Presidio County Commissioner David Beebe and his family were among those who narrowly escaped the deadly flash floods that devastated the Texas Hill Country over the July 4 weekend.
Speaking to Texas Standard, Beebe described a tense early-morning evacuation from a family home near Hunt, situated along the North Fork of the Guadalupe River. The home, built by his wife’s family in 2012, sits elevated on stilts—higher than floodplain requirements—offering some protection from the rapidly rising water.
The family had gathered to celebrate Beebe’s birthday and Independence Day when a friend, unable to sleep due to the storm, noticed troubling conditions outside. By 3:45 a.m., the group made the decision to evacuate to higher ground near a local Boy Scout camp.
“We’re just really, really lucky,” Beebe said. “We had the advantage of knowledge of the area.” He emphasized that unfamiliarity with the terrain could have led them into dangerous floodwaters had they taken a different route.
The group eventually received shelter from a ranch manager and Hunt Volunteer Fire Department member, who guided them to safety.
Beebe said there were no emergency alerts or reverse 911 warnings before the flooding began, calling the lack of warning a wake-up call. “These ‘500-year floods’ are going to happen more than every 500 years,” he said.
Surveying the aftermath, Beebe recounted scenes of devastation: obliterated RV parks, collapsed stone walls, and homes marked with search and rescue Xs reminiscent of post-Katrina damage assessments.
“The worst devastation was where the RV parks were,” he said. “There’s just nothing. No RVs, no hookups, no trees.”
Beebe fears the actual fatality count may be much higher than initially reported and described his family as shell-shocked after witnessing the destruction.
For the full interview and transcript, visit:
🔗 Texas Standard – Survivors of the Hill Country Floods
Image by David Beebe
