June 30 to July 2nd, 1936
"A very heavy rain fell over the upper Guadalupe River Basin, west of Korrville, from June 30 to July 2. This rein amounted to over 36 inches 1in about 36 hours at the State Pish Hatchery above Ingram. Record-break- ing stages were experienced on all streams above Kerrville, and on the Guadalupe River to a point below Spring Branch. Along the streams in the hills above Kerrville are many sumer homes, resorts, and camps for boys and girls. Most of these places were damaged by the floods, many of them being almost completely destroyed. There was much apprehension for the safety of the people in these camps, especially for the younger boys and girls, but fortunately all were safe. The fact that the flood occurred in the day rather than at night no doubt accounts for no loss of 1ife in the camps. "
(Major Texas Floods of 1936, US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey Water -Supply Paper 816)
#history #disasters #TXwx #Kerrville
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Michael Busch
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •From 1987: mysanantonio.com/news/local/ar…
Also on the Guadalupe River.
AI6YR Ben
in reply to Michael Busch • • •John Timaeus
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •@michael_w_busch
I know the area well and have been through the floods of 1987, 2002, 2006 & had lots of friends impacted by 2015.
A friend of mine has a place near the headwaters of the south fork of the Guadalupe, 5-6 miles above Camp Mystic. It's been in the family since it was part of Mexico. It has the original schoolhouse for the area on it, from 1836. I've spent probably more than a year cumulative there and lived in the area more than a decade. They remember the floods.
The family had a girls camp there in the 1970s-80s. The cabin footings are 6 feet above the 1936 high water line. The cabins are an additional 6 feet above that, sitting on 2x2 foot concrete piers poured directly onto limestone bedrock. In 1997ish I helped the owners anchor the floor joists and hurricane strap the walls and roofs.
At least one of those cabins is gone.
As is the dam which was built in the 1910s -- more than 2 foot thick concrete with down river buttressing extending > 10 feet.
I'm pretty sure the main building at Camp Mystic was the original from 1926. I've seen pictures of cabins *uphill* from the main building with walls missing.
Crider's Dance Hall and Rodeo* was 100% feet dry in 1987. I had lunch there when we were doing SAR. The main bar is well above most of the property. The pool tables were flipped by the force of the water. Today they were going to celebrate 100 years in business.
The Hunt Store -- easily 30 feet above the first flood plain (which is 10 feet above nominal) -- is wrecked and the owner is asking not to be contacted.
This isn't a problem of not remembering. This storm several sigmas past the worst seen in written history. All the river gauges I've seen so far go off scale at 20-25 feet, and stay off line for hours.
First pass guess by looking at the damage done, the crest on the south fork was 40+ feet.
The local officials didn't assess the risk appropriately and didn't have an appropriate notification plan. And to some extent I blame them for the loss of life.
There are also long-standing issues of lack of infrastructure:
There aren't gauges that far up the river -- where the floods start.
There's nothing like a flood warning siren system.
In the 1990s we had a telephone tree, where the upstream land owners would call us, and we'd call places further down, letting them know that they needed to pull stuff up from the river. Apparently that died at some point.
I haven't been back in that area in a while, mainly because I don't fit in politically any more, but even so I mourn.
*Yes, Dance Hall and Rodeo is a thing; and was a helluva good time too.
AI6YR Ben
in reply to John Timaeus • • •John Timaeus
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •@michael_w_busch
I've seen the Guadalupe and the rest of the Hill Country creeks and rivers at what I thought was the worst they could get:
bouncing 4 foot diameter live oaks downriver like toothpicks,
Chevy Blazers rolled by less than a foot of water.
And debating how to safely do recovery from 20 feet up in a tree.
This is event was an order of magnitude worse than anything I've seen.
We need to face a very harsh fact:
Everything we think we know about the climate and expected maximum worst weather is right out the feckin window.
Policy makers aren't going to be prepared and more people will die, many more will be displaced and bankrupted.
We all need to be ready for this. Check your flood and fire maps. Have plans. Build a support network, and give support.
Violet Madder
in reply to John Timaeus • • •@johntimaeus @michael_w_busch
Policymakers are prepared to cling to the skirts of their sugar daddies, expecting to be sheltered in gilded bunkers while mercenary armies hold back the desperate clawing masses as everyone else burns.
THAT is what they are fucking preparing for.
AI6YR Ben
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •June 30 to July 3, 1932... Rainfall over EXACTLY THE SAME place as the disaster this year (2025).
#history #TXwx #disasters #Kerrville
AI6YR Ben
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •Reference:
google.com/books/edition/Major…
Major Texas Floods of 1936
Google BooksShawnT 🐀
in reply to AI6YR Ben • • •Violet Madder
Unknown parent • • •@LaNaehForaday @johntimaeus @michael_w_busch
Water is life, and the sun is real.
If only we held sacred the things we depend on for survival-- plus love, the whole REASON to live and survive in the first place-- everything would be fine.
All the golden calf shit's gotta go.