At least 2 dead in Blanco County floods; volunteers assist victims
Volunteers Leona Van De Velde (left) and Gwendolyn Reynolds organize food items for emergency crews and residents needing assistance at the Gem of the Hills Community Center in Blanco. The community is recovering after several rounds of storms May 23-27 that flooded the Blanco River, destroyed streets and homes, closed schools and resulted in at least two Blanco fatalities. Staff photo by Connie Swinney
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
BLANCO — Rescue crews, volunteers and families begin recovery efforts after several days of storms and soaking rains through the Memorial Day weekend resulted in two reported deaths and damage to at least 20 homes along the Blanco River, officials say.
Storms first slammed into Central Texas and parts of the Hill Country on May 23, dumping several inches of rain on the area, which drained into area creeks, streams, rivers and other waterways.
Reports of at least two dead and a number of people unaccounted for initially surfaced in Hays County in the Wimberely area, while at the same time, the Blanco area began dealing with similar devastation.
A second round of storms two days later on Memorial Day exacerbated the destruction and reports of fatalities, school closures and property destruction began surfacing in the Blanco River area in southern Blanco County.
“We have one fatality and another resident we were searching for who was recovered (May 26) but was recovered in Hays County, so we have a second fatality,” Blanco County Judge Brett Bray said.
The first fatality was identified as 43-year-old Zachery Jones of Blanco, Bray said. The victim and his vehicle were found just outside town after being swept away by floodwater.
The second fatality is an unidentified Blanco man. His body and vehicle, swept down the Blanco River, were found May 26 by a search crew in neighboring Hays County, he said.
At the height of the flooding, the county judge declared Blanco County a disaster area.
By May 26, Gov. Greg Abbott added Blanco County to a list of about two dozen counties declared disaster areas, deeming them eligible for state assistance. Other nearby counties on the list are Bastrop, Hays and Williamson.
By May 27, several people were still unaccounted for in Blanco County, Bray said.
“We have five people that we had visual evidence were in the water, and we’re searching for at least five,” he said. “The search and recovery teams are searching every single pile of debris and vehicle on the river.”
Crews face even more challenges May 27 as storms continued to pelt the community with reports of more storms possible through the end of the week.
“The rest of this week is a little challenging because we have more rain coming. We expect our search and recovery operations to be interrupted because of the rain,” Bray said. “We’re hoping, by next week, we’ll be in a drying out period. At that time, we see lots of opportunities for volunteers to help in the cleanup.”
In the midst of the storm, Blanco Independent School District shuttered its schools May 26 due, in part, to lack of access to flooded roads, dangerous driving conditions and damaged roadways, including the destruction of a bridge on Ranch Road 165, which intersects the Blanco River.
“It’s gone. It is not there. It’s a major artery. (RR) 165 is the scenic route into Henley. It connects onto (U.S.) 290 and provides an artery for those who work or shop in Wimberley, Dripping Springs and Austin,” he said. “(The bridge destruction) has cut off the southeast part of the county from Blanco.
“The Blanco River came out of its banks,” Bray said. “This is an historic event that no one living today has probably ever seen.”
Johnson City remained under a boil water notice.
“One of the acts of kindness is the folks in Comal County just kept sending bottled water,” Bray said of the neighboring county to the south. “We accumulated enough in Blanco that we were able to take overflow to the schools and the nursing homes in Johnson City.”
As the recovery efforts continued, teams of volunteers from the area assembled several locations for recovery assistance.
Volunteers temporarily housed displaced families at the Gem of the Hills Community Center and First United Methodist Church in Johnson City.
“There was a time we had from 50 to 70 people sheltered,” Bray said.
The center serves as a stand-by shelter as well as houses emergency, search and volunteer crews, state workers and other officials assisting with the flood recovery.
“Everybody is willing to help once they realized the need was there,” volunteer Diane Schultz said. “Having never experienced any devastation like this firsthand, I cannot even imagine what is going through their minds and their hearts with the losses they’ve had.”
Despite the conditions, the help continues to pour in.
“The two main communities in this county — Johnson City and Blanco — they pulled together and worked together. We have state partners we lean on heavily,” Bray said. “The first responders were out there fighting the water and rescuing people off rooftops in treacherous situations.
“In my view, they’re responding amazingly,” Bray added. “From the very beginning, from the start of the incidents, I have witnessed more acts of heroism or selflessness than I can even count.”
Volunteers are staging at Blanco City Hall, 300 Pecan St. in Blanco, along with the community center to assist residents. To find out how to help, call (830) 833-4525 or (830) 833-4616.
The Good Samaritan Center, 620 Pecan St. in Blanco, is donating cleaning supplies, clothing, hygiene products and food to those recovering from the flood.
For more information, go to www.cityofblanco.com or email questions to blancoflood@nbcems.org.
connie@thepicayune.com