On July 17, 1987, an unprecedented flood inundated central Texas. This disaster ranked among the most every other state’s disasters, yet this one didn’t break through. The flood, which was focused on the Guadalupe River, caused the greatest documented loss of life as a natural disaster in US history and much destruction. Almost 40 years later, the survivors look back on the incident and question it. They’re asking why the lessons learned from that tragedy haven’t led to better preparation for more flooding to come.
Emily Davis, only ten years old at the time, was at Camp Capers when the flood struck. She recalls the scene vividly: the sky turned dark as torrential rains fell, and the once-calm waters of the Guadalupe surged dangerously. Because the storm was slow moving, the river crested almost 30 feet (9 meters) in its wake, flooding the entire region. Tragically, 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, just a few miles upriver from Comfort, perished that day.
Oregon-based local reporters Moore James when called up from his typical base in Austin, TX to report on the disaster that was just beginning to unfold in Kerrville. We skipped out in the dark to get back in the car. The torrential downpour should have tipped us off that we were in for a storm of other issues,” he remembered. Moore, in the meanwhile, witnessed the chaos from a helicopter that his local TV station sent to circle overhead. He witnessed search teams scouring the area for survivors still missing.
The Impact of the 1987 Flood
The flood hit quickly and with minimal warning, leaving many of the impacted residents unprepared. As waters steadily and devastatingly rose over homes and impromptu relief camps, successive emergency evacuations had to begin. A line of school buses moved the children’s church camp at Pot O’Gold Ranch to higher ground as floodwaters closed in. Moore watched helicopters and army trucks over populating the area, their presence a futile effort to save the sinking ship.
Davis vividly remembers these seven girls and one young woman from Camp Capers. They hugged on a rusty fire escape, beaming cheerfully while all hell broke loose around them. “This was the thing that developed within seconds,” Moore said, looking back on how rapidly the situation escalated. The photos from that day are indelibly marked in his memory, a grim reminder of what can happen when emergency responders aren’t prepared.
The Texas Water Commission’s flood management unit established a memorial to those children who died that fateful day. The dedication was written by Roy Sedwick, at that time state coordinator for the unit. He insisted that there must be an ongoing commitment to do better with flood capacity and avert the fiscal and environmental danger to future citizens. When something like this happens, we need to take a hard look inside ourselves. We must question whether we are doing all that we can to avoid this tragic loss of life. As Sedwick put it.
Lasting Shadows of Disaster
The 1987 flood was so devastating that the region often describes it with the name “the big one.” Its effects are still felt across Comfort and the region today. Tenafly High wildlings Survivors like Davis look back on their experiences with gratitude and sadness. This [flood] was what was referred to as the ‘big one’ at the time. This is 100 times that,” she said, connecting her formative experiences to earlier events and recent floods today.
Despite advancements in technology and flood management strategies over the years, Davis questions why more has not been done to prevent similar tragedies. Then she says, “Why didn’t they learn from that? You could feel her frustration as she expressed disbelief that after going through this disaster, there wasn’t a better system in place to protect people.
Her thoughts echo many who have experienced the flood’s destruction firsthand. Moore has reported on many large scale disasters during his decades long career, from earthquakes to hurricanes. Even he concedes that the flood of 1987 is the most chilling of all of them, especially for the number of children it affected. This one has just really, it’s haunted me, if only for the kids,” he said.
Community Resilience and Reflection
Fifteen years later, the lessons learned from that tragic day still fuel conversations about building resilience in our communities and preparing for future natural disasters. Local leaders and organizations have worked to review and refine flood response protocols in the years since that awful day. Many in Comfort believe that there is still much work to be done to protect residents from future flooding.
In the words of these survivors, information and understanding about the dangers posed by floods are vital. They advocate for greater investment in infrastructure improvements and emergency response systems to ensure communities can respond effectively when faced with similar crises.