This story was updated at 8:25 a.m.
Flash Flood Emergencies were issued early Thursday for parts of Kerr and Uvalde counties after torrential rain triggered life-threatening flooding across South Central Texas, where emergency crews responded to water rescues.
The National Weather Service first issued a Flash Flood Emergency for Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville-Schreiner Park and Waltonia before later issuing a separate Flash Flood Emergency for Uvalde, Uvalde Estates and Knippa.
The agency upgraded the Flash Flood Emergency for central Kerr County at 3 a.m., calling the situation a "particularly dangerous situation" and urging residents to "seek higher ground now." It is in effect until 11:30 a.m.
Emergency managers reported 3 to 6 inches of rain had already fallen across central Kerr County, with rainfall continuing at rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour. They said water was entering structures as evacuations and water rescues increased across the county.
National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Platt said the heaviest rain was falling across the warned area.
"Heavy rainfall across Central Kerr County. That includes across the Hunt, Ingram, and Kerrville areas. That's the area that looks like it's been hardest hit over the last several hours. Very high rainfall rates — four to six inches per hour in some of these cells, and that activity is just persisting through the morning hours. So travel is highly discouraged," Platt said.
The Flash Flood Emergency for Kerr County is in effect until 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The Flash Flood Emergency for Uvalde County is in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.
On Tuesday morning, Kerrville Public Works reported operational issues at the surface water plant, which is currently offline.
The system has transitioned to groundwater well sites to meet current demand.
The public is strongly encouraged to minimize water use at this time to reduce strain on the system while crews continue to monitor operations.
There are no issues with the community's water supply.
The City of Kerrville also announced that all city offices are closed on Thursday.
In Uvalde, county officials have issued a "shelter in place" warning for residents. According to the Uvalde County Office of Emergency Management, all major highways in the area are closed along with many streets in the city of Uvalde. Residents are being asked to remain in their homes, unless they are in immediate danger. Officials say vehicles should stay off the road to allow first responders to reach emergencies. More heavy rain has fallen overnight and has compounded the flooding issues. Multiple road closures are ongoing due to high water along Highway 90 from Sabinal to Del Rio.
The National Weather Service warned the flooding poses an immediate threat to life and upgraded forecasts for the Guadalupe River at Hunt and Kerrville to major flooding as water rapidly rose along creeks, low-water crossings, roads and the river.
At Hunt, the river was measured at 19.4 feet around 3:20 a.m. and is forecast to crest near 22 feet early Thursday morning — a level comparable to significant flooding experienced in 1981. Roads near Highway 39 are expected to become extremely dangerous, with flooding threatening camps and low-lying areas along the river.
In Kerrville, the Guadalupe River had already reached 13 feet before dawn and is forecast to crest at 20.4 feet, a level the National Weather Service said threatens structures near the river and makes evacuations likely in flood-prone areas.
The emergencies followed several Flash Flood Warnings issued overnight across Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Real and Uvalde counties as repeated rounds of thunderstorms dumped several inches of rain across the western Hill Country and southern Edwards Plateau. Some locations had already received 3 to 12 inches of rain over the previous two days, with more heavy rain continuing Thursday morning.
Outside the Flash Flood Emergencies, a broader Flood Watch remains in effect through Thursday evening for much of South Central Texas, including the San Antonio area and the Hill Country. The watch includes Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Medina, Uvalde, Real and 13 other counties where additional heavy rainfall and flash flooding remain possible.
Forecasters warn another 2 to 6 inches of rain remains possible across the watch area, with isolated totals of 10 to 15 inches possible in parts of the western Hill Country, southern Edwards Plateau and areas west of San Antonio.
The latest flooding comes just over a year after the catastrophic Guadalupe River flood during the early morning hours of July 4, 2025, which killed 119 people in Kerr County. Since then, Kerr County and Upper Guadalupe River Authority officials have installed a new flood warning system and expanded emergency notification efforts intended to provide earlier warnings to residents, visitors and summer camps along the river.
Officials urged residents to seek higher ground immediately, avoid unnecessary travel and follow evacuation orders as flooding continued across the region.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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