Latest news with #JoyceCatherineBadon
CBS News
08-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
After his family died in a Texas flood 10 years ago, he vowed to help others. Now, he's keeping his promise.
Texas dad who lost family in 2015 flood joins search to help others today Jonathan McComb knows what it means to lose everything. In 2015, a flash flood swept through Wimberley, Texas, washing away the home where he was staying with his wife, their two young children and several friends. McComb was the sole survivor out of nine people in the home. He turned up 11 miles down the Blanco River, climbed out of a cliff and knocked on someone's door for help. Since then, he has returned to disaster sites across the state with Texas Search and Rescue — including the deadly floods that struck Central Texas over the weekend. But this time, it hit a lot closer to home. "I know that there's folks out there that are hurting, and I know exactly how they're feeling," McComb told CBS News. "And so I want to be able to help them and hopefully give some closure and just be a light to them right now." "This is more about them than it is me," he said. McComb is part of a quiet but crucial network of volunteers searching for the missing, enduring sweltering summer heat and trudging through massive debris piles. Like many searchers, Louis Deppe isn't from the community. He doesn't know the layout, but he knows loyalty. And when his friend Ty Badon's daughter was swept away, he came, driving his mud-caked truck past roadblocks and into the heart of the flood zone every day. Joyce Catherine Badon, 21, was staying in a cabin with three friends when it was swallowed by raging waters on July Fourth. Badon's body has been found, but two of her friends are unaccounted for, so Deppe is still searching. "I don't have a time limit, so however long it takes," Deppe told CBS News. For McComb, the work is also about honoring the people who searched for his own family a decade ago. "When I was in the hospital after my ordeal, and knowing that everybody was out there searching for my family, I knew that I needed to give back," McComb said. In the 2015 flood, his 4-year-old daughter was never found — a fact that still drives him today. "It's pretty important. I know what it feels like, and so I want to do everything I can to bring that closure to them. Not that we can promise that, but we're going to give every effort we can and keep going," McComb said. McComb has since remarried and has a 5-year-old daughter who knows his story. Before leaving for this latest search, he explained to her why he needed to go. "That was a tough, tough hug when I left her on July 4 to come out here to help," McComb said. "And she understood." contributed to this report.
CNN
08-07-2025
- CNN
Death toll in Texas flooding surpasses 100 as search and rescue enters 5th day
Update: Date: 11 min ago Title: 21-year-old killed in Texas flooding had been staying at a cabin with her friends, who are still missing Content: Joyce Catherine Badon, 21, was found dead following the devastating floods in Hunt, Texas, her father told CNN. Ty Badon said his daughter's body was found Monday after several days of searching. 'My only ask is to please keep praying for me, Kellye, and our son Nick as we live our lives without Joyce Catherine being with us here on Earth,' he told CNN. In an interview with CNN's Ed Lavandera on Saturday, Ty Badon said Joyce Catherine was staying with friends at a cabin when the flooding hit early Friday morning. He said she was on the phone with her friend's father who owns the cabin and told him the others had been 'washed away' by floodwaters. 'Then a few seconds later, the phone went dead … we presume that she got washed away as well,' he said. Badon traveled more than 350 miles from Beaumont to Hunt to help search for his daughter and three of her friends, all of whom went missing on Friday. Update: Date: 11 min ago Title: Everybody was asleep when flood warnings were issued, Texas flood survivor recalls Content: A woman who was rescued by her neighbor during the deadly flash flooding in Texas told CNN some alerts came through to her phone, but waters rose rapidly in the dark of night, which made it difficult to react. Leigh-Anne Aiken whose home was located along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, said the only flood alert she noticed was from 1:40 a.m. 'To be honest, this was in the hours that I was asleep and there have been so frequent these different types of flood warnings, that I didn't really register that,' Aiken told CNN's John Vause. 'I couldn't tell you honestly if it was a warning or a watch.' Meanwhile, the water was rising while everybody was asleep, she said. 'It was pitch dark. The power was out. We're in the water. If I hadn't already been living on the property for some time … and been familiar with it. I would have been swept away because I wouldn't know which way to go,' she said. Aiken said she kept hearing loud noises from the storm and when she put her feet on the ground around 5 a.m., she was already in ankle deep in water. She quickly called her neighbor and told him water had entered her cabin. 'And he came right away. By the time he got to me, which wasn't long, and I had grabbed one of my dogs and he grabbed my larger dog, the water was already rising up to our knees, probably, when we walked out of my cabin and went up to his (cabin), which was higher ground. But within 15 minutes from my cabin into his and with the dogs elevated the the water was from the ankle to the waist.' Update: Date: 1 hr 5 min ago Title: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says sirens could have saved lives Content: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said lives might have been saved if flood warning sirens had been installed along the Guadalupe River, calling for such systems to be in place by next summer. 'Had we had sirens along this area, up and down…that would have blown very loudly, it's possible that that would have saved some of these lives,' Patrick told Fox News on Monday. Patrick added that if the state can't afford such sirens, 'then the state will step up.' 'We need to have these in place by the next summer, when the next season comes when people are floating down the river,' Patrick said. His comments come as local officials face questions about whether officials could have done more to avert the tragedy. In recent years, multiple efforts in Kerr County to build a more substantial flood warning system have faltered or been abandoned due to budget concerns, leaving the epicenter of this weekend's floods without emergency sirens that could have warned residents about the rising waters. Update: Date: 1 hr 12 min ago Title: In Pictures: Vigil in San Antonio honors victims of devastating Texas floods Content: Update: Date: 1 hr 24 min ago Title: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference today Content: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. ET in Kerrville on the state's response to the flood devastation, according to a news release from the governor's office. Abbott will also receive a briefing on the state's response. Prior to the briefing and news conference, he and Dustin Burrows, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, will take an aerial tour to survey the damages caused by the floods and visit Camp Mystic. Abbott said Monday that more than 20 state agencies are responding to flooding across Texas. Additionally, 1,750 personnel and more than 975 vehicles and other assets have been deployed, the governor said in a statement. Tactical and law enforcement personnel from the Department of Public Safety are also assisting, the governor said. Update: Date: 31 min ago Title: Where the death toll stands as rescue crews continue search efforts Content: At least 104 people have died in flooding in Texas, according to local officials across the region. It comes as rescue crews are still searching for dozens of missing people. Here's a breakdown by county: Update: Date: 1 hr 25 min ago Title: Drier weather expected in central Texas today through the end of the week Content: The forecast in central Texas looks like it will be much drier today than the past several days. A handful of showers and thunderstorms could dot the region this afternoon, but these storms aren't likely to present much of a flood threat. A similar setup is possible Wednesday. Thursday and Friday should be dry and mostly sunny in the region. Despite the region forecast to finally dry out, some rivers may rise even after the rain fully stops. The Llano River has risen several feet since yesterday morning and was nearly at minor flood stage by the mid-afternoon. The San Saba River is forecast to hit minor flood stage this afternoon. Much of the Guadalupe River has returned back closer to normal levels and is not currently forecast to flood again in the coming days. Update: Date: 1 hr 26 min ago Title: Questions remain as Texas communities and families reel from catastrophic flooding Content: As officials in central Texas search for the people still missing after devastating flooding last week and over the weekend, the emergency response to the extreme weather has left many unanswered questions. More than 100 people were killed in the rapidly-rising water. Here are some of the questions: Update: Date: 43 min ago Title: Former NOAA administrator explains how local officials get critical forecasts and warnings Content: During extreme weather, it is critical for meteorologists to ensure their forecasts and information about alerts are delivered to local emergency management personnel so they can warn people on the ground, one former administrator said. It's 'what a lot of people call the last mile,' Richard Spinrad, former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator, told CNN. This, he said, is where there might have been a communication breakdown during the fast-moving flooding in Texas that started Thursday night and killed more than 100 people. Though officials are still working to figure out exactly what happened in Texas, Spinrad said typically a 'warning coordination meteorologist' is in direct communication with local emergency personnel and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That person makes sure messages from federal agencies are received by the right people, he said. 'This message said it was considerable and catastrophic impact, so somebody needed to receive that message. Somebody needed to confirm receipt, and somebody needed to be there to consult with with regard to next actions taken,' Spinrad said. Spinrad, who led NOAA during the Biden administration, compared these kind of emergency alerts to moments when a tornado about to touch down rather than warnings about an impending hurricane. Having multiple different types of warning systems is important, he said. 'When a tornado is bearing down, you'll get that wireless emergency alert and in many towns and localities, there will also be a siren system which emergency authorities have access to. So you want to do everything in your capacity,' he said. About the Texas alerts: The two Texas National Weather Service offices most closely involved in forecasting and warning about the flooding on the Guadalupe River — Austin-San Antonio and San Angelo — are missing some key staff members due to Trump administration cuts, but still issued a slew of watches and warnings about the flood danger.
