As Central Texas grapples with certainly one of its worst flooding disasters, which has claimed at the least 110 lives and left 170 folks lacking, acts of braveness shine by way of the darkness. Amongst them is Matthew Crowder, who rushed into the raging waters to rescue a sleeping household earlier than daybreak on July 4.
Crowder, a supervisor at Texas Paintball, mentioned he was headed to work round 3 a.m. native time when he observed the quickly rising floodwaters. That is when he noticed a home in peril, with folks nonetheless asleep inside.
“I began yelling to wake them up,” Crowder recalled to ABC Information. “The primary one to return out was the oldest son, Benny. He noticed his entrance yard grow to be a raging river.”
A volunteer aids in search and rescue operations close to the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept by way of the world, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas.
Eli Hartman/AP
Regardless of emergency dispatchers advising the household to remain put, Crowder knew they wanted to evacuate instantly.
“The home was making noise, bushes had been coming down, and water was dashing beneath the home,” he defined. “I informed dispatch, ‘Ship assist or not, I’ve work to do.'”
The rescue got here at a vital time. Simply hours earlier, at 1:14 a.m., officers had upgraded the flash flood watch to a warning for components of Kerr County. By 4:03 a.m., that they had declared a flash flood emergency. The area would finally obtain 15 inches of rain, greater than double what meteorologists had predicted.
Harm is seen subsequent to the Guadalupe River, July 8, 2025, after a flash flood swept by way of the world close to Ingram, Texas.
Ashley Landis/AP
For the household Crowder saved, he mentioned the losses are staggering.
“They misplaced all the pieces – their automotive, their home. After I noticed them yesterday, they had been working with no matter they might salvage in trash baggage,” Crowder mentioned.
Crowder mentioned he’s now volunteering across the group to assist households in want after the flood. He informed ABC information the group’s response has been overwhelming. Crowder’s office, one of many largest companies within the Dovestown space, has been flooded with affords of assist.
A GoFundMe marketing campaign for the rescued household is “doing nice,” in line with Crowder, and comparable tales of neighbors serving to neighbors proceed to emerge.
“It is actually nice to see folks stepping as much as assist others, each throughout the floods and after,” Crowder mentioned, talking from a cleanup web site the place he continues to volunteer.
