoing Recovery
Federal assistance has been mobilized to support the recovery efforts. The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) is reimbursing producers for livestock deaths resulting from the flooding events, while Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP) assists with feed and water losses and other production impacts.
Workers and self-employed individuals affected by flooding can apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits, with applications originally required to be submitted by September 4.
Three organizations will receive grants for work they’re doing to support Central Texas after the floods.
Looking Forward
In Travis County, specifically, communities that were once cut off from access in or out of their neighborhoods have seen both the Cow Creek Bridge and the Sandy Creek Bridge be rebuilt.
Travis County is offering one final cleanup for flood victims in the Sandy Creek area.
Recovery checks were handed out to several residents in Leander this week. The money was handed out by Gov. Abbott and came from a relief concert.
As a result of the disaster, Texas firefighters and EMS workers can now receive peer mental health support after a new law recently went into effect.
Just weeks after the flash flooding in Kerr County, many of the first responders who served on the front lines of the crisis for the City of Kerrville got another gut punch: They learned that health insurance premiums for their families could be going up as much as $5,000 a year. (Houston Chronicle)
The scars of July’s devastating floods remain visible across the Texas Hill Country.
Leander school officials have recommended keeping three elementary schools—Steiner Ranch, Cypress, and Faubion—open despite their low enrollment. This recommendation was included in supporting documents for Thursday night’s school board meeting, but it was not presented. The board decided to postpone the discussion because trustees felt they had not had enough time to review the information.
The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees is expected to vote on November 20 on a plan to consolidate schools in response to declining enrollmen.
Unemployment jumped in San Antonio and Austin in August, with the monthly rates in both metro areas up by more than 10% from a month earlier.
Data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission showed the rate in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area was 4.4%, up 12.8% from July. The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos rate was 3.9%, up 11.4%. (Austin American-Statesman)
People selling cars on social media websites need to watch out for a new scam, according to a Williamson County official. It involves the buyer of the car sending the seller a fraudulent check from the Williamson County tax assessor collector’s office as payment.
Meanwhile…
According to Fulshear Police, scammers are mailing out random packages, often from Amazon or other retailers, that you did not order. Inside, there may be a note asking you to scan a QR code to “see who sent it,” “claim a reward,” or “thank the sender.”
If you receive an unexpected package in the mail containing a “Thank You” note with a QR code inside. This is a scam.
The Danger
• Scanning the QR code may take you to a fake website that steals your personal or financial information.
• Some QR codes can install malware on your phone or device.
• These scams, called “brushing scams,” also use your address to boost fake sales or product reviews.
What You Should Do
• Do NOT scan the QR code.
• If you didn’t order it, treat it as suspicious.
• Check your online shopping accounts for unauthorized purchases.
• Report the package to the retailer (e.g., Amazon) and keep photos of the item, packaging, and QR code.
• If you did scan the code and entered personal information, monitor your accounts closely and consider changing your passwords.
An investigation is underway in Hays County after a disturbance prompted a lockdown at T.C. McCormick Middle School in Buda Friday morning. (CBS Austin)
Meanwhile, two religious groups donated over 2,500 Ten Commandments posters to Hays CISD classrooms to comply with Senate Bill 1515 (nicknamed “Cindee’s Law”), which requires Texas school districts to accept and display such donations, highlighting the intersection of religious advocacy and public education policy.
A Honduran national is facing at least 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to committing a series of armed robberies across Austin. (CBS Austin)
Police are investigating a series of car break-ins at a southeast Austin apartment complex.
The San Marcos Police Department is looking for a man who stole more than $40,000 from a jewelry store near the outlets last month. (FOX 7 Austin)
This week’s Crime Watch from FOX 7 Austin:
An Amber Alert for a missing San Antonio girl was canceled after she was found safe. The 4-year-old had been missing since Wednesday morning.
Police have not released any additional details, including whether the 34-year-old woman accused of abducting her will face charges. (KVUE-TV)
Police are investigating a fatal crash that claimed the life of a motorcyclist in Taylor on Friday.
The crash involving a motorcycle and a vehicle occurred at around 5:56 p.m. in the 13400 block of Chandler Road, near County Road 366. (CBS Austin)
The first phase of the sweeping River Park Plan slated to rise near East Riverside Drive and Pleasant Valley Boulevard is about to commence.
Vertical construction for a massive River Park development is imminent as crews gear up to break ground on the first building: a 4,000-person-capacity music venue. (Austin Business Journal)
The 1964 ban on swimming in Lady Bird Lake remains in place due to hazardous conditions and the prohibitive cost of necessary safety upgrades, as recommended by Austin city staff to prevent injuries and deaths.
WEATHER
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INETRNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
THE WEEK IN WEATHER
As Texas heads into its second rainy season of the year, a KXAN-TV investigation found regional vacancies at the National Weather Service’s Austin and San Antonio office are only increasing two months after deadly flooding killed at least 135 people. A member of Congress and a former federal official believes the delay could be putting lives at risk.
Thousands gathered Friday night to kick off a conference of young Republicans in which Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist killed last week, was memorialized as a “martyr” whose death is galvanizing youths across the nation.
Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for Texas A&M Professor Melissa McCoul’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated. (Texas Tribune)
While he celebrated late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel‘s indefinite suspension from his TV show, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s threat to revoke ABC’s license over Jimmy Kimmel’s show is compared to a “Goodfellas” mob boss and warned it’s “dangerous as hell” and a “real mistake” to use government power to silence voices.
A group of volunteers in Dallas are showing up to court to document and share what’s happening in immigration courts. Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began taking people into custody straight out of their hearings – something advocates say hadn’t happened in the past. (Texas Standard)
San Antonio remains the nation’s third-most impoverished metro area, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released this week. (San Antonio Current)
North Texas labor Law Attorney, Rogge Dunn, says government employees have free speech protections that employees at private companies don’t have. After conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, many reports surfaced about companies firing their employees after making what they believed were inappropriate comments. “A lot of people don’t know it as an employee, you don’t have any First Amendment speech rights,” Dunn said.
How community organizers beat the city of Corpus Christi and Big industry to stop ocean desalination.
And the CDC advisory panel on vaccines recommends restricting access to the MMRV vaccine. What would that have meant for the Texas measles outbreak?
2026 U.S. SENATE RACE
Some Christian and conservative leaders are saying they can no longer support Ken Paxton in 2026. (Houston Chronicle via MSN)
A former youth pastor for a Houston church has been arrested after officials say he was found with sexual images of young children.
SPORTS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The Texas Longhorns play their final non-conference game of the season tonight at DRK Texas Stadium as they play host to Sam Houston at 7:00 p.m. (Yahoo! Sports)
ON THE SCHEDULE
The Aggies of Texas A&M have a bye this weekend.
FRIDAY NIGHT SCOREBOARD
Bastrop 60, Crockett 11
Brentwood Christian 56, Manor New Tech 21
Buda Hays 59, Cedar Creek 7
Cedar Ridge 41, Westwood 30
Copperas Cove 47, Del Valle 8
Dallas Parish Episcopal 55, Austin LBJ 22
Flatonia 42, Three Rivers 13
Fredericksburg 14, Burnet 10
Gordon 54, Thorndale 21
Grapevine Faith 63, St. Michael’s 42
Hendrickson 63, Lockhart 6
Hutto 56, Manor 7
Jarrell 40, Llano 29
La Grange 55, Taylor 18
Lake Travis 41, San Marcos 6
Lampasas 31, Wimberley 24
Marble Falls 59, SA Brackenridge 0
McCallum 45, Elgin 14
Pflugerville 62, Navarro 20
Regents 59, Brownsville St. Joseph 15
Round Rock 31, McNeil 17
Temple 48, Austin High 14
Travis 34, Luling 8
Troy 44, Thrall 20
Valor North Austin 62, Round Rock Concordia 27
Waco Live Oak 6, Austin Hill Country 0
Waco Vanguard College Prep 78, Veritas 32
Wallis Brazos 65, Schulenburg 18
Weiss 87, Kyle Lehman 0
Westlake 37, Cibolo Steele 14
MLB: A setback for both the Hoston Astros and Texas Rangers in their mutual quest for a spot in the postseason.
Both teams resume action today.
ON THE SCHEDULE
AL WEST STANDINGS
WILD CARD RACE
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