Two people were reported killed in the historic flooding that tore through Texas Hill Country on Thursday, as rescue crews pulled more than 40 people from submerged vehicles and flooded homes across Central Texas. One of the dead was John Mark Steward, 65, whose family said he died in Kerrville after his RV home was swept away overnight.
The deaths gave the Texas flooding flash flood a sharper edge on Friday, July 17, because the danger was still active even after multiple rescue operations had already been completed. The National Weather Service kept a flood warning in place for Kerr County until 6 p.m. Friday, while a flood advisory for Gillespie County remained in effect until 1 a.m.
Heavy rain pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks and triggered emergency notices across Kerr, Uvalde and Kendall counties after more than 28 inches of rain fell in the hardest-hit stretch of the Historic Texas Hill Country. Fredericksburg Fire/EMS said rising water along The Pedernales River led to more than 30 rescues by July 16, with most of them coming between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Texas Game Wardens said they helped rescue more than 40 individuals from flooded homes and submerged vehicles, and Travis County officials urged people to stay out of the water.
The numbers show a storm system that did not just flood roads; it overwhelmed the basic geography of the region. The Pedernales River flows into Lake Travis in Austin, and The LCRA expected Lake Travis water levels to rise 5–7 feet overnight because of heavy rainfall and controlled releases, even though the lake was already 86 percent full. That left officials trying to balance rescues, warnings and water management while the floodwaters were still moving.
There was also a clear gap between the success of the rescues and the scale of the disaster. The operations were being praised for quick teamwork and precautionary measures, yet the flood had already taken lives and left the question of how many people might still be missing unanswered. For families in Kerr County and beyond, the emergency was not a past event on Friday morning; it was still unfolding, with warnings still active and roads and homes still at risk.
