Earlier this summer, heavy rainfall over the July 4th weekend led to catastrophic flooding across Central Texas, particularly along the Guadalupe River and in the Hill Country region. The flash floods devastated communities in Kerr and San Saba counties, claiming the lives of at least 136 individuals and leaving eight more missing. Roads and homes were washed away, and the scale of destruction prompted swift emergency declarations at both the state and local levels.

In the immediate aftermath, BBF provided a grant to the Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) team to support their active deployment in response to the crisis. We recently received an update from TEXSAR, offering a detailed look at the scope of their work over the past two weeks and the significant impact of donor support.

A High-Impact Deployment

Since July 4th, more than 130 TEXSAR volunteers have been deployed, contributing over 7,000 hours of service—including 1,100 hours logged by specially trained K9 search teams. Teams were dispatched to the most affected counties, where they assisted in search, rescue, and recovery operations.

As recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of the flooding, TEXSAR has scaled back its active operations in line with lead agency requests but remains ready to assist if called upon. The organization anticipates ongoing involvement in long-term recovery and has seen a surge in public support, including a dramatic increase in volunteer interest and community-led fundraising. BBF is proud to support TEXSAR’s mission, knowing that the impact of this partnership will continue to strengthen local response capacity and help affected communities rebuild.