MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It has been six months since catastrophic flooding tore through the Texas Hill Country and killed more than 130 people. Rebuilding is underway, but many families are still in anguish about the loved ones they lost and the homes the river washed away. Lucio Vasquez of the Texas Newsroom brings us the story.
LUCIO VASQUEZ, BYLINE: It was just after midnight on July 4. Joe Herrera (ph) said the rain sounded normal at first. Then it didn't stop.
JOE HERRERA: Started coming down hard.
VASQUEZ: Herrera, who has Parkinson's disease, lives with his wife near the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas. As the rain intensified, the river began to rise.
HERRERA: The water was already into the garage, pretty deep already, within minutes.
VASQUEZ: As it kept rising, a neighbor came to check on them, tied a rope around Herrera and helped pull him to safety. They survived, but their home was badly damaged. Their car was destroyed. Still, Herrera says he's happy to be alive. He says he was back in his home two months later. Hundreds of other people weren't so lucky.
HERRERA: Every day, I pray to God, thanking him for what I have.
VASQUEZ: In a matter of hours, the river rose up to 37 feet. The region is expected to lose up to $22 billion in damage and economic losses. Recovery is far from complete, but daily life has largely resumed. Shops are open. Restaurants are busy. Traffic moves steadily along bridges that were once underwater. The Guadalupe River is quiet now. But walk closer to the river, and the gaps appear - empty lots where homes once stood, fresh dirt where foundations were washed away.
LOUIS AMESTOY: The beauty and this - the calmness of that river, to see the damage that it's done is really hard for people to understand, and that's going to take years to get over.
VASQUEZ: Louis Amestoy is a resident and journalist who's been covering the flood for the Kerr County Lead, a local online news source. He says the landscape tells only part of the story.
AMESTOY: These are people that have lived here their entire lives. You know, this is a pretty close-knit community.
VASQUEZ: The flood was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Texas history. At least two people, including an 8-year-old girl, remain missing. And as the water receded, questions followed about whether people along the river were adequately warned and whether the risk was fully understood before the storm.
AMESTOY: There's a lot of questions to be answered.
VASQUEZ: One of those questions centers on the accuracy of flood maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency that has also faced criticism for its response to the disaster. Former acting FEMA administrator David Richardson was accused by some state and federal lawmakers of failing to show urgency as the crisis unfolded. He later defended the agency's response during a congressional hearing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DAVID RICHARDSON: Texas got what they needed when they needed it.
VASQUEZ: Richardson resigned in November. FEMA did not respond to a request for comment this week. Also some residents said emergency alerts on their phones were inconsistent or never arrived at all. During a public hearing about a month after the flood, the Kerr County officials responsible for sending those alerts said they were either asleep or out of town as floodwaters began to rise.
But for some families, the last six months have been about accountability. Four separate lawsuits are now moving through the courts, all connected to Camp Mystic, an all-girl summer camp where 25 campers and two counselors were killed. The summer camp recently announced plans to reopen later this year. Kyle Findley represents families who are suing Camp mystic.
KYLE FINDLEY: They have a child still missing. And instead of focus being on that, we're talking about trying to open camp to gain additional revenue.
VASQUEZ: The camp's attorney, Mikal Watts, says investments made by Texas lawmakers after the flood should prevent another tragedy from unfolding.
MIKAL WATTS: There will never be a flood death in this river again because we'll have a warning system that we need.
VASQUEZ: The state legislature approved nearly $300 million for upgrades to flood warning equipment, including new sirens along the Guadalupe River. Amestoy, who's been covering the disaster in the same community he calls home, says recovery is far from over.
AMESTOY: We still have missing people. And I think that's our community's responsibility, is to ensure that they're not forgotten.
VASQUEZ: Amestoy says uncertainty still hangs over the Hill Country for survivors still rebuilding and families seeking answers. For NPR News, I'm Lucio Vasquez. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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