The federal National Weather Service (NWS) has warned of imminent “life threatening” flash flooding on Saturday for a part of Texas with residents urged to take precautions and avoid flooded roads.
Why It Matters
Texas Hill Country was hit by a wave of deadly flash floods on Friday following a rain deluge, with local authorities saying “about 24” people have been confirmed dead; more than 20 girls who were attending a summer camp are missing.
First responders may find their rescue efforts hampered by further heavy rainfall at the same time as the number of people needing help increases.
What To Know
The NWS has imposed a flash flood warning for western Burnet County on Saturday until 8:30 a.m. CDT.
The service says: “The expected rainfall rate is 3 to 7 inches in 1 hour. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.”
Residents are told to expect: “Life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.”
For safety reasons, people are urged to avoid flooded roads as “most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” “be aware of your surroundings” and “be especially cautious at night.”
A NWS flash flood warning is also in effect for Burnet, Travis and Williamson counties in Texas until 8 a.m. CDT on Saturday, with an expected rainfall rate of “3 to 6 inches in 1 hour.”
For this area, the NWS says: “Flooding is occurring or is imminent. It is important to know where you are relative to streams, rivers, or creeks which can become killers in heavy rains. Campers and hikers should avoid streams or creeks.”
Flash-flood warnings are also in place for western Travis County and fareastern Burnet County around Lake Travis until 5 a.m. CDT on Saturday, along with central Burnet County and northwestern Williamson County until 6:30 a.m.
Central Comal County and central Kendall county have NWS flash-flood warnings in place until 6 a.m. CDT on Saturday.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the NWS Austin/San Antonio office warned people living in Marble Falls, Granite Shoals and Horseshoe Bay to “move immediately to higher ground” and “avoid walking or driving through floodwaters” due to flash flooding.
Separately, flood warnings have been issued for the south fork of the San Gabriel River at Georgetown until Sunday morning, with people urged to “report observed flooding to local emergency services.”
Similar warnings apply to the Guadalupe River near Spring Branch in Comal County until Saturday afternoon; Llano River in Llano County until Saturday evening; Medina River at Bandera in effect until 2:15 p.m. CDT on Saturday; Sandy Creek near Kingsland until Sunday afternoon; the Colorado River near San Saba until early Monday morning; Concho River at Paint Point until Saturday afternoon; and the San Saba River in effect until Monday morning.
Lesser NWS flood watches are in place for a stretch of Texas covering Llano, Burnet, Williamson, Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Blanco, Hays, Travis, Bastrop, Lee, Medina, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Fayette, Atascosa, Wilson and Gonzales counties until Saturday evening, with up to 10 inches of rain possible in some areas.
A flood watch also applies to Lampasas, Coryell and Bell counties, with up to 5 inches of rain possible until this evening.
What People Are Saying
On Friday, via his X account, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote: “Tonight, I signed a disaster declaration to ensure local officials have the resources to continue to respond to floods in the Hill Country. Texas will stop at nothing to ensure every missing person is fully accounted for.”
Referring to the Texas floods, President Trump said: “It’s terrible. The floods? It’s shocking.
“They don’t know the answer yet as to how many people, but it looks like some young people have died.”
What Happens Next
Rescue efforts for those impacted by Friday’s flooding are likely to be impacted by fresh downpours on Saturday and into Sunday morning for some areas.
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