Kerrville extends flood disaster declaration indefinitely as residents press for aid

KERRVILLE, TX – The City of Kerrville has extended its disaster declaration after flood waters ripped through parts of the city last week.

Community members showed up to city hall with questions about the immediate next steps as they work to rebuild their homes, and their lives.

Community members showed up to city hall with questions about the immediate next steps as they work to rebuild their homes, and their lives.

Many Kerrville residents are trying to find their footing after last week’s heavy flooding. As they clean out what’s left of their homes; they’re turning to the city to find out what happens next.

“We need help quicker because this happened a week ago, and… some people are still homeless,” said Julie Casteel, who showed up to the meeting in support of her neighbors. “Some people have — their homes were completely swept off. They were just asking for swift help.”

Nearly one week since flood waters rose again in Kerrville, homeowners with flood damage are looking for the starting line. Many of them showed up to Wednesday’s meeting in hopes of answers on how to rebuild what they lost.

“We support your efforts to do whatever is necessary to get these residents Immediate help,” one woman said during public comment.

“What we heard today was people saying, what’s our next step? How can we go for help?,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said. “We have set up something called ‘Kerr Together‘. It’s a long-term recovery group, and they have trained caseworkers that help you navigate all the available help.”

It’s a network that was created after the 2025 floods. It offers resources like non-profit assistance, or help registering damage with the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) to those who need it.

Mayor Joe Herring Jr. extended a disaster declaration signed last week at the peak of flooding.

“That disaster declaration says ‘we need help.’ It can only last for six, seven days,” Mayor Herring explained. “Today I asked my council to extend it. Well, basically indefinitely.”

But it’s not a permanent solution for some.

“We haven’t received any kind of help. just us as neighbors doing it all ourselves,” Elizabeth Ayala said directly to the council.

Ayala and her cousin, Tony Vela, came to advocate for their families.

“Because neither of our parents are able to live in their homes and, you know, they lost pretty much everything,” Vela said.

“[The city is] helping, but we’ve completed all the forms,” Ayala said. “We completed what we had to do on our part for them. But we’re not getting any more answers. Where do we go from here?”

Now they’re calling on the state to step in.

“We need the governor, like we need everybody to be on the same page,” Ayala said. “We need help. The city’s helping, but we need higher people up to help.”

Mayor Herring is encouraging people to take full advantage of resources through “Kerr Together” as he works with state leaders to secure more help for those who need it.

Several GoFundMe pages are set up to help families in the meantime.