At least two people have died as catastrophic flooding overwhelmed Texas Hill Country communities still recovering from last summer's devastating Guadalupe River disaster that killed more than 130 people. The deaths were confirmed on July 16 by Gov. Greg Abbott as extreme rainfall totaling nearly 2 feet in some areas turned rivers into record-breaking torrents and forced hundreds of emergency water rescues.
A man near Comfort was swept away in an RV, Abbott said. A woman in Uvalde died after floodwaters overtook her vehicle on a roadway. Jennie Steward identified one victim to the Associated Press as her husband, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville. "It's really hard that I wasn't there with him," she said, adding that they'd just celebrated their third anniversary. She was visiting her parents when a neighbor told her their mobile home had been swept away.
Record Rainfall Strikes Vulnerable Communities
Leakey, Texas has received 23.37 inches of rain since Monday afternoon, according to totals from the Weather Prediction Center. Kerrville, hit hard by storms in July 2025, recorded 20.71 inches at one station. Most rainfall concentrated in Uvalde, Kinney, Bandera, Kerr and Gillespie counties, where widespread totals reached between 6 and 13 inches, Abbott said on July 16.
The deluge forced rivers including the Guadalupe, Nueces and Frio to surge near or past record levels. The Nueces River near Uvalde crested at a record 28.01 feet on July 16, according to preliminary data, shattering the previous record of 24.88 feet set in 1996. Abbott said the Nueces was expected to reach two times the flow of Niagara Falls. More heavy rain is expected on July 17 due to a slow-moving weather pattern, the National Weather Service said.
Fifty-nine Texas counties were under flood watch, Abbott said on July 16.
Emergency Response and Ongoing Rescues
More than 230 water rescues have been performed since flooding began, Abbott said. There were 2,350 emergency responders working on flood response, and about 1,400 vehicles including helicopters, rescue boats and high-profile vehicles had been deployed.
Texas Game Wardens said they've been involved in rescues from homes, submerged vehicles and cars swept off roads. They shared video of a responder carrying a small child wearing a life vest and snorkel goggles through floodwaters into a waiting boat. Another video showed a rescue by helicopter. Photos from Kerrville show water from the Guadalupe River covering roads and downed trees. Video shared by Texas Game Wardens showed vehicles submerged and being swept away.
"We're facing record-shattering rainfall that leads to very dangerous flooding. We want to do everything we possibly can to protect all lives," Abbott said. Officials urged residents not to drive on any roads covered by water.
Shadow of Last Year's Tragedy
Flooding just over a year ago, over the night and early morning of July 4, 2025, caused the Guadalupe River to pour into surrounding communities, killing more than 130 people, including 28 at a Christian summer camp for girls, Camp Mystic. Abbott said the lessons learned from that flooding event have served to prevent more catastrophe this time, though the behavior of the water along riverfront campgrounds is different than it was then. Abbott said early on, over 80 people were cleared from campgrounds.
Flood warning systems installed after the 2025 flooding were activated, he said.
Why This Matters:
The return of catastrophic flooding to Texas Hill Country barely a year after the deadliest flood in the region's history underscores the vulnerability of communities facing increasingly extreme weather events. While flood warning systems installed after the 2025 disaster that killed more than 130 people helped save lives this time, two families are still grieving preventable losses. The concentration of record rainfall in the same counties hit hardest last summer raises urgent questions about infrastructure resilience, emergency preparedness funding, and whether current protections adequately safeguard residents in flood-prone areas. With climate patterns producing more intense rainfall events, the human cost of inadequate flood mitigation will continue mounting without sustained public investment in warning systems, infrastructure upgrades, and coordinated emergency response capabilities that reach every vulnerable community.