Deadly floods devastate Comal County

AUSTIN (KXAN) - One man is dead and several other people are being rescued after rain and deadly floods hit the Comal County area on Wednesday, officials said.

The man, Norman Walker of Iowa Park, Texas, died in the Guadalupe River. According to the City of New Braunfels, Walker, 65, was camping in the area of Hueco Springs in Comal County when the river began to rise. Walker was trapped.

STARFlight video of the flooding

Five Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens and one game warden captain were assisting Comal County authorities in high water rescues. Here's a video of one rescue posted on YouTube:

By mid-afternoon, storms appeared to have cleared the area, moving to the east.

An area man also saved an 11-year-old girl who was washed from a camp zone north of Gruene, six miles up the river from New Braunfels, after being in the river for some two hours. She was wearing a life vest, most likely because she was swimming at the time, the man tells KXAN. 

Both the girl and her rescuer are safe. The man's home was under water, he said, and has sustained heavy damage. His wife woke him up in their home on the river to alert him to the rising water, and when he went outside, he heard the young girl yelling for help - so he jumped in and saved her.

An elderly New Braunfels couple survived the storm after waking up Wednesday morning to find two feet of water in their home.

"We were going to ride it out and some guys came in a boat and said no you're not- you're going to go with us," said Mary Lee Maxwell, 86.

Austin police were sending a five-person rescue crew to help on Wednesday afternoon.

New Braunfels Mayor Bruce Boyer and Lt. John Wells of the NB Police Department gave the following updates in a noon news conference:

• Emergency Declaration has been issued for Guadalupe and Comal Rivers. Area rivers have been closed.
• Crews are getting help from San Marcos and San Antonio Fire Departments.
• More than 800 emergency dispatch calls received, and about 100 were for evacuation or rescue.
• Reverse 911 reached 368 homes asking people to evacuate, though most already had evacuated.
• The waters are starting to recede, but the area is still in an emergency situation due to down power lines and debris.
• Officials are asking people to stay home unless it is necessary for them to venture out.
• City asks that only serious emergencies be used for 911 to keep the lines open for people needing rescues
• STARFlight and the Texas Department of Public Safety are in helicopters looking for people needing help
• The city began preparing crews on Tuesday in anticipation of the floods
• Teams of city employees will be sent out to do damage assessment as soon as possible

Heavy thunderstorms continued early Wednesday, hitting New Braunfels particularly hard - with flooding, water and tree rescues, and mobile homes washing out in the rains.

Among the businesses wiped out by rushing water was Rockin' R River Rides. The building that houses the main headquarters was designed to withstand a flood and it worked. The structure was not compromised, but water rose six feet on the bottom floor and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

The metal raft and tube rental structure near the banks of the Guadalupe River collapsed. Dozens of old school buses, used to shuttle customers, were wrapped around trees and scattered across the 10-acre piece of property. Manager Shane Wolf said the goal is to get the business back up and running in ten to fifteen days.

A section of Schlitterbahn Waterpark was underwater. A spokesperson said a portion of the park would be back open Thursday at 10 a.m. and cost of admission will be reduced.

Flash flood warnings and watches continued through the afternoon.

STARFlight has helicopters in that area helping local crews with rescues. The Comal County Red Cross opened a shelter at New Braunfels Middle School for residents who are flooded out by the rising water at the Dry Comal Creek.

Texas park wardens rescued one man who had been trapped in his truck at a low water crossing, as well as several others in the Lake Dunlap area, said Capt. Danny Villalobos of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Villalobos said numerous recreational vehicles had washed downstream from the New Braunfels area, and that wardens would be working with Comal County deputies and other officers to make sure no one had been trapped in any of those trailers.

A team of Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens participated in rescue efforts with local authorities. Gov. Rick Perry also has directed the activation of state search and rescue capabilities due to the heavy flooding. State resources being activated included five Texas military forces high-profile vehicles in San Antonio;  two Texas military forces UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters; and three swift water rescue teams based in New Braunfels .

The State Operations Center remains at an increased readiness level and continues to work with the National Weather Service to monitor the storm system.

In addition, all summer school and student-related activities in the New Braunfels Independent School District will be canceled Wednesday due to the weather. This includes summer school for the elementary and secondary grades.

Parents should check with the district later Wednesday to see if classes will be canceled Thursday.

Most of Schlitterbahn amusement park will be back open Thursday morning at 10 a.m. A team will be cleaning up all night. Admission prices will be discounted. 'Surf n Burg' was the only area underwater.
 

Meanwhile, 20 miles east of Austin in Elgin, lightning struck the Elgin Police Department just after 6am - temporarily knocking out some server equipment and their 911 console. While the 911 server was down, calls were diverted to Bastrop. The service was working again this morning.

An upper-level, low-pressure system is interacting with abundant low-level moisture to spark the storms. The low system will slowly trek to the northeast.

Rain chances will continue Wednesday evening and through Thursday afternoon.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for Williamson, Travis, Hays, Caldwell, Bastrop and Lee counties. Doppler estimated rainfall amounts Wednesday morning were between 2- to 4 inches, though up to 6 inches of rain is possible.

Multiple low water crossings have closed in Austin, including several along Spicewood Springs Road. Bull Creek at Loop 360 is above flood stage.

Use an alternate route and remember Turn Around Don’t Drown. Law enforcement reported closed roads in Kyle. Several roads are closed in San Marcos and in New Braunfels.

Meanwhile, the low water crossing near CR100 near Georgetown had one foot of water flowing over, it according to law enforcement and was barricaded.

High water is reportedly over the roadway along State Highway 79 just outside Gause, Texas, which is about 63 miles northeast of Round Rock.

In San Marcos, there are reports of a house in a foot of water at 4913 Red Wood Road.

One of the hardest hit areas is eastern Comal County, where 4 inches of rain fell in six hours in New Braunfels.

NWS officials said the slow-moving thunderstorm that was over Central Comal County is drifting eastward toward New Braunfels, where major flooding is expected to impact the city throughout the next few hours. Rainfall rates are estimated at 3- to 4 inches an hour.

The Comal County Sheriff's Office said they have had a couple of calls for high-water rescues, citing there has been 12 inches of water. Officials said State Highway 46 is open but suggest travel only if it is to escape high water.

In the meantime, the New Braunfels Fire Department is opening shelters for people along the Comal River.

And 10 inches of rain was reported near Smithson Valley.

Nearby streams and rivers are flooded. Officials are discouraging travel in the New Braunfels area.

Lower Colorado River Authority officials said they are not planning any flood gate releases from any of the Highland Lake dams because of flood water. Lake Travis has only received an inch-and-a-half of rain so far.

In Austin, police officials said there were 25 vehicle accidents between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Wednesday.

For traffic-related incidents in the Austin area, you can check the City of Austin website. You can do the same for road closures in the area during emergency conditions.