KERRVILLE, Texas – San Antonio leaders were shocked to learn the damage sustained during the June 12 flood on Beitel Creek did not qualify for federal assistance, San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto told lawmakers Thursday.
“We didn’t anticipate that was even a possibility,” Frausto said, “because we knew that the damage was substantial.”
While lawmakers convened in Kerrville to discuss disaster preparedness following the Hill Country floods, Frausto requested that the state consider relief and recovery funds for when damages fall short of the federal disaster threshold.
The Beitel Creek floods caused $22 million in damages, according to Frausto, but despite extensive efforts to document damages, they did not reach the $55 million threshold for federal assistance.
“We were very much relying on that funding,” Frausto said.
The San Antonio fire chief echoed Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd’s calls for a strong state relief fund.
“When disasters strike, there is often a gap between instances where local government can be self-sustainable and instances when we’re able to receive federal relief,” Frausto said. “In the instances where neither are applicable, we need assistance from the state.”
Frausto also requested funding for advanced flood warning systems and automatic barricades at low water crossings, but clarified that these would not have assisted officials in the response to the Beitel Creek floods.
“I wonder if it would have made any bit of difference had we gotten there faster,” Frausto said, “because this all happened in a matter of seconds.”
To highlight the severity of the Hill Country floods, Frausto shared that flood waters trapped some of the city’s rescue crew members on the way to assist Kerr County.
In the early morning hours of July 4, Frausto said two boat rescue crews from San Antonio encountered high waters while on the way to Kerrville.
“They got trapped,” Frausto said. “They couldn’t turn either direction because both roadways were flooded.”
Frausto said the crews resorted to cutting fences to escape the floodwaters and had to board their boats to avoid being swept away.
“It was a very, very close call,” Frausto said. “We could have been one of the fatalities very easily.”s
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