Kerrville holds first media briefing, says no one missing after flood in city limits

The city of Kerrville held its own press conference Thursday afternoon at the Public Safety Building, briefing media on the day’s catastrophic flooding hours ahead of a joint city-county briefing planned for Friday — even though both the city and Kerr County separately declared local disasters earlier in the day.

Kerrville Police Chief Jerel Haley led the briefing, detailing the scope of Thursday’s flash flooding. Up to 20 inches of rain fell across the city over a two-day span, Haley said, including roughly 8 inches within a single two-hour period overnight. Town Creek, Quinlan Creek, Dietert Creek and the Guadalupe River all overflowed their banks as a result.

“Over the course of the past 24 hours, the city of Kerrville has responded to some catastrophic flash flooding across our community,” Haley said. “Up to 20 inches of rain has fallen over the past two days.”

Haley said first responders, assisted by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, conducted more than 50 residential and apartment evacuations in flood-prone areas, along with an unspecified number of rescues of drivers who had driven into high-water zones. The city’s Emergency Operations Center was stood up around 2 a.m. Thursday.

Chief Haley Press Conference

Haley said no deaths or missing persons have been reported within Kerrville city limits. The county has confirmed at least one flood-related death in the broader county area, outside city limits.

“Our community grieves, and we grieve hard,” Haley said. “We are still reeling from what happened a year ago. Those are not easily forgotten memories, and to have this happen again so suddenly is, quite literally, devastating.”

Sidney Baker Bridge closure is the city’s biggest challenge

The biggest challenge facing the city is the closure of the Sidney Baker Street bridge, which connects downtown Kerrville. That problem is compounded by the closures of bridges at G Street and Francisco Lemos Street, leaving the city with significantly reduced capacity to move traffic between the north and south sides of downtown. It remains unclear how many homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by Thursday’s flooding.

Kerrville Public Works Director David Barrera said crews spent the previous 24 hours barricading low-water crossings and bridges, and are working with the Texas Department of Transportation to schedule inspections of closed bridges before reopening them. Debris removal is underway, though many accessible roadways still have debris on them, Barrera said. Officials did not provide a specific list of which bridges remain closed at this time.

The city’s surface water treatment plant went offline due to power loss and river conditions, Barrera said, but the city successfully transitioned to its groundwater well system and has maintained pressure at or above 20 PSI. No boil water notice has been issued, and none is anticipated. Crews are continuing to repair flood-related damage to the wastewater system.

Mayor cites regional scope, credits warning systems

Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said Thursday’s flooding had a broad regional footprint, with impacts reported in surrounding Uvalde, Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Real and Edwards counties. He credited improved flood warning systems, developed in partnership with the State of Texas and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, with saving lives Thursday.

“Make no mistake — having accurate warnings in time saved lives today,” Herring said.

Herring praised the response of city departments and the resilience of residents who stepped up to help neighbors clean homes and donate food and clothing in the disaster’s immediate aftermath.

“This community has resilience and grit, not once but twice in a year,” Herring said. “I’m grateful to live here, and I’m grateful for my neighbors.”

A joint press briefing between the City of Kerrville and Kerr County is scheduled for Friday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Full press conference video and audio