- [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally & James Gavin and also from Daniel L. Skret.

- [Laura] After the flood in the Texas Hill Country, loss- - [Aaron] There's this gaping hole in our lives, you know?

It's hard.

It's emotional.

- [Laura] recovery- - [Austin] If you look around the community, there's evidence of recovery everywhere.

- [Laura] and resilience.

- [Gary] Texans are exceptional.

We're seeing a very resilient people here.

- Survivors in the community continue to rebuild their lives one year later.

(gentle hopeful music) Hi there.

I'm Laura Laughead.

Thanks for joining us for part two of Austin InSights' lookback at the July 4th floods last summer.

If you missed part one, you can watch now in the PBS app or the Austin PBS YouTube channel.

One of the most captivating accounts of the flood last year came from Aaron Parsley, senior editor at Texas Monthly.

Just days after the flood, he wrote his piece, "The River House Broke.

We rushed in the river."

In it, he detailed how the raging Guadalupe swept him away along with several family members, their fight to survive and how his nephew, Clay, not even two years old, didn't make it.

That story won Parsley a Pulitzer Prize.

This summer, Parsley wrote, "The Guadalupe swept us away.

This is the story of all that came after," describing what he and his family have been through in the past year.

He also produced and hosts a new podcast, "Where the River Took Us."

(somber music) - [Aaron] This flood is not over.

It's still happening to my family and to many, many others.

There is more story to tell, more to share, more connections to make, and more understanding to uncover about loss, trauma, and about the community that has come together.

- So let's hear more of that story from Aaron Parsley who joins us now.

Aaron, I know it's been one year since you and your family's lives were changed forever.

So we really appreciate you being with us today.

- Thank you for having me.

- So Aaron, as we said, you know, we're just coming off this holiday weekend marking one year since the flood.

Can you talk about what this weekend was like for you?

In Kerr County, we heard a mixture of grief and people gathering to barbecue and be together.

What did you and your family do?

- Well, it was a hard weekend.

I think it caught me off guard, to be honest.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was more emotional and more difficult than I imagined it would be.

My family and I gathered here in Austin on Monday before the holiday.

There's a spot along Lady Bird Lake where there's now a bench that is set out to honor the memory of my nephew Clay.

And so it was the first time that we've seen that bench and we went there on Monday morning and said a few words and just had a moment to remember him and to be together.

And then for various reasons, we went our separate ways for the holiday.

The July 4th is almost like a New Year's Day for me in the way that I look back at everything that's happened in the past year and then look ahead at what, you know, what direction I wanna go in, what are my goals?

You know, what's my purpose?

So it was a time of reflection and, you know, and appreciating how far we've come as a family.

And a time to support each other.

- I really like that perspective of New Year's Day.

And that's been something we've heard from all the people we've interviewed in Kerr County of this mixture of emotions the body remembers.

And sometimes it surprises you and someone from the Hunt Preservation Society told us that, to move forward, grief and joy and healing must all coexist, to move forward.

You know, when you look back at the past year, your family is remarkable, and y'all truly have come so far.

But what has been, you think, the hardest part looking back on this past year in this new year, to use your analogy?

How do you carry Clay with you as you continue to tell this story?

- You know, I think the hardest thing about the past year is that it's been maybe two steps forward, one step back.

You know, these things don't happen in a straight line.

Another thing that's been challenging is sort of meeting each other where we're at.

You know, everyone who was there or who wasn't there, even those of us that were in the house had a different experience with this flood depending on where we were, who we are.

And so, you know, the way that we relate to each other, the type of grief that we've experienced, all of that is very individual.

And so I think that's been a challenge just to try to sort of understand each other, have patience with each other, offer each other grace.

I do think my family is extremely strong and courageous and I'm really proud of all of them.

But it is at times extremely difficult.

In terms of carrying Clay with us, you know, my sister and her husband, Lance, and their daughter, Rosemary, are always talking about Clay.

We have his picture up at our house, at their house.

I have a picture of him in my office.

I think it's important to remember him, to talk about him.

I know that feels good for my sister and Lance.

So any chance we get, you know, we try to remember and just appreciate the life that he, the short life that he had and that it was happy and that he was healthy.

It's hard, it's emotional, but he's very present.

- And your family's story really captured the nation in the initial aftermath.

You wrote the story, you published it so quickly after what happened.

It went viral.

We were talking about this before, but it really helped people understand the scope of this once-in-a-generation natural disaster.

Even if you were familiar with hurricanes and flash flooding, this really painted the picture.

Why was it so important for you to get the story out, your story out so fast?

- Well, I think I was motivated to write the story.

I had a message that I wanted to send.

And I also wanted to offer my testimony.

You know, I was a witness that day.

I understood what it was like to be there.

I wanted to share that.

But really I was motivated by this message that I had about my sister and her, and how she was a hero that day and how she did everything that she possibly could to save her children, and that she did save my niece's life and her own life and that we're very proud and grateful to her.

So that was sort of the reason.

The story published online the Thursday following July 4th.

So it was less than a week.

And I think it really did, yeah, people were looking for some understanding and I think people were horrified by what they were seeing on the news, but maybe didn't really have that perspective that I was able to give.

- And the story was later recognized with a Pulitzer Prize and congratulations- - Thank you.

- by the way.

But I'm sure that word feels really complicated for you because you have this great professional accolade, the pinnacle of success in your field, but it's born out of the worst moment of your and your family's lives.

How do you hold those two things at once?

- Well, you've described it very accurately.

I am proud of the recognition, and I'm proud of the work.

But it is complicated because, you know, how do you celebrate something like this when there's still so much pain and this tragedy, this flood still feels so present?

I think before I set out to work on some other projects related to the flood, to write about it again, write about the aftermath, which I did, and of course to record a podcast, I had to do kind of some soul searching and really decide what kind of projects I wanted to pursue, what kind of opportunities I wanted to pursue.

And so because of that, I think, you know, once the work was done, I've just been able to, like, appreciate and separate the work that I've done from the event itself.

And it is weird and it is tricky and I've never done anything like that before, but by the time the announcement about the Pulitzer came around, I was, I and my family, we were very proud and honored.

- Yeah, and we were very proud and honored for you too.

- Thank you.

- And you brought up the podcast.

You know, this amazing podcast, if you haven't listened, "Where the River Took Us."

And in it, we hear from your family, your husband, your dad, your brother-in-law, all of whom survived this flood.

How did those conversations go asking everyone to revisit that night together?

- Well, I didn't ask everyone to revisit the night, but I did ask a handful of people.

We were pretty deliberate and careful about what we asked of people.

But certainly reliving that with my father, with my husband, with my brother-in-law and others, including, like, my stepmom who wasn't even at the house, but who experienced a lot of fear and uncertainty from afar.

You know, it's emotional.

It's insightful.

And it's really powerful.

But yeah, it brings up a lot of feelings.

Some of them are unpleasant.

But that's okay.

You know?

We've experienced a really difficult thing.

And how we feel about it, I've just decided that I'm not gonna be afraid of that when it comes up when I'm doing this work.

And I think my family trusted me.

And they trusted Texas Monthly.

And so I think the result is that it's a very authentic, engaging project and I couldn't be more proud of it.

- That's beautifully said.

And I know your words mean so much to so many now and will continue to mean so much in years to come.

Aaron Parsley with Texas Monthly and now Pulitzer Prize winner, thank you so much for being with us and sharing your story.

- Thank you for having me.

I appreciate it.

- "Where the River Took Us" is available wherever you get your podcasts.

And we also want to know Aaron's story will be featured in an upcoming episode of Texas Monthly's "The Story," airing right here on Austin PBS.

You can also find that in the PBS app.

(gentle music) In the wake of the flood last summer, millions and millions of dollars poured in to help Hill Country communities.

Now it's about 150 million.

The group distributing that money is the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

On a trip to Kerrville, we previously spoke with the CEO, Austin Dickson, about where the donations have gone and the work the foundation is doing.

Austin, thank you so much for being with us today.

- Thank you for having me.

- So under your leadership, the Community Foundation has raised about $150 million for flood relief.

That is incredible.

It's staggering.

Can you talk about where those funds have largely come from and your reaction to seeing so much money raised in that year?

- Yeah, the American people have been super generous during this disaster and recovery.

We've been in the news, there's significant tragedy and there's also significant need here in the community.

And we've gotten online donations as well as gifts from churches or other religious organizations, foundations, companies, all over America and the world.

And total 141,000 donors pitched in to help us out.

- Wow.

Can you talk about the primary place most of those donations have gone?

- Yes, in the first 45 days, we granted $15 million in emergency relief.

These were grants to first responders for food and shelter, to get people financial assistance, to support businesses with cash crunches, and really to stabilize the community.

And then our response changed into long-term recovery, focused on housing, mental health, and building up civic assets like Little League parks, public parks and playgrounds and other things in our community that make it feel like itself again.

- And you bring up the topic of mental health recovery, which is so important and often not talked about enough.

But I did wanna bring up, there have been some questions from some community members about funds that went to mental health centers, but in places like Houston, the DFW area, Midland, away from the immediate flood zone where we are now.

What was the reasoning behind that?

- Yeah, so we've invested locally in mental health for sure.

But we've also invested in nonprofits regionally, as you said, both in Dallas and Houston and Austin.

There are people who were affected by the tragedy here in Kerr County that live elsewhere.

They have family member elsewhere.

They were visiting our community for that day.

Of the 119 people that died in Kerr County, less than a third were Kerr County residents.

They lived all over Texas.

So we have invested in mental healthcare at two nonprofits in Austin, at two nonprofits in Houston, in Midland-Odessa and elsewhere, places where there was death and loss, but also where we know families need mental healthcare services.

We've also established a family mental health care fund, which is statewide, to reimburse anyone who lost a family member for mental healthcare expenses, retroactive to July 4th of last year.

- As you look toward the next 12 months, what would you say are the most pressing needs right now?

- The top priorities for the next year is finishing our housing needs.

We've repaired and rebuilt a majority of homes in our community, but there are still people that need to come home.

So once housing stabilizes, a lot of other things in the community can stabilize: normal routines, getting back to jobs, and thinking about one's own mental health.

Mental health is definitely a focus for the second year.

And then lastly, really focusing on core civic assets.

Louise Hays Park, the crown jewel of Kerrville and the Hill Country, was completely destroyed.

We need to rebuild the playground, the splash pad.

These are places where families gather on the weekend, where people have birthday parties.

And that among many other types of what we call civic assets were completely destroyed and washed away.

And getting those rebuilt in the next year take time.

But when those things are rebuilt, the community starts to feel like itself again and a sense of normality returns.

- As you also look towards the next 12 months, what gives you hope about the future of Kerrville and Kerr County?

- I think that what gives me hope is the community has come together.

So many people have discovered their new superpower, whether they're really good at leading a team or connecting with other people or being of service.

So many people have leapt into action in the past year and it's made our community stronger.

And we've grown local capacity both in ourselves as individuals as well as local organizations like our local Habitat for Humanity chapter, which was a very small nonprofit before the flood.

And now it's completely transformed itself into a huge operation.

Other organizations like the Hunt Preservation Society, which was a historic group, has rebuilt dozens of homes and is helping plant trees and support businesses and support the Hunt community.

And these are two examples of organizations that have built capacity that will serve our community for the long term, and it's wonderful and beautiful to see.

- That is a real silver lining in all the sadness and darkness is how people really aren't as different as we might initially think, and people are a lot closer than we ever realized.

Well, Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, thank you so much for sharing this update for us and thank you for all the work you continue to do.

- Thank you for having me.

(gentle hopeful music) (gentle hopeful music continues) - One of the recipients of the flood grants that Austin mentioned is the Hunt Preservation Society.

The society says the flood caused at least a billion dollars in damage in Kerr County and Hunt was hit the hardest.

They've received around $5 million for things like rental assistance, home repair, and full rebuilds.

They say more than 50% of the families they were assigned are now back in homes.

They also recently had a ribbon-cutting for a new community center designed to serve as a hub for future emergencies.

The society says the progress, while hard won, is starting to show.

- A lot of our summer camps are making a comeback.

They're gonna make it.

A lot of our other businesses, they're gonna make it.

People are starting to get back into their homes.

We're starting to see the progress and, you know, we've seen the resilience of our people all along.

- Another group that answered the call after the flood is Mercy Chefs, which helps feed people affected by disasters around the country.

In the early days, they received $250,000 from the Community Foundation.

A year later, they are still on the ground in Kerr County.

We caught up with co-founder, Gary LeBlanc, to see what's changed since they arrived.

What did you guys find when you first arrived?

- We pulled into town and it was still chaos then.

People were trying to find loved ones.

The other volunteer and search and rescue teams were still getting their feet underneath them and it was just havoc down here.

The damage was evident.

You look up in the trees, 20, 30, 40 feet up in the trees.

And we knew right away that this was huge.

- And you guys were here immediately.

The volunteers we spoke to, some of them jumped on a plane the day after they got the news.

And a year later, you guys are still here serving meals in Kerr County.

Most organizations I feel would've moved on.

Why are you guys still here?

- You know, when we show up in a place that's been devastated, we promise that we're gonna stay as long as we're needed.

And we're not going to go home in the middle of the night or after the donor cycle stops.

And that's been our commitment here.

And we're still needed.

Even this morning on the grocery distribution, there was a line a mile long.

I found out that some of the people started lining up at 2:30 in the morning, and there's still a need here in the Hill Country.

So Mercy Chefs is still here.

- And that is almost hard to hear that there is still this seemingly dire need for your services here.

Though I know in the early days, it was a lot of first responders.

Who are you serving now primarily these days?

- We're still serving the displaced families.

Some of which are living in hotels, some are couch-surfing or three families in a home.

And this is a population that would have been vulnerable before a storm.

Certainly they have need after the storm, even a year later.

- And how long does Mercy Chefs plan to stay out here?

- Well, we're coming to the place where we're gonna transition away from hot meals daily and we're gonna transition into a food bank kind of operation where we're providing groceries and spices and recipe cards.

We're gonna teach classes so people know how to cook at home, whether that's in a hotel with a microwave or back in a home with a traditional kitchen.

We're gonna continue to stay as long as we're needed.

- Mercy Chefs, of course, responds to disasters around the country.

And something that sticks with us today is when we were here, multiple of your team members told us it was one of the best recovery efforts in Kerr County they'd ever seen.

They even had to turn volunteers away.

So now a year later, how does this community compare in terms of devastation and the spirit of recovery?

- Texans are exceptional.

And they break all the- - We think so.

(laughs) - They break all the rules when it comes to their resiliency.

So we're seeing a very resilient people here.

We're also seeing neighbors helping neighbors.

And that's what we're so excited about.

Even this morning with the volunteers that came out to work lunch today.

To be a year later on a Monday and have passionate volunteers that show up in forest, that says something about the people of the Hill Country.

- It really does, and that's been a common theme in all of our coverage is how this community has rallied together, how Texans have seriously rallied together.

Mercy Chefs does such important work and I know that work is far from over.

Gary LeBlanc, co-founder of Mercy Chefs, thank you so much for sharing your time with us.

- Thank you.

(gentle music) - After the flood last year, a team of researchers at UT Austin set out to better understand the event and how it happened.

Their research was just published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters.

We have Dr.

Ned Vizy, an atmospheric scientist with UT Austin here in the studio to explain some of those findings.

Dr.

Vizy, thank you so much for being with us.

- Oh, thank you for having me.

- So let's start with the major points.

We'll first work our way back.

This was baffling to us.

As bad as the flood event was last summer, apparently you tell us in your report, it could have been worse.

That's hard to imagine.

What do you mean?

- One of the things that we found was that the relationship to the surface conditions, in particular the ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico were anomalously warm.

And this anomalously warm water led to slightly weaker conditions for an important mechanism of the storm system.

Had the temperatures been cooler or closer to normal conditions, we would have actually experienced more overall rainfall in the Hill Country.

So while the storm was devastating itself, if the conditions were, you know, slightly different, it actually, the atmosphere had the capacity to, you know, produce a stronger version of the storm and cause even more damage than what actually occurred.

- And that is a really frightening concept.

I know this has been described in a once-in-a-generation, even a once-in-a-thousand-year flood, but to think it could be even worse is terrifying by that slim margin.

When this flood happened, why did you feel it was important to go back and look at this event from this perspective?

- The weather forecasters were really all over the storm.

They were able to, you know, identify this as a threat.

The National Weather Service, you know, noticed that there was this high potential for heavy rainfall and flash flooding well in advance.

They put out warnings.

What was really interesting about this event, however, is the fact that, as the night unfolded, the intensity of the storm, you know, increased.

It became stronger.

It produced much more intense rainfall than was expected that led to this catastrophe that actually occurred.

And so, you know, that's sort of where we wanted to, you know, put our efforts in is to try to understand that aspect of that because that's sort of where the unknown is now.

We know we can, you know, often predict these events from the weather service side, but we're still learning how to understand why these storms intensify.

And so that's, you know, where this research sort of fits in to try to fill that gap.

- And this research so important.

Understanding how we got here can help us be better prepared for inevitably the next one.

- Yes.

- Dr.

Ned Vizy, atmospheric scientist from UT Austin, thank you so much for sharing your findings with us.

- Thank you for having me.

(gentle music) - Central Texas is commonly referred to as Flash Flood Alley because deadly flash flooding is so common.

Weather is of course a factor, but so is geography, including a defining geologic feature, the Balcones Escarpment.

That's where we find the steep sloping hills west of Austin.

The terrain can force warm, moist air from the Gulf higher into the atmosphere to help fuel strong storms and heavy rain.

The rocky ground doesn't soak up much water, so it all runs off down to the creeks and rivers below.

Before we go, to conclude our lookback at the Central Texas floods, we wanna end on another story of hope, yet another person who stepped up.

Army reservist Captain Emily Malcom was stationed at Fort Bliss in West Texas when the flood happened.

She raced back to her hometown of Kerrville and jumped into action, joining first responders in search and rescue.

Her efforts earned her the title of Soldier of the Year, awarded by the USO, the United Service Organizations.

And that's our show.

(gentle music) Again, if you missed part one of our special, One Year Later, the July 4th Floods, you can catch that on the Austin PBS YouTube channel or in the free PBS app.

Thanks again for watching.

We'll see you next time.

(gentle music continues) - [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally & James Gavin and also from Daniel L. Skret.

(bright flute music)