Kerrville declares disaster, seeks state and federal help as flooding devastates Kerr County

The National Weather Service extended its Flood Warning Thursday morning to the Guadalupe River at Hunt, forecasting a crest of 21.3 feet that would come within an inch of the community’s historic 1981 flood, as a catastrophic flood event continues to unfold across Kerr County less than a year after the July 4, 2025, flood killed 119 people countywide.

The river at Hunt had already reached a maximum stage of 20.5 feet in the 24 hours ending at 7:50 a.m. Thursday, well above the 10-foot flood stage. The weather service said the forecast crest of 21.3 feet compares to a previous crest of 21.4 feet on Aug. 13, 1981. The warning, which also covers the Guadalupe River at Comfort in Kendall County and at Kerrville, remains in effect for Hunt until late Friday morning.

At that crest level, the weather service’s published impact thresholds show the danger clearly: at 18 feet, vehicles parked near the North Fork of the Guadalupe at Camp Waldemar wash downstream, Schumacher Crossing floods under six feet of water, and some residents become cut off and are advised to stay in place. At 22 feet — just above Thursday’s forecast crest — recreation camps along the North and South Forks see major flooding, canoes and gear are swept from docks, and Highway 39 becomes extremely dangerous for vehicle traffic.

City has declared disaster

The Hunt warning comes as Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. has declared a local state of disaster and formally requested state and federal assistance from Gov. Greg Abbott, saying in a letter routed through Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd that damage to the city is “of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond the City’s capabilities to recover without supplementary state and/or federal assistance.” The declaration, issued under §418.108(a) of the Texas Government Code, activates the city’s Emergency Management Plan and lasts up to seven days unless renewed by City Council.

Where things stand

• Flood Warnings in effect for the Guadalupe River at Hunt (until late Friday morning), at Kerrville (until late this evening), and at Comfort in Kendall County
• A Flash Flood Emergency remains in effect for the Guadalupe River between Center Point and Bergheim until 11:30 a.m., rated a catastrophic damage threat
• The Guadalupe at Kerrville has receded somewhat from this morning’s forecast crest of 22.5 feet but remains high and dangerous; rain is in a lull but not over, with 10 to 15 inches more possible overnight into Friday
• The City of Kerrville has ordered an evacuation for residents along Quinlan Creek; a shelter-in-place order remains active for the rest of the city
• Interstate 10 is closed west of Kerrville

Active rescues underway

Radio traffic monitored by The Lead shows Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, Fire Command, Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, and volunteer fire departments from Ingram, Comfort and Junction engaged in an extensive rescue operation Thursday. Crews reported tree rescues, including at 140 Grey Moss, and attic rescues, including at 2190 Junction Highway and 281 CP River Road, where responders requested a chainsaw to cut through a roof. Mass evacuations were underway along Paradise Avenue, at River Run RV Park, and at Herman Sons Road in Comfort. The Lead has not independently verified every detail captured in the radio traffic and is continuing to confirm specifics with local authorities.

Bridges washed out

• Anderson Ranch Bridge, on Junction Highway, washed out, forcing long detours via Harper Road
• Ingram Hills Road Bridge washed out
• Henderson Branch Bridge, on Bandera Highway (Texas 173), washed out
• Highway 39 bridge in the 900 block suffered a severe washout; TxDOT deployed metal plates as a temporary repair
• Sidney Baker Street bridge in Kerrville closed after a barge — part of the ongoing recovery effort to locate the remains of Cile Steward and Jeff Ramsey on Nimitz Lake — became wedged underneath it
• Town Creek overtopped the Main Street and Water Street bridges in Kerrville, depositing large trees and two propane tanks onto the bridge decks

With numerous connector bridges impassable, east-west travel in and out of Kerrville and Ingram is effectively cut off.

Highways and roads

• Highway 27 closed between Ingram and Mountain Home; separately flooded at Silver Creek and near Boardwalk in the 6200 block
• Highway 39 blocked in the 600 block by a floating storage container and by a mudslide and debris near the 700-800 blocks
• Medina Highway closed from Upper Turtle Creek through Medina
• In Center Point, the Spur 100 low-water crossing is impassable, water is over both the bridge on Texas 480 and the downtown bridge, and River Road, Sutherland Road, Rancho Road, Indian Creek Road and Old Harper Highway are all flooded or impassable
• Arcadia is completely blocked after buildings floated into the roadway; 5th Street has washed away entirely

Center Point may be worse than 2025

Flooding at the Center Point post office — a location that stayed dry during last year’s flood — is one of the clearest signs yet that Thursday’s event may be exceeding July 4, 2025 in that community. The Center Point Fire Department building itself flooded, and a family living next door was evacuated.

River levels

• Guadalupe River at Hunt: 12.2 feet as of 7:50 a.m.; 24-hour max of 20.5 feet; forecast to crest at 21.3 feet late this morning
• Guadalupe River at Kerrville: 16.8 feet as of 5:05 a.m., forecast to crest at 22.5 feet before receding below flood stage by late this evening
• Guadalupe River at Center Point: 37 feet; the gauge rose 32 feet in four hours
• Bear Creek gauge, Kerrville: 27 feet
• Louise Hays Park: estimated 20 to 30 feet, just below the Sidney Baker Street bridge

Shelter, reunification and power

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Thursday morning there was widespread flooding across the city, though he had no reports of injuries or fatalities as of early Thursday.

City West Church, at 3139 Junction Highway in Ingram, is serving as a reunification center. Calvary Temple in Kerrville is serving as a shelter.

Kerrville Public Utility Board reported more than 2,500 customers without power across 98 active outages Thursday, with a large swath of south Kerrville affected. KPUB’s lobby and drive-thru are closed.

Closures today

Kerrville City Hall, Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, Development Services offices, the 216th District Court (per District Attorney Lucy Wilke), MHDD outpatient centers, the Dietert Center, Art Camp at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, KPUB’s lobby and drive-thru, and Peterson Health clinics and urgent care locations are all closed Thursday. Ingram ISD is not holding classes, though activities are continuing.

More rain expected

The National Weather Service says another round of heavy rainfall is likely overnight into Friday morning, with 10 to 15 inches possible in the heaviest bands. The area remains under a Moderate Risk — level 3 of 4 — for excessive rainfall through Friday morning, with forecasters warning the heaviest rain could shift north and west and strike areas already hit hard by this week’s flooding.

This is a developing story and will be updated.