KERR COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Each summer, the Guadalupe River draws visitors from across the country, filling cabins and fueling businesses throughout the Texas Hill Country.
But after July’s deadly floods, this season looks very different.
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In the early morning hours of July 4, renters at a Guadalupe River vacation home owned by Johnny Day woke up to rising water.
“Something had to be wrong, but why is my neighbor calling me at 6:30 in the morning? He said, ‘The water's coming. It's going to be bad,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘It could be like the worst of all time,’” Day recalled.
As the situation escalated, those staying at the home scrambled to escape.
“They [renters] called us and said they were going to grab everything they could to get out of there. All of a sudden the water's coming up and washing things away,” Day said.
Now, nearly 10 months later, Day and his family are preparing for a new season, but one that comes with uncertainty.
“There's still some reluctance and people that are concerned. I mean it's fresh, you know, so it's going to take time. Some renters refuse – that were already booked or that are booked, they don't care. They know the beauty of the river and all that stuff. And then you've got some people that are kind of unfamiliar that are concerned that this may happen again,” Day said.
The Guadalupe River is typically a major summer destination, with properties like Day’s often booked through August. This year, however, only a handful of weekends are filled.
“Things just look different out there. If you look across, you know, we were kind of up on a hill, but if you look across, it used to be a wooded area. It's just open now. All the trees got knocked down, so the terrain is much different,” Day said.
Communities connected by the Guadalupe River are now hoping visitors will return.
“The river is a special place for us," Day said.
"We bought it when our kids were small. We have pictures of them going off the rope swing. It's our getaway place and we were very, very fortunate that it's still our getaway place, because for some, they aren't that fortunate. Their place totally got washed away, so we're blessed.”
More than 130 people died in the floods that devastated Texas last summer, one of the deadliest natural disasters in Texas history.
