KERRVILLE, Texas — Gibson’s Discount Center is one of the businesses in Kerrville that flooded two weeks ago. It’s also one of the businesses that will soon receive help after the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announced $18 million in grants for flood relief.
Gibson’s has been a staple in Kerrville for nearly 60 years.
“Here’s the water coming out of the store,” said Gibson’s general manager, Doug Hetzler, when staff arrived a few weeks ago.
The store had never been flooded before this event.
“This year, it was significantly different. We had anywhere from 4 to 6 inches of floodwater and a lot of damage,” Hetzler said.
In just 12 months, this is the second flood impacting Kerr County. Hundreds died in the devastating floods of July 4, 2025.
“Every family we committed to helping will continue to receive that support,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.“We are not choosing between last year’s survivors and this year’s survivors.”
As part of the flood relief grants, $5 million is going to the Lift Fund. Dickson said it will help businesses like Gibson’s that were impacted by this flood.
“Ninety-seven percent of that money is from last year’s donations that donors have explicitly freed up for us to use this year,” Dickson said.
A lesson learned from the last flood is that housing was the most complex and expensive part of recovery. The foundation announced $11.3 million in grants to housing in Kerr County.
“We have massive need across the region,” Dickson said. “We have more homes affected in Kerr County than last time.”
With this being a regional disaster, the foundation has established the Texas Hill Country Flood Relief Fund, specifically created to assist with recovery efforts in the 10 counties they serve.
“Uvalde County saw significant damage,” Dickson said. “We also have damage in Kendall County, in Gillespie County, in Real County.”
Anyone impacted by this recent flood is encouraged to fill out a needs assessment on the Community Foundation’s website. That will be the fastest way for a case manager to determine what type of help they can provide.
“We need governmental support, absolutely,” Dickson said. “But we also need donations to help people get back to some sense of normalcy again.”
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2026/07/31/flood-recovery-plan
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