The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has awarded $24 million in grants for flood recovery in the Hill Country and South Texas, foundation officials said Wednesday during a virtual media briefing marking three months since the July 16 flood. Foundation CEO Austin Dickson and leaders from three partner nonprofits described where the money […]
JMAT Bernal
FEMA denies individual flood aid for 30 Texas counties as families seek other help
SAN ANTONIO — Families recovering from this summer’s floods are looking for other sources of help after FEMA denied Texas’ request for individual assistance across 30 counties. The agency said the damage did not qualify for its Individual Assistance program or requested hazard mitigation resources. FEMA also denied public assistance for eight counties, including Bexar, […]
FEMA won’t help Texans after July 2026 floods as agency tells states to lead disaster response
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied a request for federal aid to individuals needing help after the July 2026 floods in Texas, which swamped homes in Uvalde and damaged properties across Kerr County — in some cases for a second time in two years. Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are reviewing the decision and the […]
Grants help Hill Country businesses to reopen after flood
KERRVILLE, Texas — Dumpsters and work trucks are a common sight in the Texas Hill Country — even three months after another devastating flood hit the region a little over a year after the deadly flooding during Fourth of July weekend in 2025. “This is like where the main cook is,” Taqueria Jalisco owner Perla Gonzalez […]
Nonprofit aligns funds for camp safety program
KERRVILLE — The Safety Navigator, a national nonprofit dedicated to making safety free and accessible for youth camps, has announced a $287,500 grant from the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country (CFTHC), awarded through the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund in support of The Safety Navigator’s Camp Safety programs. The Safety Navigator was founded […]
Safety Navigator born of tragedy, determined to keep camps safe
A team of safety professionals and parents have been quietly working behind the scenes to assist Hill Country summer camps improve their respective emergency safety plans through an organization that formed after the July 4, 2025 catastrophic flood that claimed 119 lives in Kerr County, including 25 young campers and two counselors from Camp Mystic. […]
Flood loan deadline nears for nonprofits; 0% loans still available for local businesses
Kerr County nonprofits damaged in this summer’s flooding have until Nov. 2 to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans, while a separate program is offering 0% loans to small businesses in Kerr County and Comfort. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a reminder Friday that private nonprofits and faith-based organizations affected by the severe storms, […]
Hill Country camps to receive $287,500 for new safety program
KERRVILLE, Texas — A $287,500 grant from the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country will fund a new safety program for youth camps in the Hill Country, according to The Safety Navigator, the nonprofit receiving the funding. The grant was awarded through the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and will support a program that […]
Whitley Penn Talks: How the Texas Hill Country Is Rebuilding After Tragedy
Isaac Cline, a 19th‑century Galveston meteorologist, is known for saying, “Texas is a land of eternal drought, interrupted occasionally by biblical floods.” In the summer of 2025 and again in 2026, Cline’s proclamation sadly came true as massive, deadly floods struck Kerr County, Kerrville, Uvalde, and many more towns and counties across the Texas Hill Country. Once the water receded, the long process of […]
EIC boosts James Avery signal funding to $160K
The Kerrville Economic Improvement Corporation’s regular meeting Monday produced one item that went beyond what was posted on the public agenda: a signal-funding vote that came in $20,000 above the amount described in the board’s own posted notice. The board also returned to closed-door discussion of the EIC-owned tract once destined for the Megaacrete plant. […]