Latest news with #Wimberley
CBS News
08-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
After his family died in a Texas flood 10 years ago, he vowed to help others. Now, he's keeping his promise.
Texas dad who lost family in 2015 flood joins search to help others today Jonathan McComb knows what it means to lose everything. In 2015, a flash flood swept through Wimberley, Texas, washing away the home where he was staying with his wife, their two young children and several friends. McComb was the sole survivor out of nine people in the home. He turned up 11 miles down the Blanco River, climbed out of a cliff and knocked on someone's door for help. Since then, he has returned to disaster sites across the state with Texas Search and Rescue — including the deadly floods that struck Central Texas over the weekend. But this time, it hit a lot closer to home. "I know that there's folks out there that are hurting, and I know exactly how they're feeling," McComb told CBS News. "And so I want to be able to help them and hopefully give some closure and just be a light to them right now." "This is more about them than it is me," he said. McComb is part of a quiet but crucial network of volunteers searching for the missing, enduring sweltering summer heat and trudging through massive debris piles. Like many searchers, Louis Deppe isn't from the community. He doesn't know the layout, but he knows loyalty. And when his friend Ty Badon's daughter was swept away, he came, driving his mud-caked truck past roadblocks and into the heart of the flood zone every day. Joyce Catherine Badon, 21, was staying in a cabin with three friends when it was swallowed by raging waters on July Fourth. Badon's body has been found, but two of her friends are unaccounted for, so Deppe is still searching. "I don't have a time limit, so however long it takes," Deppe told CBS News. For McComb, the work is also about honoring the people who searched for his own family a decade ago. "When I was in the hospital after my ordeal, and knowing that everybody was out there searching for my family, I knew that I needed to give back," McComb said. In the 2015 flood, his 4-year-old daughter was never found — a fact that still drives him today. "It's pretty important. I know what it feels like, and so I want to do everything I can to bring that closure to them. Not that we can promise that, but we're going to give every effort we can and keep going," McComb said. McComb has since remarried and has a 5-year-old daughter who knows his story. Before leaving for this latest search, he explained to her why he needed to go. "That was a tough, tough hug when I left her on July 4 to come out here to help," McComb said. "And she understood." contributed to this report.
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Texas officials long feared for riverbank summer camps. A warning system was rejected as too expensive
Officials in Kerr County, Texas, had long been concerned about kids' summer camps along the banks of the Guadalupe River, an area known as 'flash flood alley.' The camps in the idyllic Texas Hill Country, where children from the surrounding big cities of San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg came to fish, horseback ride, and snorkel, relied on a word-of-mouth system from camps further up river when it came to flooding, according to The New York Times. But in 2015, a flood in Wimberley, 75 miles east of Kerrville, killed 13 people and hundreds of homes were destroyed and damaged when the Blanco River crested to nearly 30 feet in a matter of hours. It brought the dangers of flash flooding front of mind for officials in Kerr County who debated at local meetings whether to bolster their flood emergency system with weather sirens now used by other cities. Tom Moser, a former Kerr County commissioner, proposed that Kerrville establish a similar system to one that had been put in place in Wimberley. But it was deemed to expensive by fellow commissioners. 'It sort of evaporated,' Moser, who retired in 2021, told The Times. 'It just didn't happen.' On the Fourth of July, downpours and catastrophic flooding in hill country devastated Camp Mystic, the Christian girls' summer camp on the Guadalupe River. The river rapidly rose 20 feet in 95 minutes in the early hours of the morning. Camp Mystic confirmed Monday that 27 girls, some as young as eight, and staffers had been killed. Ten girls remain missing and one counselor, according to local officials. Moser wasn't the only one who had pushed for a better emergency warning system, according to The Wall Street Journal. Former Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer, who had responded to the 1987 floods that killed teens at a camp in Kendall County, was hoping to install outdoor warning sirens in Kerrville. The sirens in Kendall County, which is about 81 miles away from Kerr County, went off on Friday. Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, also said budget concerns waylaid any action. 'Taxpayers won't pay for it,' Kelly recently told The Times. He said he didn't know if people might reconsider in the wake of this tragedy. In 2018, Kerr County applied for a $1 million grant for a flood warning system. The application was not selected, according to KXAN. In 2020, a commissioner said the county had been 'trying to get a new flood warning system here.' As recently as a May budget meeting, commissioners were discussing a system being developed by a regional agency. Attempts to improve response on a state level were also met with resistance in the last few months. A bill that would have established a statewide plan to improve the state's disaster response did not pass at the statehouse. But, had it passed, it still would not have gone into effect until after the Hill Country flooding, The Texas Tribune noted. And it's not just smaller communities that lacked warning systems. The city of Austin, which also saw fatalities in the floods and is one of the state's largest cities and home to nearly a 1 million residents, doesn't have an emergency warning system. But, a spokesperso n for the city of Austin told KXAN the fastest way to get information out is with 'the technology we have today' and there was a concern that sirens could 'cause confusion.' Since the disaster, 446 people have signed a petition for an early warning siren system in Kerr County. Moser said Kerr County had previously taken some measures to mitigate potential danger, including installing flood gauges and barriers, according to The Washington Post. This weekend, Texas Governor Greg Abbott says a special session at the Capitol will focus on better warnings for floods. It's hard to know how much of a difference a flood warning system would have made last Friday, Moser said. But, he believes it could have had some benefit. As of Monday afternoon, the death toll stood at 91 people with dozens more still missing. 'I think it could have helped a lot of people,' said Moser.
National Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Young relative of Kansas City Chiefs owner dies in Texas floods
Tragedy struck the Hunt family, which owns the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, this weekend as flooding has devastated parts of Texas. Article content Janie Hunt, a nine-year-old cousin in the family, was one of the Camp Mystic campers who died in the natural disaster. Article content 'Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend's little girls,' Tavia Hunt, the wife of Clark Hunt, wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. 'How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen — even to children? Article content Article content 'That is a sacred and tender question — and one the Bible doesn't shy away from. Scripture is filled with the cries of those whose hearts have been shattered, who still wrestle to trust the same God they believe allowed the pain.' Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tavia Hunt (@taviahunt) Article content Article content 'The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who crushed in spirit,' she wrote, quoting Psalm 34:18. Article content 🚨 BREAKING: Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic, confirms 27 campers and counselors are among the deceased in the Texas floods. Absolutely heartbreaking. Please keep praying for these girls and their families. I can't imagine how they feel right now 🙏🏻 — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 7, 2025
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Chiefs owner's wife confirms loss in Texas floods
The wife of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (pictured) has confirmed the tragic loss of a family member as a result of the devastating Texas floods. The total death toll has risen to 82 after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level on Friday. 68 bodies have been found, including 28 children. Clark's wife, Tavia, revealed that Janie Hunt (pictured)- a young cousin in the family - was among the Camp Mystic campers who died during the incident. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend's little girls.' Eleven girls are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, and five of their fellow campers have died after the rushing waters destroyed the all-girls private Christian summer camp. Beloved director of Camp Mystic, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, died while trying to save girls as a month's worth of rain dropped in a matter of minutes. One week before the tragedy, the camp shared videos on social media of the campers happily prancing around on stage during their first term chorus and dance production. The youngest campers slept on low-laying 'flats' inside the camp's cabins, whereas older girls slept in cabins on higher ground, according to the NYT. Most of the missing girls are from the younger age bracket, who were sleeping just yards away from the banks of the Guadalupe River. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that some 750 girls had been staying at the camp when the floodwaters hit. Abbott also vowed that authorities will work around the clock as they continue to search for missing people and later declared Sunday as a day of prayer. In a statement, he said: 'I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines'. Relatives of the missing have started arriving in the Kerrville area from across the Lone Star State to provide investigators with DNA samples. The federal agency issued a flood watch on Thursday at 1:18pm, estimating up to seven inches of rain on Friday morning in South Central Texas . A flash flood warning was issued at 1:14am on Friday, with a more extreme warning coming at 4:03am, urging people to immediately evacuate to high grounds as the situation became 'extremely dangerous and life-threatening.' The estimate of the dead is vastly different than the message state officials are projecting publicly, insisting that they are still searching for people who are alive , and refusing to say rescue efforts have shifted to recovery of remains. 'Our state assets and local partners are continuing to search for live victims,' the head of TDEM W. Nim Kidd told reporters at a press conference Saturday. 'Our hope and prayer is that there is still people alive that are out there.'
Fox News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Chiefs owner's family mourns young relative lost in devastating Texas floods: 'Tragic loss'
Tavia Hunt, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, revealed that one of the victims in the tragic Texas floods was a member of their family. Janie Hunt was one of the Camp Mystic campers who died in the devastating floods over the weekend. She was just nine years old. "Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives – including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend's little girls," Tavia Hunt wrote in an Instagram post. Tavia Hunt continued in her post with messages about her Christian faith. "How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen – even to children?" "That is a sacred and tender question — and one the Bible doesn't shy away from. Scripture is filled with the cries of those whose hearts have been shattered, who still wrestle to trust the same God they believe allowed the pain." William Herbert Hunt, the late billionaire, was the great-grandfather of Janie. William was the brother of late Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, whose father to the team's current owner, Clark. The horrific floods have killed at least 79 people and left 41 others unaccounted for following a storm that decimated the region. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation on Sunday, declaring it a day of prayer across the state in response to the floods. President Donald Trump also told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday that he would likely be visiting Texas on Friday. "We've been in touch with Governor Abbott and very close to Governor Abbott. And, everybody in Texas. Kristi Noem has, as you know, been there and will continue to be there. And we're working very close with representatives from Texas," Trump said. "And it's a horrible thing that took place. Absolutely horrible. So we say, God bless all of the people that have gone through so much, and God bless the state of Texas. This incredible place," he continued. Many have been quick to lend a helping hand, including in the sports world. The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, along with the NFL, together pledged to collectively donate $1.5 million to communities impacted by the flooding. "The National Football League's two Texas-based teams - the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans - are uniting with the NFL Foundation to support the victims' families and survivors of the heartbreaking floods in central Texas," the league's statement read. "Together they will contribute $1.5 million to provide both immediate assistance and long-term resources to those most impacted by the catastrophic flooding." Trump referred to this as a "100 year catastrophe," adding that "this was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it." The Department of Homeland Security argued that mainstream media were "deliberately lying" about what led up to the flooding, saying that "The National Weather Service executed timely, precise forecasting and warnings, despite unprecedented rainfall overwhelming the region." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
