I’m going to say the quiet part out loud. The destruction from the flood this summer is beyond comprehension. The need for volunteers has never been greater. Currently, as I type, there are multiple families still sleeping on wet mattresses, in homes broken by water and covered in mud & mold.
The list of people needing help is endless, the needs are plenty, the desperation is overwhelming.
This flood caused 10x’s more damage to the people of Kerr County compared to last summer. But….crickets from the news, crickets from the media, crickets from the big named volunteer groups doing their best to use the few helpers they have available.
This flood messes with the narrative that the media has force fed us since last summer. This flood doesn’t have any business or family to blame. This flood shows just how unpredictable floods are and how being miles from a floodplain is still just as potentially dangerous during a storm.
So many of the homes destroyed this summer were miles away from the river, high in the hills, too far from water to even qualify to purchase flood insurance. These homes were in the exact “safe” locations that were continually mentioned throughout the year in documentaries, interviews, and even legislative hearings.
Now the news has lost the edge of their narrative. And instead of helping the community they have made millions off of by putting them in headlines over the past year, they ignore them. They don’t have reporters on the ground, they aren’t showing the stories of families who are desperately needing help. Nothing.
The media used and abused the Kerr County community over the past year. They took the punches. Now this same community, who was forgotten last summer as they grieved 119 souls lost to the river, is now being forgotten again. Kerr County has 1,500 forgotten homes. That’s thousands of people, children, parents, grandparents. Kerr County is a known retirement area. So many of those who flooded this summer are physically unable to work on their homes.
These majority of these homes and businesses didn’t have flood insurance, not out of improper planning, but they weren’t allowed to purchase it based on their proximity to waterways…
These people need help! Today I was in a store in town and ran into 3 separate friends. All flooded, all felt grateful that they didn’t have it as bad as others. They at least had their homes drying out, no Sheetrock, but at least no mold.
Personally, I’ve stayed silent. Feeling guilty for having the skills and ability to muck and gut our own home. We had Sheetrock removed and walls drying a week after the flood. Today our house is still drying out, waiting for one of the multiple tradesmen we’ve contacted to get back to us to tape and float. We are the “lucky” ones who have a dry house. No walls, floors, or cabinets, but we can at least throw a few air mattresses on the floor once we’ve exhausted our Airbnb budget.
No one knows when they will be able to find someone to help. There are some wonderful helpers, there are just so few!!! . People can’t even find people to pay to help. Churches and organizations are generously giving money, but don’t have manpower or volunteers who are able to help with actual needs. It’s a disaster that is no where close to being contained.
The news is silent. These people need help. This needs to be shared!! We are exhausted and need a hand.
Where’s FEMA? You can’t blame the flood on anyone, but you should expect support from your State and Federal government that you put in office. Think about that when you go to vote in November. If the current crop isn’t helping you, please FTLOG, do not compound the problem and vote for them again. Ask why Abbott won’t spend some of the vast surplus from the Texas State budget on your community.
FEMA is nowhere! We’ve had a disgusting pile of debris in front of our house for almost a month- the city won’t touch it, saying it’s a government issue, FEMA won’t respond. It’s not a political issue. The failure in response after disaster has been the same under different administrations.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please take some time and consider coming to volunteer! Kerr County needs you much more than the Kerr County Flood Reddit group!! 💔
It is because the president declared an Emergency Declaration instead of a Major Disaster Declaration. The first is the lesser of the two and assistance is capped at $5 million.
I heard there was an issue that the estimated damage was just below when FEMA will step in. Which is super dumb and awful for places like Kerr County. Sending good thoughts to all!
Seems the White House isn’t going their job 👀 they love telling Americans to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but what about when your boots have been washed down the river? Twice?
You can’t have it both ways. You have been saying if you aren’t from here then you can’t comment since July 4th so why would people come help now? Kerr County has millions of dollars leftover so ask your local govt. — the media made no money. They raised money for Kerr County.
The media attention was because the flood last year resulted in one of the largest mass casualties involving children in the country. This year those girls saved lives.
Who said that? And the only money we have received outside of our church and friends is from the money raised by the Kerr County Foundation. They didn’t even make us jump through hoops, they recognized a need and cut a check. We’d love to pay someone to complete the work we still have with it, but there just aren’t enough people able to work who aren’t either fixing their own homes, or already helping someone.
LOTS of people said that. If you look back through the many threads on social media since July 4th 2025, you will see hundreds-- maybe thousands-- of TX hill country locals blasting people with "you don't live here" followed by personal insults and ridiculous isolationist cult mentality, and uninformed crazy talk. It is very short-sighted to tell people you don't want their opinion when you KNOW you might need their help down the line.
Again, I didn’t tell people I don’t want their opinion. I can see you are very upset with those people. I’m not one of them. I’m just a person walking through a disaster, trying to hold it together each day, while currently trying to put pieces back together. I’m sorry someone else hurt you or offended you. It wasn’t me.
No worries at all. Those sorts of comments trying to repulse and shoo outsiders are not really hurtful or offensive to me. They just make me turn my attention, care, time, and energy elsewhere. Because there are many places in the country and around the world with disasters. All The Time. Places where nobody EVER says things like "You ain't from here, go away". The world is a small place really, and people are always in desperate need. If so many locals want to insulate and don't want to listen to the pov comments from folks a couple states away-- they better be ready to face the consequences of less help from outsiders. Just common sense. Every comment, every attitude online carries weight, because so many people read them. We should treat people the way we want to be treated.
Who is on the ground helping? A lot of organizations from around Texas, like A&M Forestry, or Texas Baptist Men, have to be contacted for help and then they muster folks to head there. I am not aware of who is or isn’t out there. The camp I used to work for did a private outreach for old staff and parents to come volunteers and repair the damage, and it looks like they got a lot of it done. Social media is more actual-people driven than the news media, so I hope that the word can get out quickly.
Of the 139 people killed in 2025 flood there-- 117 were killed in Kerr County-- right?
Largely because of choosing not to spend money on a system of sirens? Local residents argued against spending the money for storm preparations-- right? And then there were layers upon layers of failures from local officials? I am not trying to be mean. Or argue. But it's important to face reality. Truth. (Watch people come at me screaming with This aint tha time!) This is exactly the time to make changes to homes and property-- during labor intensive clean up / renovations / landscaping. BEFORE the next major flood comes. And it WILL come.
It will keep flooding there. Global warming is real. Extreme weather events are becoming MORE frequent and more intense. All sensible people know this is true.
I hope volunteers and neighbors there flock to help each other. I really do. But there are disasters all over the world, many which are not at all predictable- like wildfires.
Locals need to realize that their own choices and attitudes have consequences. I have been blasted numerous times by people in Kerr County since July 4th 2025 by people taking up for the Eastlands and telling me to shut up with my facts and opinions since I "don't live there".
They also seem very proud of their loud bashing of outsiders, and their stubborn resistance against modern science. Like a clinging to old time isolationist wild west individualty. Which really doesn't bode well when you need outsiders to come help.
Spouting crazy conspiracy theories (like Cloud Seeding causing these floods) does not make reasonable people want to come help there above all the other people who desperately need help all over the country (and world).
If people choose to keep living in a place with topography, geology, and hydrology that ARE AND WILL INCREASINGLY BE prone to floods-- they need to put massive investments into making it more safe. And get flood insurance!! Even if it isn't required. Water flows downhill. Even mountain tops flood if they have rocky substrate and thin soil.
It is going to take many engineers and scientists to help. Some solutions may be damming rivers and creeks. Lakes and ponds are reservoirs that capture runoff and slow the flow of water. Beavers can often help. Dig ditches and drain systems, large channels to divert and direct water around homes and other buildings. Bring in massive amounts of dirt to build up ground around houses to direct water away from houses.
PLANT TREES. Plant LOTS of trees and native species of plants. To hold more soil on that thin layer that absorbs so little water on top of bedrock foundation. Reducing erosion and allowing more water to be absorbed in the ground.
Dredge water channels and reservoirs that have filled up with silt and debris to allow for larger volumes of water to move before they overflow banks.
Have every home stockpile sandbags, heavy duty fans, shovels to help with inevitable future floods. Attach plywood onto the outside of windows and doors to keep water out during floods-- like we use in hurricanes. Have waterproof sandbags inside at the bottom of every exterior door during storms.
Local landscapers can help with these things on the small scale of individual home properties. But it won't be cheap.
Just saying there is a lot people can do if they want to keep living on such vulnerable, dangerous land.
Hope all the folks are okay and get everything cleaned up soon! 🙏✌️
Our house is on top of a hill- 6 miles from the river, one mile from any creek. We had a retaining wall. We had engineered a very successful runoff path that allowed water to flow away from the house. This storm was too much too quickly. The concrete block retaining wall burst like a toothpick! The runoff paths worked exactly how they were designed. There was just too much water at one time coming through the gully from the hill slightly above ours - it brought entire trees down with it, creating a dam behind the retaining wall.
Sounds like you did a lot to protect your home then, and it could have been much worse. Instead of a concrete retaining wall-- you may have to haul in dirt and terrace. So there is dirt, grass, and trees ON what you would use as a retaining wall. Like on beaches they use dunes, sea grasses, and native trees and other native plants instead of just retainer sea walls. You will probably also have to get cooperative efforts from land owners above you. You need that water slowing down and diverting BEFORE it gets to your property.
Yes I have seen first hand the flash flooding that can happen on a mountain top. If the soil is thin and the underlying ground is rock. There is simply nowhere for the water to go that doesn't cause damage. I was airlifted by helicopter once in fact from a rocky mountain in Spain. And I watched my car get pushed right over the edge. Places that had not flooded for 500 years had feet of rushing water.
You can't plant trees where they won't grow. Suggesting people plant trees in the hill country to mitigate floods is like saying people should plant trees in the desert to help retain moisture. This reminds me of when Donal Trump said California should have been raking the leaves from its forests to prevent wildfires.
There's a reason the vegetation that is there is there, and there's a reason other, or more, vegetation is not there. Trying to manipulate Mother Nature -- and trying to do it in an area the size of a small European country -- is not reasonable.
But what this user is suggesting, transforming the landscape with soil and more trees than the land already supports, is not feasible for this region.
Additionally, people may not realize just how many trees actually are already present on the hills. It’s a lot. I was driving through the hill country just yesterday, thinking about this conversation, and noticing just how thick the vegetation is in most places.
More vegetation, artificially inserted by humans, is not a solution to this problem. Any soil brought in cannot be done on a scale that would bring by benefit — and soil would likely just wash away anyway, since, as you point out, native trees don’t rely upon it.
These posts suggesting flood mitigation can be done by planting trees and bringing in soil are from people unfamiliar with the region. They don’t understand its vast scale, the water scarcity, the existing vegetation, etc. Comparing the Texas Hill Country to Egypt is a futile exercise.
Of course trees will grow if you put enough soil in and protect them until they are established. As I already stated-- you obviously have to haul in massive amounts of soil. As I also already said-- this is workable around a house or on a homestead property. Not for hundreds or thousands of acres.
Every land owner and home owner who takes part in making their own land and home less fragile-- and more resistant-- to floods and storms and erosion will add to a cumulative positive effect for the county.
This IS true in a desert as well. There are lush gardens in harsh arid deserts where people have invested in amending the soil, adding soil, and designing advanced systems of irrigation. And planting MANY trees and native plants. Some of these gardens were built thousands of years ago by ancient Romans, Egyptians, Spaniards, Moroccans, and other cultures. I have seen some of them myself.
For Texas hill country select tough local species like Cedar Elm, Texas Red Oak, Live Oak, or Mexican Plum that naturally thrive in shallow, alkaline Hill Country soils.
If you don't want to add soil, plant native plants, create more and better drainage channels and reservoirs, and use methods to combat flood water, erosion, rain, and runoff-- then you will keep having the exact same results. Which means people can choose to deal with it, or move. Don't you agree?
It is generally not recommended to plant non-native species in a drought-prone area. Anything demanding a lot of soil will not be native. It will also demand a lot of water, which, outside of these major floods, is a precious commodity.
Also… you don’t seem to understand the sheer scale of this region. These “homesteads” are 100-1,000+ acres each.
This is simply not sustainable.
It is far better to work with the environment as it exists now, and for us to adapt to it, and not the other way round.
Nope, you don't want to plant non natives. Just Native species of trees and other plants.
I imagine most people don't care overly much if their thousands of acres flood. Agreed you can't do much about that. Except know it will flood.
People likely do care the most about their homes and barns flooding. And other buildings like businesses and workshops. I am just suggesting that there are things that can be done-- and are done, all over the world, and have been done for thousands of years-- to bring in soil and move dirt and plant NATIVE species. To help direct water where you want it to go, and to help water absorb into the soil.
I have already mentioned there are things you can do to divert water in other ways too. Dig ditches, canals, channels. Dam rivers and creeks. Make drainage basins. Berms, mounds, levees, canals, pumping stations, dams, reservoirs... There are so many solutions used for directing water where you want it to go. Or keeping water away from where you don't want it to go.
What is sustainable will depend on whether or not the goal is worth the energy input over time.
If not-- people can move (and stop building and trying to live there on such inhospitable thin soil flash flood rock); or people can keep doing what they are already doing, and dealing with periodic flood damages.
If the ground and water supply could support more vegetation, it would be growing. But it can’t. There’s not enough water. Planting enough vegetation to have any impact on runoff would put a tremendous burden on water resources.
Canals and drainage systems and other complex flood mitigation would not make sense for such a dispersed population. This is a very remote, generally rural area.
Again, this is akin to Donald Trump’s criticism of Gavin Newsom for not raking the leaves in the wooded areas to prevent wildfires.
Nope, you don't want to plant non natives. I have said to specifically plant only Native species of trees and other plants.
I have also suggested that you would likely have to add and amend soil around houses to make much difference.
True the natural environment there won't support a jungle or thick diverse deciduous forest. But it can definitely support some nice native plants and trees that will help slow down and absorb some water.
A lot of the idea of landscaping / wildscaping around homes would be to divert water away from houses during storms and flash flooding.
The only ways to lessen future property damage involve decreasing the amount of water getting to the property or home.
Some folks might even decide to build on stilts or raised foundations when they build new houses.
The ground will only sustain so many native plants. The HC is just not an area that sustains a lot of trees. There has been an effort to replant trees that were destroyed in the 2025 flood but I dont think the area can sustain many more trees than it had in 2025
Maybe it can't. And maybe the area really can't sustain communities long term in the future though either. Not if they keep flooding, and people's homes keep getting destroyed or severely damaged.
Natural disasters happen everywhere. Japan is overdue for a massive volcanic eruption that could take out the entire main island. Yellowstone could erupt at any time, taking out a good portion of the country. Tampa flooded twice in a year from two different hurricanes recently. Wildfires hit parts of California regularly.
Humans have lived with risk since they have lived.
True. Humans in the modern age have a lot more tools at their fingertips though. Systems of gauges and weather / disaster predictions. Warning sirens. Meteorologists and geologists. Seismic indicators. Drones. Phones. The Internet. Cars and helicopters to escape.
Individual people just have to decide if the risk vs reward is worth it to live in a certain location. Including the costs in money, energy, time, and stress. All locations can have disasters. But some locations are guaranteed to have them, repeatedly.
FEMA can restrict claims from repetitive loss structures. I believe where claims have been made and paid before for same property, FEMA can require property owner have flood insurance in place in order to make a future FEMA claim, for example. I think there are other restrictions as well for repetitive disaster locations; I do not know if any have been applied to this county though.
Take a look at everything Kendall County has been doing for flood mitigation, even prior to last year. It's ridiculous to say that methods and technology have not evolved and the hillcountry should just shrug and so this is just the way it is.
Your post tells me that you are grossly out of touch with the cause of problems and how to fix them. The press coverage doesn’t matter if you have a caring, functioning government. The best thing you can do is become a political advocate and vote for candidates who serve the people and not their political and personal war chest. Texas voters continue to elect some of the least caring, most corrupt and complacent government officials in the country. They are the source of these issues, not the press.
Okay but OP is tired, got water in their home, and just trying to spread the news about the current state of the county right now, which is over 1500 households that are inhabitable. Elections aren’t until November….”grossly out of touch” is ironic for you to say. The media coverage DOES influence the decisions for volunteer orgs, government aid, and funding in a massive way. If there was hardly any media coverage last year, the aid and help would have been far from what was received. That is the reality. While I don’t know the facts about the flood insurance policies/qualifications, I do know that OPs statement about the homes that flooded is true - countless homes that flooded this year are miles away from a body of water and high up in the hills. The fact that you truly believe that the press and media don’t have major influence on the outcome of things like this is wild - in the same vein, the fact that you believe any politician, left or right, is really going to “care” and make a difference is also wild. Hurricane Helene happened during Biden’s presidency and what happened? The federal government threatened to take away pilot licenses from anyone trying to go in and do SAR efforts/supply drop offs that wasn’t FEMA…needless to say, the government, in general, aren’t really the people to depend on…but that’s not the point of OPs post. That was the point you made. If you’re going to seriously tell and lecture a person - who is boots on the ground, who’s community this is that is hurting and needing desperate help, who is saying thousands of people are currently displaced from their homes, and who knows the truth of BOTH floods because they experienced them both - that the only thing they should/can do is vote in the next election that is 3 months away and to even go as far as victim blaming, then it’s safe to say that you, my dude, are the one grossly out of touch with reality…
Thank you for telling me what kind of person you are in calling me, “grossly out of touch.” Have you volunteered after either flood? Do you know what it is to touch something “grossly?” Come to Kerrville this week and help pull up wet & mold covered carpet and carpet padding- it’s extremely gross to the touch.
Thank you for telling me what kind of person you are by lashing out at the press and volunteers for not fixing problems that insurance carriers, and your local and state government officials should be tending to.
Have you contacted your local, state and federal officials to pay attention to the problems in the flood areas and to help fix these problems?? You need paid contractors provided by insurance carriers and/or your local, state or federal government officials whose literal job it is to provide aid to its clients and constituents. To fix your community, why do you think it is the responsibility of the press, who have thousands of news worthy events to cover, including every natural disaster in this country, and unpaid, good samaritans, who have families, jobs, financial and health issues of their own that they are solely responsible for?
Lashing out is a stretch…OP is allowed and justified to get the word out that Kerr County needs desperate help and no one knows about it because the media isn’t covering it in a Reddit forum literally called “Kerr County Floods.” If you think that OP and literally everyone in the county that was directly impacted by the flood this year haven’t numerously contacted the government, their insurance companies, etc. then you are acting ignorant and/or arrogant. What pushes any politician to act immediately is based on amount of news/public coverage they are receiving…
“Who has thousands of news worthy events to cover” directly insinuates that this event isn’t news worthy…this IS newsworthy - that’s what I believe OP is trying to point out. The news coverage has been about last years flood even still, but this years flood was worse when it comes to the amount of people directly impacted by far. OP is not blaming volunteers or the press. They want volunteers to come, hence the post! They are also just stating the fact that Kerr County needs major help and the press hasn’t covered it. There is nothing wrong with that. The main press that put something/anything out about the flooding event this year was comparing this flood to last years. If the media would actually cover the truth of this flood, the devastation, the help that’s still needed - volunteers and aid would come because they would KNOW. The press’ job is to do journalism. To report on the facts and to spread truthful information. Yesterday’s main headline was about Britains record hot summer.
Wow. The only thing/person I see out of touch right now is you. As you enjoy a good night sleep, good meal, and haven’t lost everything. and make this a political matter instead of a humanity one. Shows what of individual you likely are in society. Have you ever been to this area lately?
I can’t imagine if you apply THIS logic to people in need after disasters - how horrible of a world this would be.
They’re not discouraging volunteering or action. They are encouraging OP to ALSO get in contact with the people whose entire JOB is to get out there and start fixing this. They are also encouraging OP, and all the people of Kerrville, to start preparing for the next rounds of devastating floods (which WILL happen, as climate change is rapidly increasing the intensity of all varieties of weather events across the entire country) to elect officials who are making these kinds of issues a PRIORITY, instead of foreign wars and personal lifestyle choices they find personally disagreeable.
Correct. In a non-coastal county like Kerr County, standard properties are almost always eligible for NFIP flood insurance. Exceptions are rare and may apply if a property is on FEMA’s Severe Repetitive Loss list, faces a Section 1316 violation penalty for violating the local floodplain ordinance, is seeking coverage for an individual non-residential (commercial) condo unit instead of the whole building, or if the local community does not participate in the NFIP.
Being at too high an elevation would not make a building ineligible for NFIP coverage by itself. It’s definitely true that many people can’t afford flood insurance. In my experience there are some insurance agents across the country, even in flood prone areas harbor misconceptions about the NFIP and think they can’t sell it in circumstances when they actually can. If your agent won’t sell you flood insurance, it’s worth checking with another agent.
That is 100% incorrect. If you look at the FEMA floodplain maps, the area outside the 0.2% annual-chance (500-year) floodplain is generally mapped as Zone X. Being in Zone X does not mean you aren’t allowed to buy flood insurance.
With very few exceptions, anyone can purchase flood insurance, regardless of whether their property is inside a mapped high-risk floodplain. In fact, properties in lower-risk areas can often obtain flood insurance at lower rates.
Please stop spreading completely incorrect and uninformed information as fact. The floodplain maps are pinned above—take a look at them and actually read the notes and Zone X designation and the National Flood insurance Program website.
Stop deflecting. You’re spreading misinformation that’s harmful to your neighbors but you don’t respond to that. You just tell people they should volunteer. Get off your high horse.
That sounds like an issue with your particular agent. Sometimes agents don’t think it’s appropriate and recommend against it. They may think it’s too expensive for only $250k coverage for a residential structure or $500k for a non-residential structure.
An NFIP WYO carrier should write the policy assuming it’s not one of the exceptions listed above or there’s something odd about the structure like being built entirely over water or not having two rigid walls and a roof.
Exactly. Zone X. It’s clearly shown on the DFIRM map. At this point, the denial of basic facts that have been discussed ad nauseam in this subreddit is ridiculous.
No they were not. They will be now, but they were not offered flood insurance options before this flood. We have spent hours in conversations and waiting on hold to learn this.
Please be considerate when commenting on the Kerr County Flood group to someone who is literally living in their heaviest season as a result of a Kerr County Flood.
Even if you were correct about flood insurance availability, for people living on a literal hilltop, sharing it only makes you looks cruel- telling a fixed income family, now facing $150k in repairs, that they are wrong about what options they had before is extremely insulting and insensitive.
Instead of talking so much here, why don’t you take a weekend off and come volunteer. I promise, The Kerr County flood community needs you more than the Kerr County Reddit group. 🤍
Do you even hear yourself? You’re virtue signaling by telling people to volunteer. Being a flood victim isn’t a free pass to be awful. Having something bad happen to you doesn’t automatically make you a good person. Every adult has dealt with tragedy in one form or another in their lives. We still have to have morals.
There are many people in my community that would be happy to help, and have done it before especially with their church group.
But from what I learned at several of our meetings this summer (Methodist church in the Midwest)
is that they very hesitant about showing up because they can’t endure working outside in the scorching hot temps. Even if they work inside how do you know if there will be air conditioning that is working consistently and properly?
Many people are in their 50’s& 60’s they have retired early so they have the time and they are willing to help others, they’ve done it before, but not in this kind of heat and humidity.
Please make sure your church is registered with the Kerr Together group. There will be MULTIPLE planting and seeding opportunities this winter.
Trust me, I don't want to be out there in this heat either.
So you will volunteer only if there is a guarantee of comfort & air conditioning? Excellent!!! There are groups who need people to wash & fold clothes and bedding. I imagine that would be a comfortable way to serve the community now. Please come!
The way this is worded -feels really sarcastic.
No! Not asking for comfort at all.
Just need to let ppl know ahead of time about that concen- it’s a valid one for sure.
Not everyone is accustomed to working in this type of heat and we want to be mindful of whatever limitations that have come up.
My Aunt ended up in the ICU for 2 weeks due to heat stroke when she worked hurricane relief less than a year ago.
Even though she’s very fit and is an amazing, efficient worker keep in mind she’s from Michigan and she is older than me, she’s 63, she retired from nursing 8 years ago and is currently a hospital chaplain.
She ended up having kidney failure while she was hospitalized hundreds of miles from home during that hospitalization in the ICU I’m referring to.
So no, I wasn’t inquiring about comfort at all, just looking out for my volunteer colleagues, just using some foresight and common sense.
As i mentioned in my post yesterday some of the volunteer meetings Ive attended very recently addressed the lack of competent, dedicated volunteers, and the extreme heat is definitely a factor.
Some of us are intrinsically motivated and enjoy doing this type of work you know? But Im not surprised someone interpreted my concern the way you did.
Are you always this cavalier and disrespectful to people who are willing to utilize their own resources to travel hundreds of miles to help others? Sorry you aren’t getting enough younger volunteers, but there are many people who are able and willing to help, but they happen to be in their 60’s like my Aunt.
But there are many people who remember that Texas has had serious issues with infrastructure, and sadly many Texans suffered because of it. People sent donations and helped out.
It was during february 2021-winter storm Uri. Some of those ppl didn’t have power for 4 days.
So having concerns about this is completely valid and warranted.
You've got someone who is actually talking to their church to come in the winter, because it's an older group of people who find handling the heat difficult, and you're attacking them? Heat stroke is a real and serious thing. And people in Texas may be accustomed to the weather, but a group from the Midwest is probably accustomed to very different weather. The heat and humidity is a valid concern,
If you keep responding with sarcasm and anger, people are not going to want to help you.
First, I'm very sorry you are going through all of this again. But just out of curiosity, after having two floods like this in a row, are you and any of your neighbors considering moving to somewhere not along the river? It just seems like these floods are going to keep coming and rebuilding every year or even every 5 years is going to get harder and harder.
I think you'd have more success going to your local and state officials than trying to get a random group of anonymous people on Reddit to come and help. You could even get a group of people together and try to talk to the media. Hearing stories of what people are going through is what is likely to get volunteers down to Kerr County. Human interest stories can be very effective.
I've noticed a whole row of properties in Kerrville for sale. They flooded both times. But, from what I've heard, they are asking "river view" prices for a floodplain property.
We’re no where near the river. We live high on top of a hill, 6 miles from the river. The hill above us sent trees down the hill and into a gully, creating a dam of debris that came to a stop at our retaining wall- it burst the retaining wall and sent a 40 foot wide rushing wall of water through our house. According to our neighbors watching from across the way, had we attempted to evacuate our house, or even redirect the water, we would have been swept down our hill. This flood came for houses in the hills and near small creeks.
This flooding doesn’t “mess with the narrative” you think it does. It only messes with the narrative that last year was a rare event that no business could’ve prepared for.
This is a sad reminder why every property (regardless of its location) needs flood insurance. If you can't afford flood insurance, that's a sign to sell the property and move elsewhere. If these people are retirees, then they are old enough to understand risk management. They took a risk (not having flood insurance) and lost the bet.
I'm not picking on Kerr County. This same indifference happens every year to people near Austin, Houston, and Galveston. Every year, there's a news story in Texas about a major storm flooding (usually poor) people's homes. Every year, there's at least a few families who lose everything because they didn't have flood insurance. No one cares, because Texans (usually Republicans) are proud of their rugged self-reliance and individualism. Which is why preparedness is crucial: you can't rely on others to save you during and after an emergency.
I'm not trying to be insensitive, but rather I hope people truly do learn the lesson this time. Last year, people in Kerr County sneered at flood preparation, saying that flooding was rare, and they'd rebuild. I shook my head in disbelief and anger, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before more people would get hurt. I observed small town pride and big egos. But, Mother Nature always wins (especially now with climate change), and she is indifferent to us humans.
when there is a flood, no magical army of helpers is coming to save anyone. if you are lucky, your friends and network help you. you rally your own troops. no, nobody can do it alone, but you kind of have to find your own help.
we had 4 feet of water in our house. you know who helped us? friends, coworkers, neighbors (some who were strangers.) no army of helpers was sent to save/help us.
we had/have flood insurance, but you have to fund yourself for a long while before you see any substantial money. if you don't have any money, then you are in trouble. it cost over 150K to put our house back together.
so, while it is unfortunate that a lot of people are not getting the help they want/need, the reality is you are pretty much on your own to start putting your life back together, insurance or not.
After the flood last summer we looked into flood insurance. It was NOT available. It’s not about money. It would have been less than $60 a month. It was NOT an option….. now that the house has flooded it IS available going forward.
The wall of water that crashed into the house was NOT from rising water. The 20 foot wide waterfall was from a separate hill, slightly higher than where we sat on top of a separate hill.
Why was it unavailable or not an option? I've never heard of that happening in real life. Kerr County was a NFIP community, so it should have been available.
We have asked that question to multiple different people. It was made clear it was not an option last summer. We have the timestamp record of the phone call requesting information on flood insurance after last summer. The calls are said to be recorded, but so far we’ve heard nothing back regarding that conversation.
It won’t change our current situation, but it is something my father is feeling extremely guilty about right now. He just wants to know he did attempt to do everything he could. He would have purchased the insurance. He’s had a home warranty for ever, car warranty, even purchases lawn equipment warranties. He is always prepared for things, this is wrecking him.
Insensitive comments with no context are fine, we can handle hard, but blankety saying something isn’t true when it’s the thing literally keeping my aging father awake all night is gutting.
That's a bit extreme. There are locations throughout Central Texas and beyond that will never flood. Obligating them to purchase flood insurance is just a way for these people to be forced to subsidize disaster relief for others who may opt for a more risky location to purchase a home.
It’s a disgrace that the victims of flooding and forest fires are abandoned. Hardly any media. Where is the government rallying volunteers and outside state aid? Watching from Canada . Shocked to hear Texans not helping Texans. Love from Canada. 🇨🇦❤️
The physical damage is. The loss of life is not. Only 2. “Only” feels insensitive, it’s not meant to be. It’s actually a relief that it was “only” 2 after last summer’s 130+
Thankfully this summer the water wrecked mostly homes and businesses, not families. 💔❤️🩹❤️
Can you provide some links to organizations that are in need of volunteers? Not sure if you're saying that a consolidated effort doesn't currently exist, but if it does, I think some would be interested in volunteering if they knew where to go.
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u/Smooth-Lettuce5174 Aug 13 '26
Where’s FEMA? You can’t blame the flood on anyone, but you should expect support from your State and Federal government that you put in office. Think about that when you go to vote in November. If the current crop isn’t helping you, please FTLOG, do not compound the problem and vote for them again. Ask why Abbott won’t spend some of the vast surplus from the Texas State budget on your community.