Emergency sirens wailed in Comfort Friday morning, signaling emergency conditions and a mandatory evacuation, as the surging Guadalupe River continued its historic rise.
Boerne Fire Department, Kendall County Sheriff's Office and Comfort Volunteer Fire Department officials drove the length of Water Street at 9:45 a.m. issuing a mandatory evacuation, as the Guadalupe began overflowing its banks early this morning.
As much as 13 inches of rain fell in Kerrville overnight and into the morning, sending the otherwise dormant Guadalupe into a rage, sweeping away homes, vehicles, trailers, trash dumpsters, storage sheds and anything else in its path.
Kerrville officials have confirmed 24 deaths as of 8 p.m. Search and rescue operations continue as 20 young girls remain unaccounted for, after the river swept through Camp Mystic, where more than 750 girls were spending the holiday.
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the fatalities but said additional information will not be released until families are notified.
Evacuations and "reunifications" are in progress along the river as what authorities called a “deadly flood wave” moved downstream, threatening Comfort, Spring Branch and other areas.
While situations were not as severe in Comfort, residents still heeded warnings to head to higher ground.
"I haven't seen it like this since 1987," said Robert Castro, standing under the cover of The Tinsmith's Wife shop, a block up Seventh Street from his home on Water Street.
"We're about 10 feet up, so we'll be OK," Castro said. "Now we just have to wait for it to start to recede.
"It's come up, and it'll go down, it always does," he added.
Barricades blocked access to much of the flats area, where flooding is most severe.
The water level in Comfort began to recede shortly after noon, allowing anxious residents the opportunity to return by 1 p.m.
Some points along the Guadalupe that were running at 5 feet during the week were measuring as high as 43 feet -- in a press conference Friday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at one point, water levels in the Kerrville area rose 26 feet in just 40 minutes, catching so many people unprepared at such an early hour on the holiday..
Comfort's Sandy Galindo said her family was awake this morning when first made aware of the rising waters. She said they grabbed some essentials and prepared to leave.
"We were waiting on my son to move his RV, that's what took the longest," said Galindo, a longtime resident of Comfort who now lives in the home she bought from her parents.
Kendall County Sheriff's Lt. Kevin Klaerner, who arrived on scene in the county's large armored vehicle, said the county was joined by Boerne Fire Department, Comfort Fire Department, Texas State Highway Patrol and several fire apparatus from surround volunteer departments and counties.
A hard rain began to fall again at 10:30 a.m., further stressing the town's already taxed drainage system. Points of interest in photos taken at 9:30 a.m. were clearly underwater just 45 minutes later.
A thunderous front rolled through at 11 a.m. as lightning bolts lit an otherwise ominous gray sky. The hard rain that fell for about a half-hour began to lighten somewhat -- but still falling hard enough to add depth to the rising floodline.
Kendall County and Boerne first responders have been dispatched to Kerrville to aid in searches and with any other needs that may arise.
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