SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A year ago today, catastrophic flooding struck two neighboring parts of the Texas Hill Country. Along the Upper Guadalupe River, at least 130 people died, and a major recovery effort followed. Nine people died along nearby Sandy Creek, and now survivors say the response has been far more limited. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports.
DAVID MARTIN DAVIES, BYLINE: Juliet and Scott Weldon are watching construction begin to rebuild their home.
JULIET WELDON: That's where we are. That's my house, and that's where it happened.
DAVIES: Their new house is on the site of where their old home stood on the banks of the Guadalupe River. But this time, it'll be raised 8 feet. It should stand up to floodwaters like what came last July 4.
WELDON: We watched the water enter our home, and the floors buckled, the furniture floated, rooms began collapsing and the water kept rising.
DAVIES: The current pushed the two out of the house. They managed to cling to a large bush while they watched their neighborhood ripped apart. And now the Weldons are rebuilding with a lot of help.
WELDON: It doesn't come easy. The local community, there's a lot of love, compassion, kindness, generosity. But the first responders, really, for our needs at that moment, are the churches, private sectors, not the government. No one.
DAVIES: Juliet figured out how to navigate the bureaucracies of disaster recovery, and they received the maximum amount from FEMA, $46,600. But other checks arrived from faith-based groups, foundations and community organizations.
WELDON: It strengthened my faith to humanity and the love of people.
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DAVIES: It was a similar but very different story of a flood disaster nearby in Sandy Creek.
ASHLEE WILLIS: The morning of July 5, you would be probably 15, 20 feet underwater right now where we're standing. That telephone pole, all the way in the back, the water was 10 foot up that pole. It's hard to fathom.
DAVIES: Ashlee Willis lives with her family on a fresh herb farm that is divided by Sandy Creek southwest of Austin. The spring-fed creek is normally docile, but just after midnight on July 5, the same storm that flooded the Guadalupe River hit and turned the creek into a raging river.
WILLIS: My house was behind this tree, and it floated 10 feet.
DAVIES: Nine people died in the Sandy Creek flood. About 200 homes were damaged. Family and friends who had gathered for a festive Fourth of July instead huddled on high ground in the dark and watched by the illumination of lightning, rising water and wondered if they would survive.
WILLIS: And as horrifying as all of that sounds, easiest part of this whole ordeal was that night.
DAVIES: Ashlee's mother, Brandy Gerstner, says they've been struggling to recover ever since.
BRANDY GERSTNER: We got deserted.
DAVIES: Four weeks after the flood, Willis testified to the Texas Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding.
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WILLIS: They are marking people found when they find their body parts, and then they are not coming back to find the rest of these people. I found a hip and a leg on my property.
DAVIES: Willis says she's not received money from FEMA. They had FEMA flood insurance, but they're in a dispute over the payout. NPR reached out to FEMA to get details about what they provided to the flood victims and the overall rebuilding effort, but we didn't get a response. So the rebuilding is on hold. Support has come mostly from volunteers. She said she is glad the Guadalupe flood victims are getting help, but those along Sandy Creek would also like to be remembered. As for Juliet and Scott Weldon, they plan to move into their new home in October.
For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in Kerrville. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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