Dramatic 911 calls from the Fourth of July flooding in the Texas Hill Country have been released. These calls reveal the desperation of those caught up in the disaster.
The calls, which were obtained by ABC News, paint a clearer picture of the chaos that ensued when the Guadalupe River turned into a black wall of water before sunrise on July 4.
As the river swelled in Kerr County, some calls poured into emergency centers in nearby counties like Kendall and Gillespie.
In one call, a woman pleads with a Gillespie County 911 dispatcher to help find people swept away by floodwaters.
“911, what is your location and emergency?” the Gillespie County dispatcher asked in one call.
“The Guadalupe River in Kerrville,” the woman replied. “I need someone to take me seriously. I have two missing people that were swept away in their Airstream at 4:58 this morning. However, one phone is still ringing.”
>> Flood timeline: Alerts, emergency response and pivotal moments in July 4 tragedy in the Hill Country
The flooding ultimately claimed more than 130 lives in Central Texas, including at least 108 in Kerr County alone.
The operator told the caller he was transferring her call to Kerr County because Kerrville is not in Gillespie County.
The caller’s voice grew urgent.
“If you could take my information and take the phone number, they might be able to be found,” the woman told the dispatcher. “Please do not do this to me.”
In another call, a father frantically attempted to locate his daughter, a camper at Camp Mystic.
“Hi, I’m near Kerrville,” he told the dispatcher. “My daughter’s at Camp Mystic. I just received a report indirectly that she was airlifted. I’m trying to locate her whereabouts so I can meet her immediately.”
“Where was she airlifted from?” the dispatcher asked.
“Um, the river. She was part of the campers who were flooded,” the father replied. “Where was this? Hunt, Texas.”
KSAT Investigates obtained 911 call logs from the day of and the day after the flood in Kerr County.
In all, 380 calls were placed to 911 on July 4 and July 5 in Kerr County, according to records from the sheriff’s office.
Calls not only came into the sheriff’s office but also to the Texas Department of Public Safety, smaller volunteer fire departments — such as the departments in Hunt, Mountain Home and Center Point — and the Ingram Police Department, among other agencies.
During a joint state House and Senate committee hearing on July 31, three Kerr County leaders told lawmakers they were either asleep or out of town as the flooding unfolded.
William “Dub” Thomas, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator, told lawmakers that he was sick the day before the flooding occurred and missed two calls with Texas Emergency Management officials.
Thomas and Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha both acknowledged being asleep when the crisis started.
Jerremy Hughes, Kerrville’s emergency management coordinator, put in retirement paperwork two days before the flood, according to the city. Despite preparing for retirement, testimony from July 31 indicated that Hughes was on duty that morning.
The city said Hughes left his position on July 24.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who holds a position in Texas that functions as the county’s chief executive officer, testified that he was out of town at Lake Travis, located near Austin, on the morning of the flood.
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