KERRVILLE, Texas — One of the largest, most complex rescue and recovery efforts in Texas history was put on hold Sunday as flooding returned to the Guadalupe River in Central Texas. The task of meticulously searching through and clearing the miles of debris piles that remain continues to be a heartbreaking, painstaking task.
Breitbart Texas spoke with residents and volunteers in Kerrville who were busy at work, still clearing debris and searching for the missing, in the first full week since the flood ended. In the nine days since the deadly Independence Day flood, the death toll stands at 129, with 160 people still unaccounted for. In Kerr County alone, 103 deaths have been counted so far, 36 of whom are children.
More dangers returned to Texas river basins on Sunday as torrential rains fell in the Hill Country region. More floods returned to the Guadalupe River basin, and the Lampasas River rose by 30 feet during Sunday’s rains. Recovery and cleanup efforts are set to resume on Monday.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said rescues were taking place on Sunday in San Saba, Lampasas, and Scnleicer Counties. Evacuation orders were carried out in Lampasas, Menard, Kimble, and Sutton Counties, the governor said.
The rescue, recovery, and cleanup process in Kerr and other counties is a methodical and time-consuming process. Debris piles that rise more than 40 feet stretch for miles. Bridges along the Guadalupe River still contain tree trunks, trash, and other debris trapped underneath their spans. Heavy equipment operators were busy clearing the debris piles on Friday after searchers verified the piles did not contain human remains.
Breitbart Texas spoke with one volunteer recovery worker who spent days along the Guadalupe in Kerrville helping to clear debris so searchers could look for remains. Kyle Sinclair of San Antonio joined a team of workers who used shovels, chainsaws, and pickaxes to methodically remove debris as rescue workers, some with cadaver dogs, moved through the piles.
Rescue Volunteer Kyle Sinclair (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Sinclair, the Bexar County GOP Vice-Chair, said he felt compelled to get involved when he first heard the news of the devastating flood. Sinclair said the process of moving through the debris is a slow one. “We saw at least six cadaver dog teams that moved through the area and marked spots with yellow caution tape where the canines showed interest. Sadly, I witnessed several recoveries while there,” he recounted to Breitbart Texas.
Yellow caution ribbon marks area where cadaver canine alerted on debris pile (Rescue Volunteer Kyle Sinclair)
“Before the heavy equipment can move anything, the piles have to be searched and cleared, although it slows cleanup, it’s necessary, with so many missing, it’s critical,” Sinclair emphasized.
The effort to clean up the massive debris field on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville involves more than just volunteers, hand tools, and heavy equipment. Breitbart Texas spoke to a mother and son who walked along the riverbank collecting trash and litter scattered along the bank by hand.
Mother and son cleanup flood debris by hand (1) (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
The woman, who asked not to be named, said her house was located just above the river but did not flood. She says several of her neighbors were not so fortunate. As temperatures rose to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday, she said she and her son felt compelled to help clean up the area however they could. Both carried garbage that they painstakingly picked up from the riverbank to nearby trash receptacles.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the monumental effort to recover from one of the worst floods on record in the area is evident across the small Texas Hill Country town of Kerrville. Hundreds of volunteers with several philanthropic organizations have arrived to feed the more than 2,000 rescue and recovery workers still engaged in search and rescue operations.
Groups Serve Thousands of Meals to Texas Rescue Workers, Flood Victims (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
According to Kerr County officials, thus far, more than 12,000 rescue workers and volunteers have moved in and out of the area, volunteering their services to assist flood victims. The aid consists of federal, state and local first responders and support volunteers that are helping to feed the responders and others who are providing services and shelter to flood victims.
Residents mourn at Independence Day Flood Memorial (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
As searches continued along the riverbank below the city on Friday, a memorial display in downtown Kerrville drew mourners who prayed and left messages of comfort on pictures of the deceased, many of whom are children. The interactive memorial includes fresh flowers placed along a chain-link fence adorned with the photos of the missing and deceased.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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