Better times — The Texas Hill Country, encompassing Kerrville and Hunt, as seen here, is renowned for its stunning landscape, inviting trails, and camps along the Guadalupe River. (Courtesy photos/Nayelli Quiroga)
By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com
Nayelli Quiroga, a 2018 San Benito High School graduate and this upcoming school year’s San Benito CISD Elementary School Teacher of the Year, received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Kerrville’s Schreiner University in May of 2022, residing at the scenic Texas Hill Country campus during her four-year tenure there as a student.
During her years on campus, the Angela G. Leal Elementary School music teacher experienced the COVID-19 lockdown and the historic Texas Freeze of 2021, which particularly affected the Texas Hill Country. Still, nothing prepared the 25-year-old educator for the emotional impact she felt on July 4 as news of the devastating flooding that struck the area began to inundate social media.
Meteorologist Chris Nunley reported that nearly two trillion gallons of water fell across the Texas Hill Country on the early morning of July 4. To put that into perspective, the rainfall could supply 11 million homes with water for a year or fill 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Nunley.
As of Thursday morning’s deadline, the death toll resulting from flooding had crept to over 120 victims, with another 173 individuals unaccounted for, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Upwards of 73 of those victims are children, Abbott said during a press conference earlier this week. Most of those children were participating in various summer camps, which were in session during the time of the flooding.
The vast majority of the deaths occurred in Kerr County, where rescuers are still searching for those reported missing after flooding at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp.
The bodies of North Texas girls who attended the camp are among those recovered. The girls’ bodies were recovered along the Guadalupe River corridor in Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Tom Green, and Kendall counties.
Search-and-rescue operations along the Guadalupe River have shifted to a recovery phase.
For Quiroga, the idea of the trails and riverbanks she regularly frequented, now decimated by floodwater, was difficult to fathom. However, more concerning for her was the whereabouts and well-being of friends, coworkers, and professors she had met during her time in Kerrville.
At first, Quiroga said, her worst fears appeared to have been realized when one of her beloved professors and her husband were reported as missing, but they were later found safe and sound, having fled the rising waters.
San Benito CISD, meanwhile, organized Texas Hill Country Gift Card Day, scheduled for Thursday, July 10.
On Thursday, district officials invited the San Benito community to join the district during its gift card collection day to support fellow Texans who experienced significant loss due to flooding.
On Thursday, officials asked the public to consider donating a gift card of any amount and from a business of their choice.
Examples of gift cards include those for food and general supplies, as well as those from HEB, Walmart, Target, Dollar General, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. Restaurants on the gift card donation list included Whataburger, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, and Pizza Hut. Gas cards were also being accepted.
All gift card donations were forwarded to the representatives of the Texas Hill Country support organization, as announced on the district’s Facebook page.
“We appreciate and thank our generous community for considering a donation to support our fellow Texans,” read the post.
“In addition to this donation drive, we ask the entire San Benito community to honor Camp Mystic and the Hill Country by wearing green on Thursday. Green represents Camp Mystic and all those who experienced great devastation during these floods,” the post continues.
“As our SBHS Alma Mater states, ‘United We Shall Stand,’ so let’s unite for our fellow Texans,” the post concludes.
For additional information, contact Luis D. Gonzales, Jr., Director of Public Relations for San Benito CISD, at lgonzales@sbcisd.net or (956) 276-6030.
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