A year after the Hill Country floods, two communities face different recoveries

From Texas Public Radio:

Nearly a year after floodwaters destroyed their home along the Upper Guadalupe River, Juliet and Scott Welden watched construction crews build a new one on the same property.

This time, the house was elevated 8 feet above the ground in hopes that it can withstand another catastrophic flood.

“We watched the water enter our home, and the floors buckled,” Juliet Welden said. “The furniture floated. Rooms began collapsing, and the water kept rising.”

The force of the current pushed the couple out of their house. They survived by clinging to a large bush as the flood tore through their neighborhood.

At least 130 people died along the Upper Guadalupe River after torrential rain struck the Texas Hill Country during the Fourth of July holiday. The Weldens’ rebuilding effort has been supported by federal disaster assistance and contributions from churches, foundations and other community organizations.

“The local community — there’s a lot of love, compassion, kindness, generosity,” she said, adding that churches and private groups often provided the most immediate assistance.

The Weldens expect to move into their new home in October.

Less than 100 miles away, survivors along Sandy Creek describe a much different recovery.

The normally placid, spring-fed creek southwest of Austin became a violent river shortly after midnight on July 5, when the same storm system that flooded the Guadalupe moved through the area.

Nine people died, and approximately 200 homes were damaged.

Ashlee Willis lives with her family on an herb farm divided by Sandy Creek. Standing near the creek almost a year later, she pointed toward a utility pole that showed how high the water had risen.

“You would be probably 15, 20 feet underwater right now where we’re standing,” Willis said. “The water was 10 feet up that pole. It’s hard to fathom.”

Her house was lifted from its foundation and moved about 10 feet. It would have been swept downstream had a hurricane strap on the structure not held.

Family members and friends who had gathered for a Fourth of July celebration spent the night huddled on higher ground. In darkness broken by flashes of lightning, they watched the water rise and wondered whether they would survive.

“As horrifying as all of that sounds, the easiest part of this whole ordeal was that night,” Willis said.

The struggle to recover has continued for months. Willis’ mother, Brandy Gerstner, summarized the family’s experience bluntly: “We got deserted.”

Four weeks after the disaster, Willis testified before the Texas House Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. She told lawmakers that human remains had been discovered on her family’s property and questioned whether authorities were doing enough to recover all parts of those who died.

“I found a leg and a hip on my property,” she said.

Willis said her family has not received FEMA disaster assistance. Although they carried federal flood insurance, they remain in a dispute over the amount of the insurance payout.

NPR contacted FEMA seeking information about the assistance provided to Sandy Creek survivors and the broader rebuilding effort but did not receive a response.

With the insurance dispute unresolved, the family’s reconstruction remains on hold. Much of the support along Sandy Creek has instead come from volunteers.

Willis said she does not resent the attention and assistance directed toward communities along the Guadalupe River. She is glad those survivors are receiving help.

But, she said, the families who lost homes and loved ones along Sandy Creek also want their disaster — and their continuing recovery — to be remembered.

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