Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The floodwaters in Kerrville are slowly receding to normal levels. But both the human community and the natural world that the floods devastated are not the same.
Becky Etzler, the executive director of the Riverside Nature Center, explained that “these giant historic cypress trees, bald cypress that line the Guadalupe all through Kerrville, are either gone or damaged. People are right now, rightfully so, very concerned about the loss of life, but we're going to be environmentally impacted by this for years.”
The nature center has a strong volunteer base, which contributed to the relief efforts for days. Strangers have also traveled to Kerrville to try to help.
“The rugby team from Texas State, they contacted me Sunday night. ‘We're in town. Can we come?’ So we had the whole rugby team here yesterday," Etzler said. "We had some nice, young, strong backs to do some heavy lifting for us.”
The Shim’s Be Blessed food truck delivered 50 free lunches, and Mir’s Landscaping supplied a crew with chainsaws.
Crossing the bridge over the Guadalupe and Louise Hays Park, there was a sign that read "Free Sandwiches and Prayer."
“Ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches or peanut butter and jelly? Which one do you want?” asked Jamie Stanford, who drove the five hours from Fort Worth to help.
"We're here to pray with people. Give them a free sandwich if they're hungry, and just to show emotional and spiritual support as much as possible,” she said.
Two young construction workers asked for their sandwiches and took in a prayer.
Brigid Tripp accompanied Stanford to the region. “I think one of the things that stands out too is yesterday, a canine first responder unit came, and he just had tears in his eyes the whole time," Tripp said. "And you know, my heart just knows what they saw."
Also seen on Tuesday afternoon on a log sticking up next to Tranquility Island: a pair of turtles relaxing into the sun.
Kerrville faces a seemingly impossible ordeal to recover and rebuild itself into anything resembling what it once was. But perhaps those turtles were the first real reminder that it's possible.
