An individual views the Guadalupe River after flash flooding occurred alongside its banks on July 16, 2026 in Middle Level, Texas. Flash floods swept throughout elements of Central Texas, prompting evacuations and triggering a number of water rescues.
Brandon Bell/Getty Pictures
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Brandon Bell/Getty Pictures
Harmful floods are hitting southcentral Texas — a area that simply marked one yr since greater than 130 folks died in catastrophic flooding. Gov. Greg Abbott says a minimum of one particular person has died within the present emergency.
Greater than 80 rescues have been made, the governor’s workplace mentioned at noon on Thursday, including that greater than 1,300 responders and 46 boats have been deployed.
A large swath of Texas is below flood alerts, from the Kerrville space south to Uvalde and past to Laredo. In elements of Uvalde County, muddy floodwaters coated roads and fields and rose almost as excessive as homes’ rooftops, in keeping with a video posted by Texas Division of Public Security.
In some circumstances, communities that endured flooding on Wednesday are being deluged as soon as once more.
“Showers and thunderstorms proceed creating and transferring into areas which can be at present experiencing harmful flooding situations,” the Nationwide Climate Service workplace in San Antonio and Austin mentioned.
NPR member stations in Texas are masking the floods. In some circumstances, residents inform reporters that flooding exceeds ranges they noticed in 2025.
In Kerrville, the town police division mentioned in a midday replace that whereas excessive water had principally receded, the emergency is ongoing, with quite a few street and bridge closures. The company urged residents to not enterprise out.
“There’s lots of people driving round to have a look and that isn’t useful,” the police mentioned.
At the least one summer season camp has evacuated, in keeping with the Texas Newsroom, and state lawmakers say they’re seeing an improved security response to the floods, due to a rise in catastrophe assets equivalent to funding for warning programs and flood mitigation.
The Guadalupe River rose at terrifying pace close to Consolation, Texas, Thursday morning — from 5.46 toes at 5 a.m. CT to 37.05 toes at 8:05 a.m. — in keeping with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Flood sirens blared Thursday morning within the city, northwest of San Antonio that is some 35 miles east of Camp Mystic.
“We’ve already had a number of automobiles swept away,” the Consolation Volunteer Hearth Division mentioned on social media, urging folks to remain off the roads. It posted a video of fast-moving excessive water transferring via a neighborhood.
“Even when the rain has stopped the place you’re, water ranges are more likely to proceed surging all through the day as runoff from upstream strikes via our creeks and rivers,” the division mentioned.
A map on the NOAA web site reveals greater than 20 websites in Texas the place main (in purple) or average (in purple) flood ranges are being noticed or forecast.
NOAA/ Screenshot by NPR
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NOAA/ Screenshot by NPR
Gov. Greg Abbott warns that the flood will seemingly break data, in an space that is traditionally vulnerable to flooding.
“I need to offer you a comparability: The Fourth of July floods final yr had rainfall of 20.29 inches,” Abbott mentioned, in keeping with the Texas Newsroom. “The anticipated rainfall throughout this rainstorm is predicted to be greater than 30 inches.”
Camp Mystic, a Christian summer season camp, stays shut down after 25 campers and two counselors died final yr — the results of a wall of water speeding down the Guadalupe River. They had been among the many greater than 130 individuals who died throughout the Hill Nation area.
Extra extreme rainfall is forecast throughout the Texas Hill Nation Thursday, with the storm transferring westward towards the Massive Bend area on Friday, in keeping with the Nationwide Climate Service.
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