Heavy rains hit Austin on Friday, causing officials to cancel local Fourth of July events, including the city's annual fireworks show.
The Lower Colorado River Authority, the agency that manages the river, said it would begin opening several dam floodgates to let stormwater flow from a reservoir on the river.
Counties west of Austin bore the brunt of the dangerous weather. At least 13 people have been killed in Kerr County, which includes the city of Kerrville, after the Guadalupe River flooded overnight.
Many more remain missing.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, acting Gov. Dan Patrick said about "20-some" girls who had been attending a Christian camp in the area, Camp Mystic, are still missing because of the floods.
Patrick, who was noticeably emotional at the press conference, said the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just under an hour. He said first responders have been rescuing adults and children from trees.
A flood advisory is still in place until 7 p.m. Friday for parts of the Hill Country, including the city of Fredericksburg. Weather forecasters warn that small streams could continue to flood. An earlier flash flood warning that was in place for parts of Austin has since expired.
In the Austin area, the city said up to three inches of rain have fallen, and additional storms could bring more rain. The region has experienced an unusually wet summer so far, which has helped to keep typically searing temperatures down.
Here are a few ways to monitor flooding and potential impacts:
- Follow the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio’s account on X for the latest weather updates.
- Follow Austin Emergency Management on Facebook or X for local notifications and tips.
- Go to WARN Central Texas to sign up for emergency alerts.
- Visit Austin Energy’s website to report a power outage or see a map of current outages. If you're a customer of another energy provider, Bluebonnet Electric Co-op, Pedernales Electric Co-op and Oncor have their own outage maps.
- Check the Lower Colorado River Authority's HydroMet monitoring system to check rainfall totals for the area in near real time. You can also look at lake levels, streamflow and river stage.
- Visit ATXFloods.com to look at which roads in Central Texas are closed due to flooding.
- KUT also has a list of useful accounts on X that post about local weather.
