Documenting the Horrors of the Texas Floods

New York Times

2 days ago

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.
On Sunday, July 6, I woke up to a call from one of my editors. Jennifer Mosbrucker, a photo editor with the National Desk, wanted to know how quickly I could get to Central Texas. There, heavy rains and flooding had been ravaging areas along the Guadalupe River, including Camp Mystic, where more than 750 girls had been in attendance.
I sprang into a familiar mode: booking flights, reserving an S.U.V., securing accommodations and packing my long list of gear — camera equipment, drone, Starlink satellite and, in the case of flooding, waders to stay dry. By that night, I'd made it from Boise, Idaho, where I live, to Dallas to San Antonio to Kerrville. The next morning, I headed to the spot I'd settled on looking at a Google satellite map the night before: a mobile home park close to the water's edge.
What I came across was a far cry from the idyllic Hill Country scene that must have existed when the satellite image had been recorded. Floodwaters had deposited everything from kayaks to clothing high up in trees. Vehicles were strewed along the banks of the receding Guadalupe, their windows smashed out from violent rides downriver. I got to work photographing emergency response personnel sifting through debris, searching for the missing.
Covering natural disasters for The Times is a team effort. There are two or three of us out making visuals at any given time, and one or two photo editors remotely coordinating our coverage. There are security personnel keeping track of our locations. We all stay in contact with a text thread.
Working in these conditions requires a careful balance of speed, safety and instinct. With such major news, it's critical that The Times' website has a steady stream of fresh visuals. That means filing new pictures to my editors every few hours; during the five days I spent in Texas, I uploaded between 50 and 100 each day. Work days lasted from 12 to 18 hours.
The hazards are numerous. There are the floodwaters themselves, with strong currents in some places and deceptive depths in others. There's the risk of contaminants in the water, sharp objects among the debris, and so on. Ensuring my own safety is an imperative, both for my well-being and because I shudder at the idea of adding to the burden of overwhelmed emergency response resources.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.