Texas Governor Tours Sites of Historic Flooding

On a day that brought a new round of fierce thunderstorms and torrential rains, authorities continued a grim search Monday for 12 people still missing after being swept from riverfront homes, and property owners returned to dramatic scenes of destruction.

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By Tony Plohetski

On a day that brought a new round of fierce thunderstorms and torrential rains, authorities continued a grim search Monday for 12 people still missing after being swept from riverfront homes, and property owners returned to dramatic scenes of destruction.

San Marcos and Hays County officials revised upward the property damage wrought by the historic flood, saying 72 homes had been washed away. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who toured the scene, said the storms brought a punch that "you cannot candy coat" and declared a disaster area in 24 counties, including Bastrop and Hays.

Abbott said the flood in the Wimberley valley is "the highest flood we've ever recorded in the history of the state of Texas."

"It's a powerful message to anyone in harm's way of the relentless, tsunami-type power this wave of water can pose to people," he said.

Eight of the missing people, including small children, were from the same group of Corpus Christi residents who were visiting Wimberley for the Memorial Day weekend, relatives and leaders of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi said.

Joe McComb, a former Nueces County commissioner, told the American-Statesman that other members of the group were unaccounted for except his son Jonathan, who is recovering in San Antonio after he was knocked into the Blanco River but managed to climb out.

The number of missing people could still rise. Officials said they were working from a list of three dozen others whose whereabouts were unknown but had not been confirmed as missing.

In an ominous request, Hays County officials Monday asked landowners along the river to search their properties for the missing as first responders carried out coordinated efforts to find them, their attempts interrupted at times by a new onslaught of severe weather.

"There's nothing better than a person on foot," said Hays County Judge Bert Cobb, noting the shortage of personnel given the vastness of the river frontage. "That's a lot of bank they need to look at."

Cobb also warned volunteers not to put themselves at risk and noted that emergency workers typically require permission from private property owners to step on their land.

Officials have not released the name of the one person confirmed dead in the flooding. Authorities said his body was found in San Marcos on Sunday afternoon, but other details were not available.

San Marcos emergency management coordinator Ken Bell said in a morning news conference that emergency workers continued finding people stranded in the swirling waters and that rescue operations remained active. "We still have people who are on little islands," he said.

Bell said low skies had grounded search flights but that responders were scouring the area on the ground Monday using thermal imagers. He said officials also were contemplating bringing in drones to assist with the operations.

Meanwhile, those who ventured back to their properties confronted a traumatic aftermath.

Hays County Emergency Management Coordinator Kharley Smith said the 72 homes that had been washed off their foundations were mostly along roads in the Wimberley area. She estimated that between 1,200 and 1,300 homes had sustained damage but that it was too early to put a cost estimate on the disaster.

Many of the homes were in the Cedar Oak Mesa subdivision, said Brenda Jacobs, treasurer of the homeowners' association.

Cynthia Ramsay was among those returning to demolished property.

At her ruined bed and breakfast overlooking the Blanco River, Ramsay watched as a stream of volunteers carried out soggy mattresses and beaten-up refrigerators.

On Saturday at 9:52 p.m., she said, some guests started worrying about the swelling river. She waved off their concern, she said, telling them the river had never gotten high enough to threaten her property. But anxious, they grabbed their belongings and left.

Minutes later, she too began worrying -- and within 45 minutes the water had reached her house and rushed onto the first floor.

"We feel very fortunate we didn't lose our lives," Ramsay said.

Hays County officials said the area's reverse-911 system was instrumental in warning residents of danger. Wimberley Mayor Steve Thurber said calls went out at roughly 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. warning residents of rising waters.

He said after those calls went out it became difficult to communicate because cellphone service went down and some land lines are Internet-based.

A round of severe storms brought tornado and flood watches and warnings for most of Central Texas throughout Monday, including the sighting of a possible tornado near Georgetown Municipal Airport. Numerous creeks and streams left their banks, and officials warned against driving through roads covered with water.

At 12th Street and Lamar Boulevard in downtown Austin, several feet of water flowed over the streets, making the busy thoroughfare look and sound more like a river. Dozens of people lined the sides of the 15th Street bridge over Shoal Creek, staring in disbelief and snapping photographs.

Because of the ongoing rains, officials with the Lower Colorado River Authority opened floodgates at Tom Miller Dam to manage the levels of Lake Austin.

Lake Travis also will continue to rise because of the floodgate releases from Starcke Dam and significant inflow from the Pedernales River and other surrounding areas, officials said.

Meteorologists predict more rain Tuesday and the rest of the week.

"This event is not over," Cobb said during a downpour Monday. "I want the public to know we're still on guard, still at our duty post trying to protect life and property."

(c)2015 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

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Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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