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Survivors of the deadly Fourth of July flooding want Texas legislators to tap into to the state's $24 billion Rainy Day Fund to meet their immediate recovery needs now.
There have been discussions about property tax hikes in Kerr County to help pay for the flood recovery. But there is a growing sense that flood victims should not be paying for the recovery of other flood victims.
The survivors spoke during a Zoom news conference to the media the day before a state legislative committee comes to Kerrville.
Brian Keeper, 68, a Hunt area resident, recognized the Guadalupe River was rising fast toward his home. He managed to warn 11 others by phone about what was happening before he had to flee into the early morning darkness in a life preserver while holding on to his "little dog" and a flashlight.
The artist and boat builder thinks some lives could have been saved with an early warning siren system and a county phone tree to warn residents.
His focus now turns to rebuilding the home he has lived in most of his life, built by seven siblings and friends for what he said was built then for the cost of a "ten speed" bike today. He plans to rebuild only the original footprint with no additions to help keep costs down.
He said the home sat above the 100-year flood plain, and like many survivors, he wondered how he will pay to replace it.
"It will probably be a combination of generous donations, of self-financing, hopefully, you know, FEMA," he said.
Maddie Sloan, the director of disaster recovery and fair housing project at Texas Appleseed, said the checks from FEMA to Kerr residents so far won't go a long way to put people back in their homes.
"The average award for FEMA home repair assistance, as of this week, is about $8,000, so that is not going to rebuild homes. That is not even going to fully repair," she said.
Keeper, who lost all but one of the boats he built in the flood, said his confidence in government has waned, and he believes residents can better protect themselves in the future by being more self-reliant.
Keeper did have much praise for the faith-based organizations, public donations, and volunteers who have helped meet most of their immediate needs to date.
"There's water everywhere," he said. "Bottled water is everywhere. All you have to do is pull up and they load you up. There are porta potties all over the place, so bathroom needs are met. There's even a couple of trailers here where the Hunt Store was that offer showers.
Among the volunteers who have come to town is Doug Quinn, executive director of the American Policyholder Association and CEO of United Survivors Disaster Relief.
"We'll be engaging specifically to make sure the people have what they need for what we call the storm after the storm, which is the upcoming insurance denials, predatory lending institutions trying to foreclose on peoples' property, real estate speculators coming in trying to get peoples' property while they're vulnerable."
Survivors said the official agenda for Thursday's meeting in Kerrville by the Texas Legislature's Disaster Preparedness and Flooding Joint Commitee hardly pertains to listening to survivors and their needs.
The agenda lists items to be discussed as the state and local emergency responses, meteorological data, and future mental health concerns.
