Heavy rain pounding Texas Hill Country from Wednesday into Thursday triggered flash flood emergency warnings as creeks and rivers surged quickly across the region.
By Thursday morning, two flash flood emergencies remained in effect in the Hill Country, affecting Kerrville — the city where the deadly Camp Mystic flooding occurred in July 2025 — as well as Hunt, Uvalde and Knippa.
Officials reported evacuations and water rescues in all four communities, warning of life-threatening flash flooding as floodwaters were seen entering some buildings.
In Hunt, the Guadalupe River climbed sharply from 9 feet to 19 feet between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. CT, leaving some roads and bridges inaccessible.
Engineers were called to inspect the Highway 87 bridge over the Guadalupe River into Comfort, Texas, amid concerns that the force of the floodwater may have compromised its stability, Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarcyz told ABC News. ABC News has learned that engineers determined the bridge is structurally sound for now.
At the town’s evacuation center, 63 residents were sheltering with their pets as they waited for the storm threat to pass.
Below the bridge, swift water carried debris through the current. Although the river had begun to recede, authorities said another rise could arrive later Thursday, though they did not expect it to approach the levels seen earlier in the morning.
The National Weather Service upgraded its flash flood emergency Thursday, warning that a “large and deadly flood wave” had started along the Guadalupe River near Kerrville and was moving downstream through Center Point toward Comfort, Waring, Sisterdale, Crown and Bergheim.
The river gauge at Center Point rose 32 feet in four hours and was expected to reach a crest similar to the catastrophic July 4, 2025, river flood.
A rainfall rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour was forecast for the region. Up to 20 inches of rain had fallen in the Uvalde area over the previous 48 hours — more than six months’ worth of rain for this area — with 8 inches falling in 2 hours.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press conference on Wednesday that disaster declarations had been made for 59 counties, with the possibility of more being added.
He said that more than 75 people had been rescued so far and that the expected rainfall from this storm could exceed 30 inches, 10 inches more than the level recorded during last year’s deadly floods.
“We are dealing with and responding to a flood that is likely going to break records,” Abbott said. “There are over 1,300 state personnel from more than 30 agencies that are already activated. More than 800 vehicles, more than 75 boats, and 20 aircraft have been deployed. Our primary focus right now and throughout the remainder of this torrential rain is saving lives.”
The NWS issued a flash flood emergency warning for Boerne, located in Texas Hill Country about 55 miles southeast of Camp Mystic, on Wednesday afternoon, urging residents to relocate to higher elevations immediately.
“This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION,” the NWS warning stated. “SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!”
A rain gauge near Boerne measured 3.5 inches of rain within one hour Wednesday morning, according to the NWS. The Cibolo Creek rose 10 feet in just 90 minutes — between 9:45 and 11:15 a.m. local time, and measured at a record-high level of more than 22 feet.
A flash flood emergency was also issued for D’Hanis, Texas, about 60 miles southwest of Boerne, where between 4 and 10 inches of rain have fallen, according to the NWS. The Seco Creek is rapidly rising, prompting local officials to advise those in flood-prone areas to move to higher ground without delay.
Intense rainfall began in parts of Texas Hill Country on Tuesday, where some areas received between 6 inches and 16 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
The NWS had previously issued a high risk for flash flooding — a level 4 out of 4 — for the same region on Wednesday due to a forecast of an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain.
A “high risk” is a rare occurrence. It’s only issued about 4% of days, but accounts for around one-third of all flood-related fatalities and 80% of all flood-related damages, according to the National Weather Service.
Between 4 and 12 inches of rain had fallen by noon Wednesday, and an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain were possible in the area. Flash flood warnings were also issued for Kerrville, Uvalde and just north of San Antonio.
Life-threatening flash flooding occurred at low water crossings, small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses, according to the NWS.
In Uvalde County, about 100 miles southwest of Boerne, at least 25 rescues had occurred by 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Additional rescues were underway Wednesday afternoon in North County, where the Leona River gauge reached nearly 20 feet, according to the Uvalde Police Department.
When will the heavy rain, flooding risk end
The flood watch across Texas Hill Country remains in effect through Thursday.
The same area faces a level 4 of 4 risk for flash flooding on Thursday,with the heaviest rain expected between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. Another round of heavy rain could occur Thursday night.
Isolated additional rain totals of more than a foot are possible through Thursday, forecasts show.
Why Texas Hill Country is prone to flash flooding
Texas Hill Country is often referred to as “Flash Flood Alley,” one of the most flood-prone regions in the U.S., because the weather and landscape in the south-central Texas allow for rapid flood events, according to the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI).
The “alley,” which stretches from Dallas to San Antonio and encompasses the Colorado and Guadalupe River basins, is highly susceptible to dangerous flood events due to its steep terrain, shallow soil and repeated high rainfall events.
Much of the region is situated on a floodplain between tall hills, funneling any rainfall into rivers and creeks, causing them to rapidly rise. In addition, the clay soil does not easily absorb water and triggers high water runoff once wet, the TWRI said.
Major floods have occurred over nearly all sections of the Guadalupe River Basin, according to U.S. Geological river streamflow records dating back to the 1800s.
High rainfall intensities are a common occurrence because the Gulf provides an infinite source of moist air, as does the Pacific, which produces monsoonal moisture as well as cool air masses from the north that converge to produce extreme rainfall events.
Last year, more than 100 people died, including 25 girls at Camp Mystic, as a result of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River during the Fourth of July weekend.
The torrential rain that turned the river into a raging wall of water was fueled by unique atmospheric conditions, meteorologists and climate scientists told ABC News last year.
Heavy rain combined with slow-moving thunderstorms caused the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in less than an hour, officials said.
ABC News‘ Melissa Griffin and Faith Abubey contributed to this report.
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