Texas flooding: 15 people rescued after severe storms

Crews rescue 15 people after flooding in WilCo

It was a busy night across the region as torrential rain forced first responders to carry out multiple water rescues.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - It was a busy night across the region as torrential rain forced first responders to carry out multiple water rescues.

The backstory:

Williamson County and parts of the Hill Country were hit particularly hard, with at least 15 people needing to be rescued across three different operations.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, the Texas Game Warden’s Search and Rescue Team were requested for assistance by officials in Williamson County. Three men had been swept away in their vehicle along Berry Creek, just outside of Florence.

"Your mind is so focused on the mission at hand. It's not so much of a fear-based thing. Our goal is to get these people out in the safest manner and as quick as possible," said Texas Game Warden, Derek Rennspies, as he recalled responding to the scene.

"So their car went down, I would say, 30, 40 yards from the road, and then it hit a tree," said Rennspies. 

After being swept downstream, the three men were left stranded in trees, with first responders working against the clock to bring them to safety.

"Anytime someone's in the water, obviously time is of the essence. It's, you know, middle of the night, dark, raining. There's flood water moving very fast."

Swift water speedboats were used to rescue two of the men while a Starflight helicopter airlifted the last person. All three men were medically evaluated and did not suffer injuries.

But it would be far from the only rescue mission carried out across Central Texas. Alongside Texas Task Force 1, the Georgetown Fire Department was seen wading through waist-deep water on Tuesday night to rescue a vehicle stranded on a flooded portion of County Road 152. The occupant was rescued from their vehicle. Neither the individual nor responding personnel were injured.

In Burnet County, at least eight roadways closed due to the heavy downpour. A rescue operation would eventually be carried out near the Cow Creek Bridge, with Marble Falls Police confirming the area had been cleared by late Tuesday night.

In Atascosa County, south of San Antonio, cars which had attempted to cross low-lying roadways were seen almost completely submerged underwater.

With May typically the heaviest month for rainfall, the last few weeks have kept agencies like the Texas Game Wardens with their hands full.

"They have been quite busy. We've been deployed with other local agencies multiple times. It's one of those situations where when it rains, it pours, you know. We may have no calls for weeks or months, but when it starts, it tends to be a fairly frequent call out, especially in May, during April, kind of this time of year when we get all these springtime rains, the callouts do tend to increase."

With it only taking just minutes for certain crossings to be engulfed in water, Rennspies warns that it’s always better safe than sorry during the rainy season.

"The message to me is very simple. If you see water on the road, please don't risk it. Turn around. It doesn't take but a second to be swept off the roadway."