No warning, but in a flash, the river overflowed, RVs washed away

The Medina River in LaCoste, Texas, surprised everyone in the Medina River RV Park when overnight the river crested its banks and inundated RVs faster than they could be moved out of harm’s way, reported KSAT News.

“I fell asleep around 5:30 in the morning Saturday, and when I woke up around 6:45 a.m., I saw that we were totally flooded in,” said Steve Duran, one of the residents. “I had to call the fire department.” Duran said by the time they realized the water had gotten so high, it was too late.

“My truck was washed down,” Duran said. “It was underwater. My cars. Pretty much it hit all the families out here. Everything is destroyed. Nobody has any clothes, any food or anything. The water came into the trailer. It brought all of the sewage into the trailer, so there is nothing.”

Thanks to the fast actions of Larry McMillan, a resident nearby who owns a jet ski, Duran and several other families and pets were rescued.

“If it wasn’t for him, you guys would have been picking up bodies by now. The water came up that fast,” Duran said.

“Everything is destroyed,” said Duran. “Right now, we don’t have any running water and no sewage, because the septic tanks have backed up. My medications were all washed away. I called the pharmacies, they are saying not until Monday. I am calling the insurance adjusters, they are saying not until Monday.”

Duran said he also hopes the county looks into ways to incorporate technology in the river system there.

“The last time this happened, we had warning from a neighbor who literally came through and told us to get out in an hour and a half, and he was right because if we were any later, we would have been flooded then,” said Duran. “This time we had no warning. I think they need some kind of siren for when the water reaches a certain level, 4 or 5 miles up the road, that something goes off that says, ‘Hey, you need to go.’”