KERRVILLE, Texas — More lives were lost in last year’s July 4 flood in Central Texas, but there was significantly more property damage this go around.
According to the most recent numbers, more than 1,400 homes across the Hill Country were damaged in this year’s flood. Since August, disaster case managers have helped over 930 families navigate the recovery.
“The main difference between this year and last year, is we have more damaged properties,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. “And we have more household that have been impacted. We have less funding to deal with. And we don’t, at this time, have FEMA individual assistance for it to come along side and be a supplement with charitable dollars.”
The first critical step was getting emergency funds to homeowners and businesses. Two months ago, the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country sent $1.6 million in grants to four nonprofits across the region. Each household received between $500 and $1,500 to address pressing needs. So far, they’ve helped 1,100 families across the region.
Seventy families have been placed in temporary housing. The foundation committed $11.3 million to home rebuilds, and home repairs have started across the region. Dickson says Kerr County is moving into the long-term recovery part of the process.
“The home repair program is going to be a long-term program,” Dickson said. “Our 2025 flood, we’re still repairing homes. We helped well over 100 people get back in their homes before the year mark last year. And we expect to do the same in even bigger numbers this time.”
After the July 16 flooding, the majority of the damage was in Kerr, Uvalde and Zavala counties. There was damage in other Hill Country communities, but those numbers pale in comparison to the other areas.
So far, individual assistance through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help homeowners is still under review. Dickson says they are still accepting donations to the Texas Hill Country Flood Relief Fund so they can reach as many people as possible.
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