Memorial Weekend Flood 2015

We had a terrible and devastating flood on Memorial day weekend. I am very ashamed to tell you that we carried on having a lovely time in Port Aransas on the beach while a tragedy occured at home. We got home on Monday evening, just in time for a terrible storm and a tornado warning where we had to take shelter in the closet.
Everyone on our ranch was okay. Even though our ranch is on the San Marcos river just after it merges with the Blanco, our houses and most of our land is situated on a hill above it. We on the ranch, stayed high and dry in our homes. Our river bottom was totally flooded. We lost many more trees and there will be huge clean up of the area when we dry out. But we were very much the lucky ones. So many people lost everything. People lost their lives. For the record, I am including the news report from our local Austin area station. I am also putting up pictures of the debris at our river bottom. Michael and Uncle Larry had to walk the river bottom and check the debris piles for bodies and Michael took these pictures.

7 dead, 12 missing in Memorial Day weekend flooding
KVUE Staff, KVUE.com 7:42 a.m. CDT May 28, 2015

In Blanco County, four people are still considered missing after the heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.

Officials have reported three other flood-related deaths in Central Texas. A man's body was found in a vehicle Tuesday in northeast Travis County and another body was found Tuesday in a vehicle in Georgetown after flood waters receded. The body of 42-year-old Zachary Jones was found Saturday night in Blanco County after his truck was swept away by flood waters. Three people are missing in Blanco County.

A map of flood-related deaths in each county as of Thursday morning. (Photo: KVUE News)
The flash floods destroyed more than 350 homes and left up to 1,000 residents homeless.

San Marcos police said some of the missing people may be part of a larger group from surrounding areas that were in town for Memorial Day vacation. KVUE's partners at KIII in Corpus Christi confirmed Sunday that eight missing people were visiting from Corpus Christi.

Aerial crews are searching for the missing. The crews were grounded temporarily Monday morning due to low cloud ceiling. They're using drones, geographic information system mapping and thermal imaging. Many areas are still not accessible by search crews due to damage.

Blanco River
Blanco River (Photo: Dana Roberson)
More than 50 people from Texas Task Force One are forming search teams on the ground. Public works teams are also being deployed by the state. According to police, those teams will be in Hays County for at least the next two weeks.

Starting around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Hays County issued reverse 911 notifications. By 11 p.m. Saturday, they were responding to multiple high water rescues. Using helicopters and boats, first responders rescued at least 200 people, some from the roofs of their houses. The water rushed in at about 223,000 cubic feet per second.

"It's important that we remember this flood for years to come so that we don't take things lightly. One of our greatest problems has been getting people to understand how devastating a flood is. It costs lives and property. People are...it will change them forever," said Hays County Judge Bert Cobb.

The county is still assessing the total amount of damage. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama pledged federal funding for flood victims.

Authorities ask people to call the hotline 512-393-7796 and register with the county to make sure your loved ones aren't looking for you. Those looking for loved ones should call the Hays County Emergency Operations Center at 512-753-2180.

Officials advise the public to stay away from damaged areas. Roads could have sink holes, unstable debris and active power lines.