As Guadalupe River flows calm, evidence of its destructive force remains

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HUNT — The waters of the Guadalupe River flowed calmly Tuesday afternoon, a departure from the deadly waterway that just days earlier ravaged the Texas Hill Country.

Around the idyllic scene were reminders of the river’s destructive force. Toppled trees lay by the road, bent kayaks and bedsheets resting on their branches. Piles of debris dotted the otherwise lush green fields blanketing the rural area. Strings of smoke wafted upward from the mounds of trash and wood that were being burned.

Paradoxically, calm and chaos collided on a two-lane stretch of road connecting the cities of Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt, where, on Friday, the rain-swollen river submerged properties and tore street roads open, leaving more than 100 people dead in its wake.

On Tuesday, rescuers, residents and first responders continued to scour through the remains of the area, combing through what the river did not sweep away, and perhaps hoping to find any of the 161 people still unaccounted for amid the rubble. Among the missing are five children and one counselor from Camp Mystic, the storied summer camp for girls, which became the center of the tragedy. Twenty-seven people from the camp fell victim to the flood, including its director, Richard “Dick” Eastland.

In Kerrville, which is fewer than 15 miles east of Hunt, the city has attempted to return to normalcy. Coffee shops, taco shops and churches in the downtown strip have all opened their doors. The streets are again lively with traffic.

Further west, the devastation gradually sets in, with a caravan of pick-ups and excavators clearing what the waters swept and dragged onto the landscape. In parts of the river, some first responders were traveling by boat.

But the city has also been supported by volunteers who help distribute food in resealable bags, cold water and other refreshments in staging areas with the support of locals, who are eager to help, too.

State and local officials have yet to provide a full accounting of what led to the second-deadliest flood in Texas history. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Sunday that by the time the city realized the scale of the flooding, evacuating people then could be tantamount to leading them to their deaths.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had been prepared to deploy state resources since last Wednesday, but that no one expected a formidable wall of water to submerge the communities.

Abbott said the state would convene a Senate committee to investigate in the next 10 days, but until then, the state would help the towns recover.

“We are not leaving until this job is finished,” he said.