PIEN HUANG, HOST:
In Texas, rescuers are searching for survivors after devastating flooding claimed the lives of at least 32 people. Authorities are still in search-and-rescue operations, and the number of people missing is still unclear. Houston Public Media's Dominic Anthony Walsh is in Kerrville, Texas, which has been affected by the floods. Hey, Dominic.
DOMINIC ANTHONY WALSH, BYLINE: Hello.
HUANG: So Dominic, tell us what's happening there today. What have you seen?
WALSH: Families are still waiting for their loved ones, and community members are coming together to start the recovery process. The roads are crowded with locals and emergency vehicles, and some streets remain closed due to the flooding. One of the reunion centers is right next to the Guadalupe River, which rose as much as 25 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning. Trees that usually stand tall are cracked onto their sides, and the water is muddy and still higher than normal.
HUANG: And how are people doing? What's the mood there?
WALSH: The mood is somber. Almost everyone I spoke with had tears in their eyes at some point during our conversations, but there's also a sense of community. People are coming together. They're grieving together but also taking steps to help. I stopped by an elementary school in the city of Ingram. Residents were dropping off supplies throughout the day, including Marissa Baldwin (ph) and her son, Hudson (ph).
MARISSA BALDWIN: It is small, and so everyone knows someone that's been affected. We have friends that are missing, friends that were recovered last night. (Crying) So everyone just doing what they can.
HUDSON: I'm too young to really understand it, but I know it's devastating to everybody around Kerrville.
WALSH: This is the Fourth of July weekend, so usually the town would be cheerful with multiple events. All of that has been canceled as everyone focuses on rescues and recovery.
HUANG: And is flooding common in this part of central Texas?
WALSH: Flood warnings are common, but it's been decades since this part of Texas saw an event like this. Larry Howard is the board president of the Arcadia Theatre, which is serving as a reunification site. He remembers similar devastating flooding in 1987.
LARRY HOWARD: I was here during the '87 flood. I was actually out on the hunt and saw the devastation of what it can do and never forgot that. But I think this one is more devastating than the '87 flood. I think we're going to have a somber day today, finding out the devastation.
WALSH: It's been drizzling, but the river level has come down. There are more thunderstorms than the forecast for tonight, and a flood watch remains in effect until later this evening. Those rescue efforts are ongoing, but more than 30 hours have passed since the flooding began. So some people are turning to prayer. I stopped at a gas station as I got into town, and the flooding was the only subject of conversation in the line of customers. The attendant, Nene Cook (ph), knows someone who's missing.
NENE COOK: If all we can do is pray, then that's all we've got, then that's what we should do.
WALSH: She was encouraging everyone in line to attend a prayer vigil tonight.
HUANG: There's still a lot of uncertainty right now. I wonder, briefly, how are people dealing with it?
WALSH: It'll be some time before a sense of normalcy returns to this area. I stopped by a staging area at a church in Kerrville. Helicopters were landing and taking off, and dozens of emergency vehicles from across Texas filled the parking lot. Inside the mess hall, first responders were not eager to talk. One man had a thousand-yard stare and would only say he felt out of it. This community is hurting and in shock. Today was really the first day when the sheer scale of the devastation became evident. People are still missing, and the town has turned into a staging area for first responders. Once the immediate rescue phase is over, recovery will take some time.
HUANG: That's Dominic Anthony Walsh in Kerrville, Texas. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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