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First responders in Texas on Friday rescued people trapped in dangerously rising floodwaters in the southern part of the state after days of heavy rains led to flooding that killed two people.
Water rescue efforts are underway in several areas west of San Antonio, including Sutton, Crockett and Zavala counties, authorities said. Floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10 in a rural area near Ozona, and part of a bridge over the Nueces River in Uvalde County collapsed, officials said.
Rescuers aboard boats and helicopters have rescued more than 200 people since the storms began on Tuesday, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
The U.S. National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency early this morning for the city of Sonora in Sutton County, 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio.
The local sheriff’s office used a boat to rescue one person, and local officials urged residents of low-lying areas along the Dry Devils River to evacuate because of the heavy rain, although the order was not mandatory, Chief Deputy Jon Gann said.
“The water is right up to the edge of the bank,” Gann said. “If we get more, we will invest in homes.”
Officials in Crockett County said multiple boat rescues were underway near Ozona, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio, and many roads were flooded and impassable.
About 180 miles (290 kilometers) south in Zavala County, near the border with Mexico, rescuers rescued people from floodwaters and urged residents to stay away from the area, officials said. The Texas Department of Transportation said floodwaters have closed a 50-mile (80-kilometer) stretch of U.S. Highway 57 from La Pryor to its intersection with Interstate 35 southwest of San Antonio, and parts of the highway are not expected to reopen until Monday.
Flash flood warnings have been issued for several other counties in the Texas Hill Country, where many areas are still reeling from devastating flooding a year ago. Flood warnings were in effect throughout the weekend in many locations downstream of hard-hit areas, where rain eased on Friday. Some rivers were expected to reach historic levels.
Some areas received 60 centimeters or more of rain this week.
The storms and flooding threatened several counties near the Mexican border and in the Hill Country near San Antonio. About six million residents across Texas were under a flood watch this week.
One person who died was driving on a flooded road and was 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 Guadalupe is the same river that was devastated by flash floods last year when two dozen children and caregivers were there died at Camp Mystic.
The weather service said the slow-moving severe weather system will meander northwest Friday, heading toward the Texas Big Bend in the western part of the state.
In Uvalde, one of the cities hardest hit by flooding, water receded and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened. The emergency services there were busy clearing up rubble. But later Friday morning, police asked people in the Chalk Bluff area to evacuate because of rising water. The city was inundated by floods on Thursday night, shutting down most external routes.
Sandra Gomez surveyed the damage to her Uvalde home Friday after leaving it before the flooding. She said about 15 centimeters of water got inside, leaving mud all over the house where she has lived since last year. She said she was luckier than other people she knows whose homes were less than 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) under water.
“Well, it’s really, really emotional,” she said, adding, “Material things that I can replace. It may take a while, but I can replace those, but I can’t replace my family. So my family is safe and that’s all that really matters.”
The unfolding crisis brought back haunting memories of last summer’s Hill Country floods that killed more than 100 people on the Fourth of July holiday.
So far, the Guadalupe River has remained below the record level set in 2025. Near Camp Mystic, which has not reopened since last year’s tragedy, the Guadalupe River reached about 20 feet (6.3 meters) at Hunt, enough to trigger flooding, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Water Prediction Service.
