Al menos 2 muertos tras inundaciones repentinas en el sur de Texas, cientos rescatados

At least two people have died as flash floods swept through southern Texas after days of torrential rain, according to KVIA. More than 230 rescues have been made so far, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday afternoon. The flooding hit the same region struck by catastrophic floods in July 2025 that killed at least 130 people.

One fatality was John Mark Steward, 65, who was swept away in his recreational vehicle in Kerrville, according to reporting by The San Antonio Express-News. A 74-year-old man died while driving near Uvalde; a Department of Public Safety crew spotted his vehicle in floodwater about four miles north of the city around 10:30 a.m. local time Thursday, the Uvalde Police Department said.

Governor Abbott said responders deployed more than 85 boats, 20 aircraft and 200 high-profile vehicles to assist. About a year's worth of rain fell in parts of southern Texas this week. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency—its highest alert—for Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt early Thursday, warning that "a large and deadly flood wave" was moving down the Guadalupe River. The river crested at 37.94 feet in Center Point Thursday morning, slightly below last year's flood level. A river gauge in Comfort recorded a 25-foot rise in a single hour.

More than 80 people were evacuated from riverside campgrounds. In Comfort, a group of 42 relatives gathered for their family's 40th annual reunion fled a riverside hotel Thursday morning. "The priority was to get out," Amy Thogmartin, who had traveled from Brooklyn, told KENS. "But the priority was to get out. And we're glad we did, because the people that got back immediately after that, maybe 20 minutes later, the water had risen maybe another 10 feet."

Kerrville Police Chief Jerel Haley said first responders cleared about 50 homes in flood-prone areas. All children's summer camps in Kerr County confirmed their campers were safe.

Warning systems installed since last year's floods were activated early Thursday in Kerr County, allowing residents to evacuate. Ian Cunningham, founder and CEO of River Sentry, a Texas-based company that installed 105 flood-warning towers along the Guadalupe River since last year, said the towers helped save lives. "The same circumstances that occurred last year occurred again this morning but this time, our towers intervened and woke people and got them out of the way," Cunningham said.

Haley said the community remains traumatized by last year's losses. "We are still reeling from what happened a year ago," he said. "To have this happen again so suddenly is literally quite devastating for a lot of us." The forecast is improving in the hardest-hit areas, though flash flood warnings focus on areas farther west from San Angelo and Junction to El Paso.