Crews scamble to more water rescues in Texas after days of punishing rains

Near Ozona, a small town about 200 miles (322 kilometers) west of San Antonio, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10. More than 50 people were rescued by boat from flooded apartments and a water-logged RV park.

A section of a bridge also collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde County, where months worth of rain has fallen in a span of days. In Uvalde, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio, floodwaters rushed through Miguel Vasquez's home twice this week, leaving a layer of mud and knocking over his refrigerator and other items.

Debris was strewn around his neighborhood and a neighbor's shed teetered over a washed-away section of the property. He said Friday that he'd been caught in the waters' current and nearly been swept away and drowned as he tried to get to his house Wednesday.

"I had to grab on with my hands and my feet. You couldn't swim," he said, surveying the damage around him. "People think that when there's a flood, you can swim. Swimming's not going to help you. It'll take you. The current's too strong."

Almost a trillion gallons of water fell in a flood-prone area

Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties over three days — enough to fill 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools or supply 11 million homes for a year.

Uvalde County alone got more rain in that period than California has seen over the last month, according to Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area's signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow river basins.

Emergency personnel across a wide swath of southern and central Texas have rescued more than 570 people, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Hill Country residents were beginning to clean up after floodwaters again barrelled down the Guadalupe River and through communities still reeling from deadly floods a year ago.

Homes and businesses were soaked and covered in mud

Vasquez evacuated Thursday. Had he stayed, he said, "I wouldn't have been able to flee."

Serena Reyna woke up Thursday morning to find her Kerrville boutique, Nu Accents, covered in debris after four feet of floodwater rushed into the store. She described the store as "a total loss."

"The floors, I mean they're soaked in mud and still you know an inch of water in some spots," she said. "Everything there was just mud and water and just debris."

The Texas Department of Transportation said high waters closed a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 57 and that parts of the roadway were not expected to reopen until Monday.

In all, roughly 6 million residents across Texas were under a flood watch at various points this week.

Residents in hard-hit Uvalde return to flooded homes

Floodwaters had overrun Uvalde and cut off most outside routes, making it one of the hardest hit cities. The waters were receding Friday, and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened.

Sandra Gomez said about 6 inches (15 centimeters) of water got inside her home and left mud throughout. She said she was luckier than other people she knows whose homes were under 5 or 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) of water.

"Well, really it's very, very emotional," she said. "Material things I can replace. It may take a while, but I can replace those but I cannot replace my family. So, my family's safe and that's all that really matters."

One person died while driving on a flooded road, swept away near Uvalde, authorities said.

Another victim, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville, died after his mobile home was swept into Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, his wife said. The same river was wrecked by flash floods last year when two dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic. Authorities on Thursday said summer campers were safe.

In Ozona, the seat of Crockett County, authorities used seven rescue boat teams to get people out of the hardest-hit areas. They were taken to the local civic center for shelter.

Eddie Martin, the county's emergency management director, said the area received 6 inches of rain after midnight, on top of nearly 10 inches of rain before that.

"We have more and more accidents on the interstate," he said. "We have more and more water pouring into the neighborhoods where we've been pulling people out of."