In early July, as the torrential rain that unleashed deadly flash flooding in the Texas Hill Country started to abate, a Kerr County resident standing on a bridge filmed something floating toward him through the trees. It was a cream-colored, ranch-style house with black trim — so perfectly intact it almost seemed like the swollen Guadalupe River might set it down and whoever owned it could pick up where they left off. “There’s a cat in there,” someone watching remarked.
Seconds later, the house plowed into the bridge, beams snapping as it crushed against the steel railing.
Kerr County appraisers estimate that thousands of homes like this one were damaged or destroyed by the July 4 floods, totaling more than $240 million in lost property value alone. In the end, the disaster killed more than 130 people and caused damage and economic losses worth $18 billion at minimum.
The tragedy in Texas is the latest addition to the country’s swelling disaster ledger, which is on track to well exceed $1 tr... Read more
