Flash Floods Force RV Park Evacuations in Williamson County
Heavy rainfall swept through Central Texas on Tuesday, triggering flash flood warnings and forcing urgent evacuations across Williamson County — a region that continues to grapple with dangerous flooding just months after a deadly July Fourth disaster last year.
Evacuations were ordered near multiple flood-prone areas in Georgetown, including Shady River and Good Water RV Parks and parts of San Gabriel River Park. Both parks are located off State Highway 29 near the San Gabriel River. Residents were told to leave without delay.
Office of Emergency Management Director Bruce Clements said 20 families — including residents from 17 RVs — were evacuated and taken to a temporary shelter at Georgetown Church of the Nazarene, located at 4051 E. University Ave. Helping Hands of Georgetown assisted with food and supplies.
Emergency crews acted quickly. Teams went door-to-door along Highway 29 to warn residents of rising water levels and help with evacuations, particularly in areas impacted by last year’s deadly July Fourth flooding. County Judge Steve Snell confirmed that swiftwater rescue boats, constables, and sheriff’s deputies were staged across the county starting at 6 a.m.
The rainfall totals were striking. More than 4.35 inches of rain fell in the Berry Creek area, with most of it occurring between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
By mid-morning, the National Weather Service reported that between two and five inches of rain had already fallen countywide, with additional rainfall of up to one inch still possible. The broader storm system hit the entire region hard — over nine inches of rain was reported just north of San Antonio, where the city recorded its third-wettest April day on record.
The San Gabriel River responded dramatically. The river rose rapidly throughout the day — from about 7 feet at 7:40 a.m. to 13.7 feet by 3:45 p.m. Swiftwater rescue teams are typically deployed when levels reach around 16 feet, and crews remained on standby.
At least 16 low water crossings in Williamson County were closed due to high water. The flash flood warning, which covered Round Rock, Georgetown, Taylor, Leander, Hutto, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Florence, Thrall, and other communities, was extended by the National Weather Service through the afternoon.
Despite the scale of the event, officials delivered cautiously optimistic news. “Today, Williamson County has been really fortunate,” said County Judge Snell. “We haven’t had the highly concentrated areas with property, and people impacted the way they were last July.” No property damage was reported following the evacuations.
Emergency management specialist Anthony Triola urged residents to take standing water seriously. “If the ground looks wet, please don’t try and drive over it. That is standing water or rushing water,” he said.
Residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts at WarnCentralTexas.org and monitor road conditions in real time at ATXFloods.com.
Sources:
- CBS Austin — cbsaustin.com — Two articles covering the evacuations, press conference details, rainfall totals, and river levels
- Fox 7 Austin — fox7austin.com — RV park locations, NWS rainfall totals, flash flood warning extension
- KUT Radio (Austin’s NPR Station) — kut.org — Flash flood warning details, low water crossings, cities affected
- Fox Weather — foxweather.com — Evacuation orders, road closures, broader storm context
- WeatherBug — weatherbug.com — National Weather Service alert text, rainfall amounts, low water crossing closures
- Yahoo News / Fox Weather wire — yahoo.com — San Antonio rainfall totals and record context
- KVUE (ABC Austin) — kvue.com — Evacuation confirmation and shelter location
- Williamson County Sun — wilcosun.com — Local confirmation of 20 residents evacuated from 17 RVs
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