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Vaughans have lived in their house along the Blanco River in Paradise Valley for 40 years and never before had the river reached the home.  On Sunday morning, Scott and Sarah found themselves stranded on the roof of their two-story bunkhouse with three friends, forced to make a daring escape while the raging river engulfed their home. 

“We came home early from a party because the creeks were coming up and we had company over,” Scott Vaughan said. “We started watching TV and seeing the flash flood warnings, but we really didn’t have any idea what was coming.”

Around 11:30 p.m. the river had risen substantially. It was just three feet below the rock wall just 10 yards from their back door. 

If there was a silver lining about the flood, the spirit of community was it. Before the rains even stopped, locals and others were ready and waiting to go to work cleaning up.  Either side of the bridge had a nerve center, Cypress Creek Church on the south side, Ace Hardware on the north. 

Cypress Creek was not only a shelter, but H-E-B had supplies in trailers there, ready to be dispersed to those in need. Of course, Cypress Creek had local volunteers, helping to comfort victims and providing a dry place to sleep.

Volunteers came from all over the state. Mercy Chefs out of Portsmouth, Virginia were on hand to pass out hot meals of “comfort food” according to John Stout, Managing Chef. Meals served like meatloaf and mashed potatoes with peach cobbler were served

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up a mobile office at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 RR 12 in Wimberley, from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily (including weekends) for area flood, storm, wind and tornado victims throughout Hays County who want to register for federal aid. These hours may change slightly as needs are met and communities will be notified when hours change. The center will be up and running until the need appears to have dissipated. Expect the application process to take approximately 30 minutes.

The Ranch Road 12 Bridge over the Blanco River Bridge at Wimberley, which is currently a one-lane signal-timed bridge, will be closed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, for repairs. It is expected to reopen at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday as a two-lane bridge with normal two-way traffic operations.

For alternate routes while the bridge is closed Tuesday:

From the Kyle/Buda area: take

·       IH 35 to FM 150 West then

·       150 W to FM 3237 then

·       FM 3237 to RR 12

From the Austin/Dripping Springs area:

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Texas businesses and residents as a result of President Obama's major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet announced.

The declaration covers Harris, Hays and Van Zandt counties as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that began on May 4.

"The SBA is strongly committed to providing Texas with the most effective and customer-focused response possible and with access to federal disaster loans to help Texas businesses and residents affected by the severe storms, tornadoes, straight line winds and flooding," said Contreras-Sweet. "Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA."

As I walked the banks of the Blanco on Sunday morning, one thing was apparent, Wimberley lost a bit of that “community” we all talk about. 

The homes along Ranch Road 12 near the Blanco River bridge, where my mother lives, were largely built in the 1930s or so. The stone exterior resembles the look of Wimberley that is so hard to define. In one night, they are gone, along with hundreds of others across the Wimberley Valley. The iconic Cypress trees that once lined the Blanco are snapped in half.

On Saturday night, we lost a bit of what makes Wimberley special.

The moments that follow that fateful flood are what will define how this town fills the gap that was eroded out of the heart of Wimberley.

About 350 people took shelter at the Wimberley High School on Saturday night after being displaced by the flood.

“We didn’t have much in the way of supplies of any kind, but we knew they would come in quickly,” WISD Superintendent Dwain York said. 

The people began pouring in around midnight to the gym with stories of terror and devastation. A family reunion, which has been held at 7A for decades, piled in over 50 people with pets alike.

“We had 25 pets and a crate full of 15 cats,” York said.

One family told of using a rope to get out the window of a their building to reach the roof. A bachelorette party of 12 women filled in after losing one of their cars.

Governor Greg Abbott officially declared Hays County a disaster when he stopped by the Wimberley Community Center on Monday afternoon.

Abbott first took a helicopter ride to survey the damage from above.

“I observed first hand what the devastation looks like and you can not candy coat it. It’s absolutely massive,” Abbott said. “…The relentless tsunami type power that this wave of water can pose for people.”

The disaster designation allows the state to fully implement its resources to help with the recovery effort. The state has already begun taking over the volunteer system to organize those who want to help.

Abbott continued to talk about the massive flood.

The death toll has now risen to two confirmed cases as a second body was found in Caldwell County on Tuesday. Hays County officials are now saying that there are 30 missing people from the Memorial weekend flood.

There are stories throughout the community that indicate the death toll may rise. 

Officials have not released the name of the deceased.

This is the worst flood in Wimberley history. It struck in the late hours of Saturday night and washed away hundreds of homes and claimed lives.

“What we saw in the aftermath is total devastation in some areas of our community,” Wimberley City Administrator Don Ferguson said. “We’ve never seen anything like this before. This community is not new to flooding but to the magnitude we saw, it is a new game.”

When do we stop boiling our private well water? -- a lot of folks are asking.

In response to widespread flooding, a boil water notice was issued on May 24 by Hays County for residents using private wells for drinking water.  The notice was posted to be in effect until further notice, so many residents are asking when their well water will be safe to drink again.  The answer is: it depends.

Karst aquifers like the Edwards and Trinity aquifers recharge when there is flow in creeks that cross their recharge zones (areas where the rock layer that forms the aquifer is at the surface).  During storm events, runoff can wash bacteria and other contaminants directly into the groundwater system.