After deadly 2025 Hill Country flooding, Texas policies stayed mostly the same. Then it flooded again.

# What happened

In July 2025 a sudden, violent flood along the Guadalupe River devastated parts of the Texas Hill Country. At least 119 people died in Kerr County. Homes were washed away and RV parks suffered deadly losses. Many residents chose to rebuild rather than leave.

# What the investigation found

A joint Tribune–ProPublica investigation reviewed decades of decisions by Texas lawmakers and compared state rules with flood maps and structure data. The reporting identified several patterns:

• Texas has more buildings in flood-prone places than any state except Florida. Many of the fatalities in 2025 occurred in locations already identified as flood-prone by federal maps.
• Legislative inaction over nearly 60 years left statewide standards weaker than those in most other states. Texas ranks behind more than half of states when it comes to stricter elevation rules for buildings at risk of flooding.

• Other policy areas were not changed. State rules governing RV park siting were not tightened despite deadly losses at campgrounds. And statewide building rules that might force substantial elevation or relocation of damaged homes remain limited.

# How rebuilding interacts with rules

State code allows many damaged properties to be repaired or rebuilt without meeting stronger modern standards so long as repair costs do not exceed half the structure's value. Where properties are in floodplains, homes may be rebuilt if elevated to the projected 100-year flood level, but many risky locations remain eligible for reconstruction under current rules.

Local governments can adopt stricter standards, but the state has not required them to do so. That leaves a patchwork of protections that depends on local political choices and resources.

# Human impacts and recovery

The story follows residents such as Joan Connor and her husband, who survived the 2025 flood by clinging to a pergola. They returned to a refurbished house by Christmas and expected another such event would not happen in their lifetimes. Their home flooded again in July 2026.

Communities report repeated damage, personal loss, and stalled rebuilding work. Donated furniture, volunteer repairs and slow insurance or aid processes have not fully restored normal life when flooding recurs.

# Government response and ongoing issues

Texas officials, including the governor's office, cited funding for mitigation projects as part of their response. Legislative debate after 2025 produced the youth camp relocation law but did not yield broader statewide changes to RV park siting or minimum building-elevation standards.

The investigation highlights a consistent pattern: federal flood maps had flagged many of the damaged sites, yet state-level changes to prevent rebuilding in the most hazardous places were limited. The result is repeated exposure for people who live and rebuild in mapped flood-prone areas.

# What this means now

Residents and local leaders face decisions about whether to rebuild in place or to pursue relocation and stricter protections at the local level. The repeat flooding in 2026 has extended recovery timelines and reactivated questions about how state policy should balance property rights, local control and public safety.