LIVE OAK COUNTY, Texas \u2013 Communities across Live Oak County are preparing for major flooding as rising water along the Nueces River is expected to inundate low-lying areas through the weekend.<\/p>\n
Emergency officials are urging residents in communities, including Three Rivers and George West, to monitor conditions closely and be ready to move to higher ground as floodwaters continue moving downstream.<\/p>\n
According to KSAT\u2019s Weather Authority, the Nueces River near U.S. Highway 281, between Three Rivers and George West, is expected to reach major flood stage by Thursday morning. The river is forecasted to crest near 40 feet Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The flooding is being fueled by runoff from recent storms that sent large volumes of water into the Frio and Nueces rivers. Choke Canyon Reservoir has already risen about 13 feet over the past several days \u2014 its highest level since March 2024. Additional water is expected to continue moving through Live Oak County before reaching Lake Corpus Christi next week.<\/p>\n
To prepare for the flooding, emergency management officials have assembled a multiagency response before river levels reach their peak.<\/p>\n
Mark Trevino with the San Antonio Fire Department was deployed to Live Oak County as part of the Alamo Area All Hazards Incident Management Team, which is helping coordinate emergency operations alongside local officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time we\u2019re here early,\u201d Trevino said. \u201cWe\u2019re able to set up, get shelters spun up a little bit, get evacuation notices going out. We\u2019re able to get ahead of the potential dangers of flooding coming up the banks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trevino said arriving before floodwaters reach communities gives emergency crews time to position equipment, establish shelters and notify residents before conditions become dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually have a real good shot because we\u2019re here ahead of time,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of times we\u2019re more reactive to the emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials expect river levels to continue rising from Friday into next week, creating dangerous conditions for people living near the Nueces River.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re saying up to 40 feet, but even if it\u2019s up to 5 or 10 feet, that\u2019s enough to sweep somebody away, overturn a car, flood something,\u201d Trevino said.<\/p>\n
Live Oak County has not issued mandatory evacuations, but officials are encouraging residents in flood-prone areas to prepare now and leave if conditions worsen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe leadership here isn\u2019t saying, \u2018You need to leave now,\u2019\u201d Trevino said. \u201cThey\u2019re saying, \u2018This is dangerous. Here\u2019s what could happen. Please seek higher ground.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Emergency shelters are being prepared for residents who choose to leave their homes. Officials said shelters will accommodate families, people with special medical needs and pets, while buses will be available to help transport residents who cannot evacuate on their own.<\/p>\n
The response includes emergency personnel and resources from multiple agencies, including Live Oak County Emergency Management, the Alamo Area All Hazards Incident Management Team, San Antonio Fire Department, STRAC, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife and specialized rescue teams equipped with boats and helicopters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever we have a response, it\u2019s a collective approach,\u201d Trevino said. \u201cLive Oak County Emergency Management is the lead agency, and we\u2019re here to support.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have STRAC, we have San Antonio Fire, we have the All Hazards Incident Management Team, we have DPS, we have Parks and Wildlife, we have boats, we have helicopters,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Those resources are being strategically positioned in case swift-water rescues or other emergency operations become necessary over the coming days.<\/p>\n
Trevino urged residents not to underestimate the dangers of rising water.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re on or near a river, don\u2019t wait too long,\u201d he said. \u201cSeek higher ground, go to one of the shelters or go to a family member\u2019s house for a day or two. Better to be safe than sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the floodwaters are expected to replenish reservoirs farther downstream, emergency officials said their immediate focus remains protecting residents in Live Oak County as the river continues to rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is to protect life,\u201d Trevino said. \u201cEverything else can be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LIVE OAK COUNTY, Texas \u2013 Communities across Live Oak County are preparing for major flooding as rising water…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[52753,155,157,156,133398,29051,133255,9871,74838,18755,85926,172],"class_list":["post-390634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-choke-canyon","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news","tag-frio-river","tag-george-west","tag-july-2026-floods","tag-lake-corpus-christi","tag-live-oak-county","tag-nueces-river","tag-three-rivers","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}