A weekend family reunion in South Texas turned into a scramble for safety when sudden, intense flooding swamped a hotel and pushed dozens of relatives out of their rooms. Video from the scene shows guests hustling to higher ground as water swallowed the parking lot and made surrounding roads useless. Hotel staff, working alongside emergency crews, moved people off the lower floors and into safer spots.
Video Captures the Evacuation
According to KENS 5, video shot outside the hotel shows people and vehicles pushing through standing water while staff steer groups toward safer areas. The station identifies the incident as a mass evacuation linked to an intense flooding emergency on Sept. 22, 2023, and reports that first responders helped move guests off the building’s lower levels.
Why This Resonates Now
That footage is finding a new audience this week as another round of heavy rain triggers flash-flood and flood warnings across the Hill Country and South Texas, with the Associated Press documenting life-threatening surges on the Guadalupe River. The National Weather Service has issued multiple flash-flood and river flood products for Kerr, Kendall and nearby counties after gauges showed river levels jumping fast.
On-the-Ground Response
KENS 5 footage shows hotel workers directing guests through the waterlogged property while local fire units and other emergency crews assist in getting people up to higher floors and to nearby pickup points. Vehicles in the lot sit stalled in the floodwater, and streets leading away from the hotel are described as impassable in the station’s coverage, which captures the whole chaotic scene on camera.
What Travelers Should Know
Officials are again reminding travelers that flooded roads are extremely dangerous and that the National Weather Service’s advice to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” still applies every time you hit high water. Before heading into storm-prone parts of South Texas, check local forecasts and hotel advisories, and follow directions from emergency personnel if an evacuation is ordered.
