Flood — De Witt, Texas

1998-10-18 to 1998-10-21 · De Witt, Texas

Wider weather episode

Flooding along the Guadalupe RiverThe Guadalupe River at New Braunfels crested at 35.1 feet, with flood stage at 7 feet. This was over three feet higher than the disastrous flood of May 12, 1972. Homes were destroyed, moved downstream, or severely damaged from just below Sattler, near the Bear Creek confluence, across the remainder of the county. Homes along the entire reach were flooded well away from the channel, in areas that never flooded before. Along River Road, numerous autos, RVs, and homes were strewn along the flood plain. Recreational camps and outfitters headquarters buildings were destroyed. Homes near Common Street in New Braunfels had slabs as low as 12.5 feet. These homes had 23 feet of torrential flow over the slabs. At the New Braunfels gauge below the Comal River confluence just above IH 35, the Guadalupe crested at 39.3 feet, again some three feet above the disastrous flood of May 12, 1972. Water seeped into the Pepperell Mills plant. A large apartment complex left bank just downstream had flow through the windows of the lowest floors. Water was within five feet of the IH 35 bridge bottom. Below IH 35, fine two story homes were destroyed, or severely damaged. Several RV trailers were washed from an RV park below the IH 35 bridge. As the Guadalupe continued southward into Guadalupe County, RVs and permanent homes on the banks were flooded all the way down Lake Dunlap and along Lake McQueeny, where the Las Brisas subdivision had very expensive, two story homes severely damaged. Treasure Island was almost completely under water, as again, nearly all the very expensive homes were flooded with several feet of water. The flooding was comprehensive over the entire flood plain below Sattler. In Seguin, some homes washed downstream in the right flood plain below Lake Placid. Also, as in the May 12, 1972 flood, some washed downstream in the Glen Cove subdivision.In Gonzales, the Guadalupe crested at 51.7 feet, where flood stage is 31 feet. Flow was five feet over the sills of the windows of the old GBRA power plant. Flooding was several miles wide between Gonzales and the Guadalupe/San Marcos Rivers confluence. The city park was inundated with tens of feet of water in lower sections. Flow backed up Tinsley Creek and flooded homes miles into Gonzales.The most extensive flooding along the Guadalupe River took place in DeWitt County. One DeWitt County rancher lost three hundred cattle, and another near 200. Total livestock losses in the flood probably exceeded well over ten thousand head. At Cuero, the Guadalupe crested at 49.8 feet, with flood stage at 20 feet. The flooding was devastating, with homes two miles east of the channel washed downstream along the west edge of the downtown area. Several homes were washed across Highway 87. One home washed over Highway 87, but was stopped as it smashed into a more permanent commercial building, and came to rest in the eastbound (downstream) lane of Highway 87. There were many city blocks where homes were washing downstream, reflecting the deep flow and its velocity. The flooding did not get into the downtown section, but just to the west edge. A narrow ridge between the channel and downtown appeared to be out of the water. The Guadalupe was reported to be between four and five miles wide just south of Cuero. At Thomaston, the Guadalupe flooded the county road over a mile away from the normal river channel. Undoubtedly, well over a hundred homes were flooded, with many going downstream. Flow was near 20 feet over the lowest slabs of the River Haven, Cypress Valley, and River Oaks subdivisions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5672610. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.