Latest news with #BigSandyCreek
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Awful moment CBS reporter asks Texas floods dad how his son is doing only to receive the worst news possible
A reporter covering the catastrophic floods in Texas asked a father about his son's well-being - only to find out the teen had died. J.J. Jarmon, a flood survivor from near Big Sandy Creek, had been speaking with a reporter from CBS Austin when the interview took a tragic turn. Unaware of the full scope of Jarmon's tragedy, the reporter inquired about his family. 'Your son has been found? How's he doing?' the reporter asked. Jarmon's devastating response quickly clarified the horrific situation: 'He is no longer,' the father replied. The reporter admitted he 'misunderstood' what Jarmon had previously said about his family, adding, 'I'm so sorry.' Jarmon vividly recounted the terrifying moment floodwaters surged, waking him with 'loud bangs and a watery sound' against his back wall. He watched in horror as his boats, once in located his yard, were gone, realizing 'the water had taken them down the stream.' While Jarmon miraculously managed to climb to safety, his wife, Alissa, and 15-year-old son, Braxton, were killed. His 16-year-old daughter, Felicity, remained missing. The interviewer continued, saying 'I'm so sorry for your losses' before asking Jarmon, 'How are you feeling today?' The father responded that he was 'managing the past few days since this has happened.' 'The anxiety of it is really crazy because I'm not really happy with the fact that [Felicity] hasn't been found. 'I'm happy for all the support, and I do understand there's a lot of circumstances, debris.' Toward the end of the exchange, the interviewer said that he didn't want to ask an 'insensitive question,' but still questioned whether Jarmon had 'any hope at all at this point' that his daughter would be found alive. 'I really don't think so,' Jarmon replied. 'There's no way.' At least 132 people have died in the flash floods that torn through the Hill Country region of Texas, and more than 100 people are still believed to be missing as recovery efforts are ongoing. Among those killed in the tragedy were 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp. Officials said five campers and one counselor from the camp have still not been found. Community members are urgently calling on city and county officials to implement a warning system to prevent deadly disasters, such as floods and tornadoes. Nearly 43,000 people had signed an online petition as of Tuesday morning requesting that old-fashioned outdoor sirens be installed across Kerr County, where the majority of fatalities occurred. Authorities have faced scrutiny over the region's emergency alert system since the Guadalupe River swelled and broke its banks in the middle of night on July 4, with many locals alleging the alert response was delayed or never came at all.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Travis County bridge damaged by floods closed, community cut off
LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — A tight-knit community in western Travis County is relying on volunteers for supplies after flash floods severely damaged a bridge at Big Sandy Road and Round Mountain Road — the only way in and out of the neighborhood. Saturday's torrential rain caused Big Sandy Creek to swell dramatically, damaging the infrastructure of the community just outside Leander. 'Total destruction': 10 still missing in Travis County, Big Sandy Creek area devastated While pedestrians can walk across the bridge at their own risk, cars and other vehicles are unable to cross. Because it's the only exit for one community, neighbors estimate that it leaves hundreds of people with no way out. Travis County officials said fixing the bridge is a priority. Hector Nieto, a Travis County spokesperson, said the county is working with the state to install a temporary crossing 'as soon as possible.' 'Ideally, we would like for this to be a day or two, but I am not going to guarantee a day or two because I don't want to overpromise,' Nieto said. 'We knew they were gone': Big Sandy Creek flood kills mom, two brothers still missing In the meantime, volunteers are shuttling supplies across the bridge on foot. Neighbors are bringing food, water and other essentials to those who are trapped. Nieto emphasized that even after a temporary crossing is installed, Travis County will develop 'long-term' solutions to ensure the bridge is safe for pedestrians and cars to cross. 'We need to evaluate the viability of the bridge and make sure that it is safe for the public,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘The worst nightmare you've ever had': Jonestown man recounts saving family from flood
JONESTOWN (KXAN) – As floodwaters rapidly rose overnight across Central Texas, one man's instincts may have saved a family's life. Unable to sleep, Matthew Crowder showed up to work early at Texas Paintball, on the banks of Big Sandy Creek in Jonestown. Realizing they wouldn't be opening for the day, he walked the property, snapping photos of the rising water. As he was leaving, a gut feeling made him turn back—and that's when he saw floodwater edging dangerously close to a nearby home. 'And then all of a sudden, just within 30 seconds, the people's front yard was starting to take on water, pretty bad,' Crowder added. He decided to start shouting to get their attention. That's when he saw a child with a dog exit the home. Moments later, his mother followed. He said she appeared in shock, so he took control, telling her 'make sure everyone's awake, get your head count, and let's make a plan.' He also called 911. As he waited for first responders, the water rose to waist-high, making it tough for children to get their footing, one briefly being swept away a short distance. Crowder recounts grabbing children, four of them, all under 12 years old, helping get them to safety. Crowder said that's when the power cut out. 'To be in that water and listening to the thunder, the loud, you know, water, the trees, hearing the roots come up off the trees and buildings crashing and things flying down the creek, and, you know, everyone, kind of yelling and, you know, screaming, trying to find who's where and stuff. It was definitely like surreal,' Crowder said. He lost his footing, water carrying him 20 feet down the road. Despite that, he got back on his feet and helped the mother, her children, their grandfather, and two dogs to safety. 'It's kind of like, you know, the worst nightmare you've ever had, and and just kind of realizing that in the moment is, is something that, if you haven't gone through it, it's really kind of hard to comprehend,' Crowder said. Among the children was a 12-year-old friend staying over for a sleepover. His mother later contacted KXAN, saying Crowder saved her son's life. Chrissy Eliashar recounted the moment the good Samaritan rescued her and her family when the unthinkable happened — floodwaters was slowly rushing into their Jonestown home in the early morning on July 5. 'At 4 a.m. my son Benny comes running and tells me, 'Somebody is screaming outside and the dogs are barking,'' Eliashar said. 'And sure enough we run to the front door, open it and there's a person screaming for us to get out of the house. Our front yard was a rushing river.' But despite the rushing waters, Crowder continued to help the family of five and their dogs to safety. When they attempted to leave the house the backyard was unfortunately 'already a lake,' Eliashar described. So, with five kids and their dogs, they escaped through the front yard, which by that point was already a river, Eliashar said. 'These guys were really, really brave,' Eliashar said, referencing the kids. In that moment of fighting to get to safety, Eliashar said it felt like the time was going second-by-second. 'It felt like a minute,' said 12-year-old Daniel Polner, the friend staying over at the Eliashar family's house. Polner said the adrenaline was what kept them going. 'You're just thinking get out of there,' Polner said. As for the good Samaritan, Crowder, Eliashar said she is grateful for him. 'He was in the right place and the right time. He was being a good leader,' Eliashar said. In the moment of panic he was the voice that guided all of them to safety, she said. Having gone through this stressful and scary experience, the family would like to remind others to listen to evacuations and flash floods because it could potentially be life-threatening or dangerous. According to a fundraising effort on GoFundMe, the Eliashar family lost their home, car and belongings. They had no flood insurance and only got away with the clothes on their backs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Total destruction': 10 still missing in Travis County, Big Sandy Creek area devastated
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The search for at least 10 people who are still missing – and the recovery effort – continues along Big Sandy Creek in Western Travis County Monday, after floods devastated the area in the early morning hours of July 5. Volunteers gathered at Round Mountain Baptist Church at the southern tip of Leander Monday, out on ATVs and trucks passing out supplies to their neighbors. 'Help us': Travis County residents near Big Sandy feeling overlooked by flood response For one of those volunteers, Justin, the effort is personal. He confirmed to KXAN that one of his friends lost his wife, daughter and son. Justin said he used to drive those kids to school. 'His boy was a really good…sweet kid. His daughter was a sweetheart too,' he said as he drove us through some of the worst destruction near the Leander side of Big Sandy Creek Monday. 'The worst nightmare you've ever had': Jonestown man recounts saving family from flood Twenty minutes away, a family that narrowly escaped the flood water near Jonestown returned home for the first time – they're down creek from the Baptist church. The home is now moved off its foundation. Everything in it is destroyed. But the family is glad to be alive after waking up to screams – the screams of a man who worked nearby trying to alert people to rising water – and realized they needed to get out of the house. 'There's a rushing river underneath us…My house I can feel it is about to go. It's moved several feet. That tree stopped it,' Chrissy Eliashar said. Elishar and her father, three children and one of the children's friends were all able to escape thanks to that man. Their family dogs also survived. 'We both just knew to like stay calm. Not turn crazy and just start running because we knew that we would have probably been taken away by the water,' said Daniel Polner, the 12-year-old boy who stayed with Elishar's family that night. Now, for many in this community, all that's left for some is gratitude that they've made it through an event that took the lives of so many others. 'Just have so many pictures and I'm always going to remember those faces and now I come out here and it is washed, it's gone,' Eliashar said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flood Carries Away Homes In Austin-Area Neighborhood, Residents Say
LEANDER —After devastating floods swept across Texas' Hill Country during Independence Day, stormwaters carried away at least two homes in an Austin-area neighborhood, residents told The Dallas Express. A flood surged through a neighborhood west of Leander, near Round Mountain Road, overnight between July 4 and 5. The Dallas Express visited the scene and found widespread destruction. Floodwaters from Big Sandy Creek swept across Round Mountain Road and Big Sandy Drive, leaving behind twisted wood and mangled debris. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, this followed deadly flooding throughout the Hill Country. When The Dallas Express arrived, one man departing the area said, 'It's real bad.' A law enforcement officer told the reporter there were no confirmed missing persons 'that we've heard,' although a resident voiced concern about people possibly swept away in the current. Two nearby residents told The Dallas Express the flood had carried away two homes. They also raised concerns about the structural integrity of the bridge over Big Sandy Drive and said they had no power or running water. Travis County EMS reported that around 2 a.m. on July 5, first responders responded to a water rescue call in the Sandy Creek neighborhood of northwest Travis County. A family was trapped in their home by rapidly rising floodwaters, and rescue efforts were delayed due to impassable roads. Boat teams eventually accessed the area and discovered dozens of people in need of help — clinging to trees, rooftops, and power poles. A total of 25 individuals were rescued, with 10 taken to a Family Assistance Center. Four adults were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries, according to ATCEMS. Officials warned that more rain is expected and urged the public not to drive through barricades or flooded roads. The City of Leander closed parks and trails on July 5 'due to severe flooding and the threat of additional flooding.' Officials warned residents not to drive around barricades and closed several roads, including Hero Way, which had water flowing across it earlier when The Dallas Express visited the area. Nearby, the San Gabriel River flooded areas of Georgetown, prompting evacuations. Heavy rain since Independence Day led to severe flooding across Hill Country – especially near the Guadalupe River in Kerr County – which killed at least 24 people and sent as many as 25 girls from Camp Mystic missing, as The Dallas Express reported. 'If they are alive and safe, we will find them and bring them home to you,' said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a news conference. To report missing persons in Kerr County or nearby, residents should call 830-258-1111 or email floodrecovery@ More rain is expected across the Austin area through the evening of July 5.
