Woman’s Chilling Video Captures Texas Flash Flood Rising 26 Feet in 45 Minutes
It started like any other afternoon in Central Texas — the skies heavy with moisture, the air thick with heat. But what unfolded over the next hour would become one of the most terrifying natural events witnessed and recorded in recent Texas history. A chilling video, now viral, shows the moment a wall of water transformed a peaceful creek into a raging, deadly river — rising an astonishing 26 feet in just 45 minutes.
The footage, captured by 34-year-old Sarah Ramirez of Kerrville, begins with her standing on the edge of the Guadalupe River near her family’s cabin. What was once a scenic view of gently flowing water quickly turned sinister as dark clouds rolled in and thunder cracked in the distance.
Within minutes, the rain began — not the soft patter of a spring shower, but a deafening downpour. Sarah’s voice can be heard in the background of the video, filled with concern but not yet panic. “It’s starting to rain hard,” she says. “I’ve seen this before, but not like this. The water’s picking up fast.”
By the 10-minute mark, the transformation is already alarming. What had been a calm stream was now brown, foamy, and surging. Large tree branches were being pulled under like twigs, and debris from upstream started tumbling down past the cabin.
Then comes the real horror.
At 18 minutes in, the camera shakes slightly as a loud crack rings out — a tree collapses into the water. “Oh my God,” Sarah says, her voice beginning to tremble. “It’s coming fast… really fast.” Her dog, Charlie, barks in the background, sensing the danger. A pickup truck parked nearby is suddenly surrounded by swirling currents.
Cell service in the area had already become spotty, and Sarah’s calls to her husband — who was out gathering firewood just a half-mile away — went unanswered. “I didn’t know if he was safe,” she later told reporters. “I didn’t even know if he was alive.”
By the half-hour mark, the river had risen nearly 15 feet, swallowing the lower deck of the cabin. The wooden picnic table vanished in seconds. The terrifying speed of the water’s rise left no time for evacuations — only for desperate, last-minute attempts to reach higher ground.
The scariest part came at 45 minutes. The camera, now shaky and held close to Sarah’s chest, captures the moment she flees up the hill behind the cabin. She’s panting, crying. The water had surged to 26 feet — more than double what many locals had ever seen. Entire trees, propane tanks, even small sheds were being carried away like toys.
“It looked like the river was alive — like it was hunting everything in its path,” she later described.
What makes the video so harrowing is not just the visuals, but the raw human emotion. Sarah doesn’t scream, doesn’t yell — her fear is quiet, breathless, and deeply unsettling. There’s a moment — around the 40-minute mark — where she whispers, “Please, God, let this stop.”
Miraculously, Sarah and her dog survived. Her husband, Jose, had climbed into a tree when the water rose around him, holding on for over an hour until first responders reached him. The cabin was completely destroyed.
“I never thought water could move that fast. I never thought it could take everything,” Jose said.
But many others weren’t as lucky. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that at least five people were reported missing in the same area that evening. Rescue crews, working through the night, pulled stranded families from rooftops and trees. At one point, more than 12 inches of rain fell in just a few hours, causing a surge in dozens of low-water crossings across the region.
Meteorologists blamed a stalled weather system combined with saturated ground conditions for the flash flooding. But locals said it was unlike anything they’d ever seen.
“There was no warning,” said firefighter Travis Henley. “One minute it was fine. The next, roads were gone.”
The National Weather Service later confirmed that the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in under 45 minutes — a near-record rate for the region. Flash flood warnings were issued, but in rural areas like this, many never received them in time.
Sarah’s video has now been viewed over 30 million times. It’s been shared by major news outlets, weather agencies, and even used in training by emergency management teams.
But for Sarah, it’s not about going viral.
“I took that video to show people what can happen,” she said. “If even one person sees it and decides to evacuate earlier next time, then it was worth it.”
Local authorities are now calling for improvements in early-warning systems and infrastructure to handle extreme weather events. The flood is being cited as another devastating example of how climate change may be intensifying storm patterns in Texas and across the country.
“We’re seeing more of these freak storms,” said Dr. Elena Cruz, a climate scientist from UT Austin. “And communities need to be ready.”
The area remains under repair. Roads are washed out, homes destroyed, and families displaced. But Sarah says she and her husband plan to rebuild — not out of denial, but out of hope.
“This place raised me,” she said, looking out over what was once her backyard. “It tried to take me. But I’m still here.”
As the sun finally broke through the clouds the following day, it illuminated a land forever changed. Trees leaned sideways, fences were gone, but the spirit of survival remained.
