News

Photos: Almost 500 homes and 100 businesses damaged in Kerr County floods

By Manoo Sirivelu,

Camille Phillips, Patricia Lim

Published July 20, 2026 at 5:21 PM CDT

A man peers into debris left inside a room at Alma Maldonado's flood-damaged home in Kerrville following heavy flooding in the area. A group of community members arrived on Saturday to help Maldonado clear out her home.

Residents of the Texas Hill Country are cleaning up and assessing the damage after the second heavy flood in just over a year.

More than 130 people died in the flooding on July 4, 2025. This year, two deaths have been reported across South and Central Texas.

A group gathers to watch the rushing waters of the Guadalupe River in Kerrville following heavy overnight rains last Thursday.

An uprooted tree stump, displaced by the Guadalupe River flooding in Kerrville, sits against a concrete barrier.

Two vehicles smashed into a building during flooding in Ingram last Thursday. The two tenants living in the property evacuated safely early that morning before the damage was done.

Experts, officials and residents say the slower pace of the rainfall — over several days instead of hours — combined with new sirens and increased vigilance helped save lives this year.

"This time was different. We had a lot of alerts. Everyone was warning everyone," said Vinny Mifsud, who leads night kayaking tours out of land he owns next to the Francisco Lemos Bridge in Kerrville. "We were able to get more people to safety, and that's the main thing, saving lives. Our sirens, our officials warned everyone properly. They got the word out."

People walk beside a bridge near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville following damage from flooding in the area.

Vinny Mifsud looks at debris stuck under the Francisco Lemos Street bridge near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

Floodwaters partially cover a structure that sits on an island in the Guadalupe River near Howdy's Restaurant, Bar and Chill, in Ingram.

A clean up crew clears trees off a barge stranded by flooding under a bridge near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

A kayak is mixed with tree limbs and other debris as it sits wrapped around a tree near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

More than 490 homes and 100 businesses sustained damages in Kerr County. Over the weekend, family, friends and volunteers helped homeowners shovel out the mud, remove soaked furniture and appliances, and sort through wet belongings.

In some places, floodwater reached higher than the year before.

Mud and standing water can be seen inside a home that was flooded by a creek, which connects to the Guadalupe River, during heavy rains in the Ingram area last Thursday night. The tenant living in the house safely evacuated at 2 a.m. that morning.

Alma Maldonado cries while hugging a man that came to her house to help clean her flood-damaged home in Kerrville.

Rosalinda Torres sits on her porch as people arrive to help clean her flooded home in Kerrville.

Water lines can be seen inside a room at Alma Maldonado's flood-damaged home in Kerrville as members of the community work to clean the space.

A group of women, who did not want to be identified, move furniture and clean flood debris at Taqueria Jalisco in Ingram.

Waterlines from flooding can be seen in a room at the home of Alma Maldonado in Kerrville.

Lindsay Wilson washes mud from Alma Maldonado's home with the help of her sons in Kerrville. Community members came to the home to help Maldonado after her home was flooded.