HARVEY-RELATED ACTIVITIES
HARVEY-RELATED ACTIVITIES
HARVEY-RELATED ACTIVITIES
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017 near Corpus Christi, Texas. Over the next five days the storm devastated the Texas coast, dropping over 36 inches of rain over 2500 sq mi area and causing unprecedented levels of damage. Harvey is likely the costliest storm in U.S. history, exceeding Hurricane Katrina. Life-threatening flooding in the City of Houston and surrounding areas caught the world’s attention.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017 near Corpus Christi, Texas. Over the next five days the storm devastated the Texas coast, dropping over 36 inches of rain over 2500 sq mi area and causing unprecedented levels of damage. Harvey is likely the costliest storm in U.S. history, exceeding Hurricane Katrina. Life-threatening flooding in the City of Houston and surrounding areas caught the world’s attention.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017 near Corpus Christi, Texas. Over the next five days the storm devastated the Texas coast, dropping over 36 inches of rain over 2500 sq mi area and causing unprecedented levels of damage. Harvey is likely the costliest storm in U.S. history, exceeding Hurricane Katrina. Life-threatening flooding in the City of Houston and surrounding areas caught the world’s attention.
Hill Country Flood 2025
In the early hours of July 4, 2025, steady rainfall across the Texas Hill Country quietly escalated into a deadly flash flood. Fueled by the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry and a stalled front, torrential rains fell over the Guadalupe River Basin – up to 10 inches in some areas – in just a few hours.
Aerial view of the Guadalupe River on July 5, 2025. Source: NY Times, https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/04/us/texas-floods-guadalupe-river
The Guadalupe River is over 200 miles long with the Upper River Basin alone draining 1,400 sq. mi. Kerrville, Hunt, and the surrounding areas sit in what is known by Texans as “flash flood alley,” a landscape defined by steep slopes, thin soils, and rocky terrain – terrain that channels rainwater downstream at high velocities. These natural features, combined with intense rainfall, turned the Guadalupe River into a violent force. Downstream in Hunt and Kerrville, flood gages measured water levels over 30 feet – far surpassing flood stage – levels high enough to submerge entire homes, low-lying roads, and sweep away vehicles.
Map of the Upper Guadalupe River Basin (extending from Hunt, TX to Canyon Lake), showing key locations impacted by the flood on July 4, 2025.
Height of Guadalupe River recorded by a flood gage in Kerrville, TX.
Among the most heart-wrenching tragedies occurred at Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located along the Guadalupe River just outside of Hunt, with over 35 young campers and counselors missing or confirmed dead. Across Hill Country, more than 100 people are confirmed dead as of July 10, 2025, the majority in Kerr County. Despite extensive search and rescue efforts, over 160 people remain unaccounted for across the region. In photo after photo, the destruction is staggering – collapsed bridges, upturned trailers, cars crushed against trees, and gutted homes.
Debris photographed along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, TX on July 5, 2025. Source: Houston Public Media, https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2025/07/07/525648/guadalupe-river-flooding-leads-to-fatalities-in-texas-hill-country/
This catastrophic event has created a rise in awareness for flood danger in the Hill Country and emphasized the need for a modern flood alert system in these areas, especially given that just five flood gages exist along the vulnerable stretch of the Guadalupe River in the Upper Basin. This flood joins a painful list of Hill Country disasters: 1978, 1987, and again in 2015, when 13 people died in Wimberley. But July 2025 stands apart – not only in terms of lives lost, but also how quickly the event unfolded, marking it as one of the most tragic natural disasters in Texas History.
Comal River with water marks on trees above the river on July 7, 2025.