Flash flooding in the Guadalupe River earlier this month has killed at least 135 people in central Texas. Three people are still unaccounted for. Flood survivors, like , are still trying to make sense of the catastrophe.
Hatfield is a musician who lived in the Blue Oak RV Park in Ingram, Texas, until the flood washed the park away. Hatfield may have lost her home, but she said she鈥檚 grateful to be with her husband and the rest of their community in the aftermath.
鈥淭he perspective shifted really quickly after the flood,鈥� Hatfield said. 鈥淚n that moment, you鈥檙e so concerned about a lot of things, but afterwards you just realize if you have your person, you鈥檙e good.鈥�
Still, Hatfield said there are scenes and sounds from the flood that she can鈥檛 stop thinking about.
鈥淸I鈥檓] still hearing the screaming and the sound that trees and RVs make when they鈥檙e being engulfed by that much water and kind of crashing together,鈥� Hatfield said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sound you really can鈥檛 get out of your head.鈥�
7 questions with Julia Hatfield
The floods started in the early morning of July 4. How did you first realize what was happening?
鈥淚 was asleep. My husband had stayed awake to check for leaks in our RV, and around 4:30, he started to hear screaming, and when he looked out the window, he saw that the water was already coming up to the doors on the lower level of the RV park. And that鈥檚 when he woke me up. And within about 15 minutes, our RV was underwater.鈥�
What did you do then?
鈥淲e grabbed what we could, threw it in the car. And at that point, there was a lot of screaming, a lot of people crying out for help, a lot of trees and RVs that you could just hear crumbling.
鈥淭here was a little boy I heard screaming 鈥� I was sitting up or standing up on the deck trying to see what I could see 鈥� and then all of a sudden saw him start to get washed down river, and there just was nothing that anybody could do.鈥�
Did that boy survive?
鈥淵es, he did survive. I just felt like my prayers were answered in that moment, because that was the worst feeling of my life, to just feel so helpless and know that little boy needed help.鈥�
What is the most urgent need you and your neighbors are facing?
鈥淲e鈥檝e been going back just trying to help our neighbors as much as we can. We were thankful that we had insurance on the RV, so although it probably isn鈥檛 enough to replace it, at least it鈥檚 something, because that was our home.
鈥淏ut we were in the same boat as a lot of our neighbors. They all lived in their RVs, and many of them didn鈥檛 have insurance. So their needs are a lot greater, but people have been so generous.
鈥淸They] just come from all over the world, all over the country and state, and have been generous with their time and their finances, and I鈥檓 just hopeful that a lot of those families will be able to get back up on their feet again sooner rather than later.
鈥淏ut there were several neighbors who were missing loved ones. A friend, Luke, he is a veteran. He lived at the park for a long time, and both his mom and dad were staying next door, and they鈥檝e both been accounted for, but unfortunately, didn鈥檛 make it.
While living along the Guadalupe River, did you ever think this was possible?
鈥淲hen we moved to the park,鈥奍 knew that the Guadalupe floods, but they said it only ever flooded at the bottom level of the park. And so I said, well, 鈥業 definitely want to be at the top level.鈥� And I thought, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way that water could get all the way up here.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檇 been kayaking on the river for a couple months, pretty much every day. And there were so many parts of the river you couldn鈥檛 even kayak through. You鈥檇 have to get out and walk and drag your kayak because it was so low. And so for it to go from seven feet at its depth to 30-something feet within about 45 minutes, that just, that was more than I think anybody ever expected.鈥�
There was no local warning system in Kerr County. Is that something that needs to change?
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that this much life has been lost to initially start getting these sirens put into place, but at the same time, when you have that amount of water, I just don鈥檛 think there was anybody who understood what was coming.鈥�
You鈥檙e a singer and a songwriter. How does music help you or others in this moment?
鈥淚 personally started writing at a really young age, songwriting, and it was kind of a therapy for me to start out, just to work through things in my mind. And from day one of this happening, I鈥檝e been writing quite a bit, although I鈥檓 not able to really finish a thought yet. I think that鈥檒l just take some time.
鈥淭he first evening I was sitting on my parents鈥� porch with a guitar and writing a line: 鈥業t was just a bunch of junk in a plastic box.鈥� And I think that realization was hitting me a lot that first day, because you鈥檙e walking past people who are looking for loved ones, and you realize it鈥檚 just stuff. It is sad. There is sentimental attachment to different things, but you鈥檙e walking past people who are looking for loved ones, and then you go out and start trying to help them look for loved ones, and you realize it really was just a bunch of junk in a plastic box.鈥�
This interview was edited for clarity.
Editor鈥檚 note: A previous version of this story misstated the name of the Texas county where the floods occurred. It鈥檚 Kerr County.
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