BELTON, Texas (KXXV) — Eight hours. That’s how quickly the calm of a Central Texas evening turned into a flood zone full of fear.
For Riata Schoepf, the chaos began around 2:30 a.m. when her boyfriend’s brother burst through the door shouting:
“We have to get out—there’s flooding, we have to leave now.”
The water had already reached the lodge’s picnic tables, engulfing areas where they’d shared a dinner just hours before.
Outside, trash cans, cars, and debris were being shoved violently by rising water.
“It was shocking,” Schoepf said. “It’s like something I’d never seen before.”
Schoepf, her boyfriend, and his father began walking through knee-high water, searching for safety.
With cell service down, her group—originally 33 people traveling together—was split up in confusion, eventually reunited in fragments over the hours and days that followed.
Their escape came thanks to a nearby two-story house, where a flashlight signaled hope. A family member of her boyfriend tossed down a sheet for Schoepf and others to climb to higher ground, to safety.
“I was the first one up,” she recalled, “and more people were coming—everyone needed somewhere to go."
The flooding, which has left close to 200 people still unaccounted for according to latest reports, has left Schoepf shaken.
Schoepf's group all made it out, but the emotional weight lingers.
“You feel almost guilty—seeing places where people’s memories were, and wondering if they made it out,” she said.
With the politicization of the floods from local and and federal officials, Schoepf says she feels that's disrespectful to the families who are still looking for immediate closure.
“This came out of nowhere. Turning it into a political or government issue is so sad. People are dying and we’re trying to redirect the focus,” Schoepf said.
Her story isn’t about blame—it’s about survival, community, and compassion. And for everyone who made it out safely, the next chapter is showing up for those still searching.
The devastating floods in central Texas have left families and communities in urgent need of support. Scripps News and the Scripps Howard Fund are partnering to provide critical relief to those impacted. Every dollar donated here will go directly to helping victims recover.
