Texas turns to recovery after deadly floods, but danger isn’t over along the Nueces River 48%
By Lucio Vasquez47% Texas Newsroom47%
7/20/2026, 8:23:58 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Appeal to Authority, and Availability Heuristic, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 20.5% saturation with 134 hits. Analysis detected 1,157 faulty-reasoning hits from 654 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 49% and a BS Rank of 48% (11,520 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 52.60% of the article peer group.
While much of Texas has begun shifting from rescue efforts to recovery after days of catastrophic flooding, Gov.
Greg Abbott said Monday the state's greatest concern remains along the Nueces River, where evacuations continued in parts of Uvalde County as floodwaters slowly receded.
The storms killed at least two people and prompted disaster declarations covering dozens of counties.
“We, as a state and our local communities, still have to get them through the remaining challenges over the next 48 to 72 — maybe even longer than that — hours,” Abbott said.
In Uvalde County, the river crested at a record 28.01 feet, surpassing its previous high-water mark set in 1996.
Floodwaters also destroyed part of the FM 481 bridge southwest of Uvalde, cutting off a key connection between Uvalde and Eagle Pass.
“Just because the skies may be clear here right now, doesn’t mean that the aggregation of water that's flowing downstream has peaked,” Abbott said.
“Downstream, the waters will continue to rise and continue to pose dangers for those local communities.”
Communities begin rebuilding
As rivers receded over the weekend, residents from Kerrville to Uvalde County returned to damaged homes and businesses to begin cleanup while local and state officials assessed the destruction and coordinated relief efforts.
Abbott signed a major-disaster declaration last week seeking federal assistance for 28 flood-affected counties.
President Donald Trump approved the request Saturday.
“The state is working and it will continue to work with local officials to expedite debris removal as well as to accelerate the rebuilding process,” Abbott said.
The governor said preliminary assessments identified damage to at least 490 homes and 100 businesses in Kerr County, along with about 100 homes in neighboring Kendall County.
Officials are still working to determine the full extent of the damage.
Despite the destruction, communities across South Central Texas quickly mobilized to help one another, organizing donation drives, cleanup crews and supply distributions as families began the long process of rebuilding.
Jesse Rizo spent the weekend handing out clothes and food to those affected by the flood.
His hometown of Batesville, about 20 miles south of Uvalde, was inundated with historic floodwaters last week.
“You're going to see people that can't get into their homes, they can't live in their homes — but those are the very same people that are unloading trucks [and] the very same people that are in the kitchen cooking,” Rizo told KERA News on Saturday.
“Their hearts are shattered, but where are they at?
They're trying to rebuild somebody else's shattered heart.”
For many residents, the latest flooding became another chapter in a recovery that was already underway.
Many Hill Country communities are still rebuilding from last summer's catastrophic flooding, which killed more than 130 people.
“I lost everything,” said Kerrville resident Rosalinda Torres.
“But I'm alive.
That's a good thing.
I'm very proud that I'm alive.”
Floodwaters in Kerrville reached neighborhoods that had escaped last summer's catastrophic flooding, catching some longtime residents like Torres by surprise.
“There were 18 of us raised and born here, and I've seen all the floods, but I've never seen this come into my house,” Torres told Texas Public Radio on Saturday.
“It just breaks my heart.”
How to donate to the recovery effort
Last week, the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country launched a new flood relief fund to support immediate emergency needs and long-term recovery efforts across the region.
The foundation raised $150 million after last year's flood, using the money to help rebuild homes and public spaces.
Abbott on Monday encouraged Texans to support recovery efforts by donating to the Rebuild Texas Fund, administered by the OneStar Foundation, a nonprofit established by the state.
He said several volunteer organizations were also helping communities recover from the flooding, including:
Texans on Mission
Samaritan's Purse
Team Rubicon
Operation Blessing
Crisis Response Ministries
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