TEXAS – On Sunday, two days after a flash flood left catastrophic damage to the Texas Hill Country, KPRC 2 viewer Lorena Guillen walked us through what’s left of her once-thriving 6-acre RV park on the Guadalupe River.
The park has been ravaged by floodwaters, leaving behind destruction and uncertainty.
Guillen’s well-known restaurant, Howdy’s, is closed, and she’s worried about how she and her employees will survive.
But the loss that devastates her most is the loss of her friends and community... the loss of a hero and her employee.
Guillen’s employee, Julian Ryan, tragically lost his life during the disaster on the morning of July 4. Julian was at the restaurant when they closed together that night. He went home as his house began flooding.
“He saved his family, and he died saving them,” Guillen said.
Fighting back tears, she explained how Julian tried to help his girlfriend and three children escape by breaking a window. In the process, he cut a main artery in his arm and bled to death.
“He broke a glass to get his family out, broke a window to get his family out the window. He cut them out, but in the process, he cut himself, the main artery in his arm. And he bled to death,” she says.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Tim Miller of Texas EquiSearch has brought more than 30 team members to assist in search and rescue efforts in the area.
“The area we’re in right now, the lady told us it’s right here in this immediate area. She said there were at least 40 people that are missing,” Miller said.
With so many still unaccounted for and the death toll rising, Miller warns volunteers to prepare for tough physical and emotional challenges.
“We told our members, be prepared because it’s going to be extremely physically challenging, but long-term emotionally challenging,” he says.
Volunteers and first responders have found bodies as they continue to search through the devastation.
Officials believe it will take weeks, maybe months, to clear the debris, cars, campers, and RVs along the riverbank.