When deadly flooding swept through the Texas Hill Country in July of last year, Joan Connor and her husband swam and waded out of their home, surviving only by clinging to a pergola in their front yard.
asserted
Connor → sweep → yard
The Guadalupe River flood destroyed most of their possessions.
asserted
flood → destroy → possessions
It killed at least 119 people in Kerr County, where the couple live, about 100 miles west of Austin.
asserted
couple → kill → Austin
But Connor, now 82, and her husband, now 99, moved back into the refurbished house by Christmas, with donated furniture arranged by volunteer decorators.
asserted
Connor → move → decorators
They didn’t fear another flood.
asserted
They → fear → flood
Connor told me earlier this year: “We don’t think a thing like that will happen again in our lifetime.”
asserted
thing → tell → lifetime
Last month, almost exactly one year after the last deluge, their house flooded again.
asserted
house → flood → deluge
I cover climate for The Texas Tribune.
asserted
I → cover → Tribune
I spent months working with ProPublica’s Lexi Churchill and Pratheek Rebala to understand how Texas lawmakers missed dozens of opportunities over nearly 60 years to protect residents in flood-prone places.
asserted
lawmakers → spend → places
Our reporting, published in May, uncovered pivotal moments when Texas legislators could have taken steps that experts said might have saved lives, such as preventing homes from being built in the most dangerous spots along rivers and moving youth camp buildings out of flood-prone areas.
uncertain
experts → publish → areas
Instead, our reporting found, Texas is behind more than half of other U.S. states when it comes to passing more stringent elevation rules for buildings at risk of flooding.
asserted
it → find → flooding
Yet research shows more flood deaths have occurred here than in any other state.
asserted
deaths → show → state
Texas also has more buildings in flood-prone places than any other state except Florida, according to our nationwide structure analysis.
uncertain
Texas → have → analysis
The majority of the people who died in the 2025 Central Texas flood were in one of those places identified as flood-prone by the federal government, our analysis showed.
asserted
analysis → die → government
I grew up in Texas and have covered floods in this state for more than a decade.
asserted
I → grow → decade
Still, the swift violence of that 2025 disaster struck me.
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violence → strike → me
The river washed entire homes away.
asserted
river → wash → homes
People fought for their lives by grabbing trees or scrambling onto rooftops, and many people didn’t make it.
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people → fight → it
I’ve never before witnessed such intense grief.
asserted
I → witness → grief
Even after the loss, some homeowners like Connor knew they wanted to rebuild.
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they → know → Connor
People have deep, generational ties to this part of the state, where the normally peaceful river winds through limestone under majestic cypress trees.
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river → have → trees
People didn’t want to leave jobs and relationships here, or lose money by selling their land at a loss.
asserted
People → want → loss
I understand that desire to stay, but as a climate reporter I’ve also seen what can happen when development is allowed in flood-prone areas.
asserted
development → understand → areas
What our reporting showed is that the government has cleared the way for residents to stay in many risky places, even after last year’s devastating floods.
asserted
residents → show → floods
Lawmakers did not change how they regulated where RV parks could be built, though more than 40 people died in two Kerr County RV campgrounds during last year’s flood.
uncertain
people → change → flood
(Those parks had not reopened when this year’s flood rushed through again.)
asserted
flood → reopen → ?
They also didn’t change building rules for homes.
asserted
They → change → homes
That means that, unless a local city or county government adopts more stringent standards, properties affected by a flood can be fixed without being brought up to code if the cost to repair them doesn’t amount to half or more of the structure’s value.
asserted
cost → mean → value
Homes can be entirely rebuilt in many flood-prone places so long as they are elevated to the height a 100-year flood is expected to reach.
asserted
flood → rebuild → height
Lawmakers did push through legislation that requires youth camp cabins to be moved away from riverside, flood-prone spots, similar to a bill legislators failed to pass in 1989.
asserted
legislators → push → 1989
The law only passed this time after gut-wrenching testimony and advocacy from parents of the 27 campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic during last summer’s flooding.
asserted
who → pass → flooding
For our May story, we asked the state’s top leaders about whether legislators should enact stricter statewide building rules.
uncertain
legislators → ask → rules
None responded.
asserted
None → respond → ?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said he has addressed flooding issues by funding mitigation projects to lessen the storms’ impact.
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he → say → impact
This July, unusually intense rainfall pounded the Kerr County area again.
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rainfall → pound → area
It flooded some of the same spots.
asserted
It → flood → spots
One person died.
asserted
person → die → ?
The disaster struck as people in the area were still working to heal emotionally, physically and economically.
asserted
people → strike → area
I once again arrived to find the familiar sights and smells of peoples’ possessions piled up by the curb, their flooring and walls ripped out.
asserted
flooring → arrive → curb
Laura Cane, 65, had just reopened her vacation rental house in Center Point three weeks before this year’s flood hit.
asserted
flood → reopen → Point
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
