Pounding rain and strong winds battered Central Texas on Sunday, prompting rescuers to halt search operations for victims of the deadly floods that roared through the region just over a week ago.
A slow-moving storm brought heavy precipitation and set off flood warnings in several places along the Guadalupe River, and officials and local residents were bracing for another disaster while still dealing with the aftermath of the July 4 floods. As the rain started to ease up in some parts by midafternoon, some flood warnings were downgraded to flood watches.
In the morning, Kerr County, the area hit hardest by the floods last week, was pounded by heavy rain that gradually subsided by the afternoon. The sheriff’s office there said that rescuers in the western part of the county could resume operations to search for the scores of people still missing, while efforts in the rest of the county remained suspended. Though hopes of finding the missing have diminished, state and local officials have said that search work will continue until every person is found.
Elsewhere in Texas Hill Country, a flood warning remained in effect for parts of other counties, including Travis, Burnet, Williamson and Gillespie. Several rivers in the region, including the Llano, the San Saba and the Lampasas, were also still under a warning.
Communities and residents across Central Texas are still reeling from the catastrophic floods. Some 170 people are still missing statewide, and the wait for families wanting closure is getting more agonizing by the minute. Some who evacuated have started to return to their homes — if they are still standing — but many remain in limbo.
J.R. Haas is one of the residents who were displaced during the floods. About 25 years ago, he built his home in Center Point, Texas, with his father, but now all that is left are memories. As he watched the Guadalupe River slowly rise on Sunday, he said he was not worried about another flood — because there was nothing left of his house to take.
In Kerrville, the epicenter of the July 4 floods, rain came down in sheets on Sunday morning, prompting officials to close some downtown streets and Highway 39, the main road through the city.
But after the rain stopped there, people made their way to a memorial for the flood victims that had been lashed by the morning rain. At the site, next to Herrington Printing Company in downtown Kerrville, there were now washed-out flowers and toppled candles. Some came to pay their respects. Others helped straighten out items, dumping water out of empty candles jars.
Six rescuers gathered at the memorial, embracing one another as tears streamed down their cheeks. They said they had tried to save many of the people who were being honored.
In nearby Center Point, a summer camp for children with disabilities had planned to welcome more than 110 children on Sunday, but the rain forced a change of plans. Most of the camp, called Camp CAMP, sits on a hill 80 feet above the river and was unaffected by the flood on July 4. But the water rose high enough that day to top Skyline Road, which connects the camp to town. Officials worried that might happen again on Sunday, and officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety blocked access to the camp.
The Lampasas River, near Kempner, about 70 miles north of Austin, rose from less than two feet to peak at roughly 33 feet on Sunday morning. By the afternoon, the river had fallen below flood levels.
James Cheshire, the owner of an R.V. park off Sulphur Creek in the city of Lampasas, said it had been raining steadily there since 1 a.m. The creek, which flows into the Lampasas River, had flooded up to the road in some parts of the city, Mr. Cheshire said.
He said that his R.V. park was on high enough ground that he was not yet worried about having to evacuate, and that he had opened the park for people at greater risk to take refuge. His church did not hold a service on Sunday morning, he added, and it had opened its doors to evacuees instead.
Stephanie McGehee, a Lampasas County resident, said she was used to the Mesquite Creek flooding behind her house three or four times a year. But she said the July 4 disaster had changed the way she thinks about floods.
“It is just awful how quick those floods came up,” she said. “It wasn’t something we ever thought about happening in such a catastrophic way.”
The rain on Sunday was being driven by a weather system high in the atmosphere that has stalled between two high-pressure systems. It has stayed parked over Texas, and another weak system in the area is fueling the continued storm activity. And the flooding risk was expected to linger.
“The rain is going to continue Sunday night into Monday,” said Orlando Bermudez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office for Austin and San Antonio. “Then the chances for rain start to decrease Monday into Tuesday, with a dry forecast midweek to late week.”
Christopher Maag contributed reporting from Center Point, Texas, and Bernard Mokam from New York.
Sonia A. Rao reports on disability issues.
Nazaneen Ghaffar is a Times reporter on the Weather team.
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