Texas floods have left high waters and a big cleanup job after hundreds
of people are rescued
[July 18, 2026]
By JESSE BEDAYN, JAMIE STENGLE and JOHN HANNA
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — First responders in storm-battered Texas again
rushed to save people trapped in high waters Friday, as more heavy rain
widened the danger from floods that have killed at least two people and
left hundreds more in need of rescue.
A week of punishing downpours dumped more than 2 feet (60 centimeters)
in some areas. The rain was expected to taper off, but another round of
showers worsened already swollen rivers and flooded rural communities
near the border with Mexico that had largely been spared major damage.
Near Ozona, a small town about 200 miles (322 kilometers) west of San
Antonio, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10. More than 50 people
were rescued by boat from flooded apartments and a water-logged RV park.
A section of a bridge also collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde
County, where months worth of rain has fallen in a span of days. In
Uvalde, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio,
floodwaters rushed through Miguel Vasquez’s home twice this week,
leaving a layer of mud and knocking over his refrigerator and other
items.
Debris was strewn around his neighborhood and a neighbor’s shed teetered
over a washed-away section of the property. He said Friday that he'd
been caught in the waters' current and nearly been swept away and
drowned in trying to get to his house Wednesday.
“I had to grab on with my hands and my feet. You couldn’t swim," he
said. "People think that when there’s a flood, you can swim. Swimming’s
not going to help you. It’ll take you. The current’s too strong.”
Almost a trillion gallons of water fell in a flood-prone area
Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit
counties over three days — enough to fill 1.5 million Olympic-sized
swimming pools or supply 11 million homes for a year.
Uvalde County alone got more rain in that period than California has
seen over the last month, according to Ryan Maue, former chief scientist
at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s
signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During
heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow
river basins.
Emergency personnel across a wide swath of southern and central Texas
have rescued more than 570 people, including stranded drivers and people
trapped in homes, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Hill Country residents were
beginning to clean up after floodwaters again barreled down the
Guadalupe River and through communities still reeling from deadly floods
a year ago.
Giant border buoys set adrift on the Rio Grande
Floodwaters on the Rio Grande temporarily closed the two international
bridges on the border with Mexico at Eagle Pass, stranding a few people
on the wrong side. About 600 huge buoys placed on the river to deter
migrants from crossing into the U.S. illegally were set adrift by the
rising waters, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said.
Cuellar said about 480 of them were captured by noon Friday. Critics
have worried about the damage the buoys might do if they became
untethered and got caught along banks and against bridge piers. Each is
about 15 feet (4.6 meters) long and weighs 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms).
[to top of second column]
|
An aerial view shows flooding on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Ozona,
Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In the Hill Country, Serena Reyna woke up Thursday morning to find her
Kerrville boutique, Nu Accents, covered in debris after four feet of
floodwater rushed into the store. She described the store as “a total
loss.”
“The floors, I mean they’re soaked in mud and still you know an inch of
water in some spots," she said.
The Texas Department of Transportation said high waters closed a 50-mile
stretch of U.S. Highway 57 and that parts of the roadway were not
expected to reopen until Monday.
In all, roughly 6 million residents across Texas were under a flood
watch at various points this week.
Residents in hard-hit Uvalde return to flooded homes
Floodwaters had overrun Uvalde and cut off most outside routes, making
it one of the hardest hit cities. The waters were receding Friday, and
officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened.
One person died while driving on a flooded road, swept away near Uvalde,
authorities said.
Another victim, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville, died after
his mobile home was swept into Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, his
wife said. The same river was wrecked by flash floods last year when two
dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic. Authorities on
Thursday said summer campers were safe.
In Ozona, the seat of Crockett County, authorities used seven rescue
boat teams to get people out of the hardest-hit areas. They were taken
to the local civic center for shelter.
Eddie Martin, the county's emergency management director, said the area
received 6 inches of rain after midnight, on top of nearly 10 inches of
rain before that.
“We have more and more accidents on the interstate,” he said. “We have
more and more water pouring into the neighborhoods where we’ve been
pulling people out of.”
___
Stengle reported from Dallas and Hanna, from Topeka, Kansas. Also
contributing reporting were Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut;
Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas; Michael Phillis in Washington, and
Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
