Dangerous flooding has intensified across Texas after days of relentless rain, as forecasters warned locals to ‘move to higher ground now.’
More than a foot of rain has drenched parts of West Texas and the Texas Hill Country this week, with most of it falling between Tuesday and Wednesday evening.
The relentless downpours have sent multiple rivers, including the Guadalupe, surging to dangerous levels.
At least one person has been killed in catastrophic flash flooding across south-central Texas, according to Governor Greg Abbott.
The National Weather Service in San Antonio warned that a ‘large and deadly flood wave’ was barreling down the Guadalupe River.
Several more inches of rain are expected through Thursday night in parts of central Texas before the heaviest rain shifts farther west.
AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Tyler Roys said: ‘Water always finds its way to the river. ‘But when a storm produces that much rain across a whole watershed at once, the river doesn’t just rise, it surges, almost like a tsunami.’
The emergency is unfolding along the same river that devastated Texas Hill Country last July, when catastrophic flooding killed 25 girls, two teenage counselors and a longtime director at Camp Mystic.
Dangerous flooding has intensified across Texas after days of relentless rain, as forecasters warned locals to ‘move to higher ground now’
The emergency is unfolding along the same river that devastated Texas Hill Country last July, when catastrophic flooding killed 25 girls, two teenage counselors and a longtime director at Camp Mystic (pictured)
‘Motorists should never drive through flooded roads. Water may be deeper than it appears and can cause a vehicle to stall, float or suffer severe electrical damage,’ AccuWeather said.
‘Rising water can quickly submerge a vehicle, and the road beneath may have been washed away.’
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.
As of Wednesday evening, just over six million Texas residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch that was scheduled to continue through early Thursday night.
Watches for 34 of those counties were scheduled to expire Friday evening.
Some of the highest rainfall totals so far have been in Uvalde County, which normally gets about 23 inches (58 centimeters) of rain a year, according to the Uvalde County Extension Office.
The storms 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.
Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight into Thursday, cutting off access to surrounding areas.
More than a foot of rain has drenched parts of West Texas and the Texas Hill Country this week, with most of it falling between Tuesday and Wednesday evening
exas Game Wardens are responding to multiple swiftwater rescue calls in South Texas counties
The girls and counselors of Camp Mystic’s ‘Bubble Inn’ cabin, photographed just days before all 15 were swept away in the Texas Hill Country floods. The entire group was swept away in the flood
A Flash Flood Emergency, the National Weather Service’s highest alert level, has been issued for all of Uvalde County until 4:15pm CT as forecasters warned residents to flee to higher ground immediately.
Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police, said Thursday morning: ‘There’s no way into the city at this point in time. Rescues have been happening overnight.’
Multiple people trapped in vehicles were being rescued, she added.
‘The good thing is they’re communicating with our emergency dispatch center and we’re getting crews to them quickly,’ Alvarado said.
Uvalde officials were deploying boats for rescue operations and planned to fly helicopters after daybreak, Alvarado said.
Texas Game Wardens have participated in rescues of more than 40 people so far from the flooding, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.
The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to the July 4, 2025, catastrophic river flood, the weather service said.
Close to Camp Mystic, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet, according to a US Geological Survey (USGS) gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.
While dangerous, the water was below the height of last year’s deadly floods, which was 37.5 feet. That’s about 15 feet above the level for major flooding.
One gauge less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet in four hours.
Downriver near Center Point, the Guadalupe River rose more than 30 feet (9 meters) between midnight and 4 a.m. Thursday.
Gauges recorded similar increases near Comfort, where the River rose nearly 29 feet in less than two hours, according to USGS data.
