TEXSAR Responds - Guadalupe River Flooding - 4th of July Weekend

TEXSAR is responding to requests for support to the floods affecting Kerr County, and beyond, in Texas. Some are saying this event is worse than the horrific Memorial Day Wimberley floods of 2015. We will be deploying volunteer "ground pounders," swiftwater teams, boats, drone teams, K9s and whatever else requesting agencies need of us. Many of the victims who have been washed away from summer camps are children less than 10 years old. Details continue to come in as this will be an extended response effort.

Please help us ensure that TEXSAR can respond fully for as long as we are needed. TEXSAR never stops.

UPDATE 1: We could not be more proud of our teams and the work they are performing. The work is hard on them and our equipment. We are increasing our goal for the online campaign due to the changing conditions and scope of the mission as it evolves over time.

UPDATE 2: Our teams have expanded their reach. Equipment continues to take a beating. More news as it develops.

UPDATE 3: Our goal keeps changing because the duration of the mission looks to expand and we have many volunteers to feed, house and equip. We have already had to replace a few key pieces of equipment and we feel confident there will be more to come.

UPDATE 4: As of 9 pm on July 5, we have 42 volunteers on the ground in the Kerrville area. Our Community Support team is poised to deploy when the agencies managing the response calls for them. More members are arriving tomorrow, along with several K9 teams. As the waters recede, there are more debris fields to go over. The needs continue. Thank you for your support to make sure we are always ready and prepared to serve. This is going to be a continuing, long-term response. It looks like we are heading into other areas, too. We would be remiss if we did not say thank you for your signs of appreciation, your prayers and your support of many types...those mean the world to those deployed.

UPDATE 5: As of 9 pm on July 6, we have 51 members in the Kerrville area, along with K9s and four boats, and other assets. We also have members in Marble Falls. Depending on conditions, our drone teams may be able to get involved soon. Our Community Support team is poised to deploy when the agencies managing the response calls for them. More members continue to arrive as others phase out and return to their "regular" lives. As the waters recede, there are more debris fields to go over. This is going to be a continuing, long-term response.

UPDATE 6: As of 9 pm on July 7, we had 36 members deployed with one K9 in the Kerrville area, and 2 K9s from the Alpha SAR group. We also have 10 members in Marble Falls with a K9 team. A request has also come in from Liberty Hill. We expect that on July 8 we will be in Kerrville with more more than 20 volunteers, 2 of our K9 teams, two K9s from Alpha SAR and two from Mark 9 SAR. We have drones working in Marble Falls.

UPDATE 7: As of 9 pm on July 8, we had 31 team members with 2 K9s in Kerrville, and we were joined by 2 K9s from Alpha SAR and 2 from Mark 9. We had 17 members in Marble Falls with K9s. We continued to adjust assets and equipment to accommodate the needs of our team.

UPDATE 8: As of 9 pm on July 9, we had 22 volunteers and 1 K9s in Kerrville, along with 1 K9s from Alpha SAR and 1 K9s from Mark 9. Our Missing Persons Unit is engaged with law enforcement and our Community Support Team is mobilizing to play its role. We had 14 members and two K9s in Marble Falls; that mission was called by the EOC.

UPDATE 9: As of 9 pm on July 10, we had 25 volunteers in Kerrville, along with our own K9s, as well as K9s from Alpha SAR and Mark 9. Some other SAR nonprofits will be wrapping up their missions in the next day or so. Other K9 groups will be joining with us in the near future. Conditions are muddy, hot, and challenging, but everyone is motivated and humbled by all the support received.

UPDATE 10: As of 6 pm on July 11, we had 40 volunteers in Kerrville with two K9s, as well as 11 members with four K9s from Alpha SAR and Mark 9. We are scheduled to have 42 TEXSAR members and two K9s, and an additional 9 K9s coming from other organizations. Conditions on the ground continue to change, Thanks to the generosity of donors, critical assets are inbound to our deployed members: two kayaks with trolling motors for use with side-scan radar; a 18 x 16 rapid shelter with generator and AC so members can cool off and take care; Rapid Radios to improve communications; high-quality safety helmets and safety glasses for the members along with an abundance of work gloves and other essential gear; four high-quality UAVs and more. We are able to utilize on-the-ground information to determine the most appropriate resources required and then acquire them for quick deployment. More assets coming...stay posted!

UPDATE 11: As of 10 pm, July 12, we had 51 volunteers and 3 K9s active, joined by 14 K9s from Alpha SAR and 4 K9s from Mark9. Thanks to the generosity of supporters, we have acquired, and are acquiring, critical assets, empowering mission performance: We were able to start Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations today and are permitted to operate at night. We've begun boat operations with boat operations (including with kayaks) using side-scan radar. A logistics hub has been established to receive, inventory and distribute assets and equipment that are coming in. Donated Polaris vehicles arrived (more are coming) and were put into use immediately. All housing and food needs are met. Operations with UAV and side-scan radar are expected to expand. Weather is affecting plans with forecasts causing our teams to move some assets to higher ground. A rapid deploy shelter will arrive tomorrow. We have 36 volunteers and 5 K9s expected tomorrow. More sophisticated resources are on the way. Updates coming.

UPDATE 12: As of 3 pm on July 13, we had 36 members engaged, along with 5 K9s. We also had K9s and some members from three other organizations that joined our effort. Weather affected our efforts today. Two boat teams were requested by another flood-impacted location. For tomorrow, we expect 17 members to be engaged with two K9s and one K9 from another organization in search operations in the Kerrville area.

UPDATE 13: As of 7 pm on July 14, our members remain quite busy. The pace is shifting to that of long-term operation with a focus on recovery; however, our teams can adjust based on specific needs of requesting agencies. 21 TEXSAR volunteers participated today with 2 K9 Handlers and 4 K9s. We also had assistance from KERT (a Wisconsin group) with 1 K9 Handler and1 K9. Additional resources and equipment continue to flow in, thanks to many generous donors: side-scan radar and kayaks to help in shallow water, GPS for our K9s, safety gear for members, an air-conditioned rapid deploy tent, and much more that we will be posting about here. As of now, more than 120 TEXSAR volunteer members have participated in this mission. They have travelled 79,000+ miles and put in 5,678 hours in service to those in need. K9s have put in 558 hours. We have more than 1,000 new applications to join TEXSAR. Together, we are creating a new TEXSAR.

UPDATE 14: As of 6 pm on July 14, we had 19 TEXSAR members involved with the deployment, including two K9 handlers for three K9s. We had the assistance of one K9 and one K9 handler from KERT. Our drone teams are utilizing the Automatic Drone Image Analysis Tool (ADIAT) that was developed by TEXSAR and distributed for free to help other agencies. Additional resources continue to flow in. Weather continues to create disruptions.