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KINGSLAND, Texas (KXAN) – Evacuees from Kingsland have returned home Wednesday to assess the damage caused by floodwaters. Llano County officials say hundreds of homes have been damaged in recent floods, although they do not have the exact numbers yet.
By daybreak, many evacuees, like Pat Muller and Susan Patten, were hoping to find something left.
The owners of Valentine Lakeside say they were lucky as the Llano River gets closer to their property.
"It was not so high, it was built here because of dirt," said Muller, co-owner of Valentine Lakeside.
They lost a fishing wharf, a boat and currently can not access their well-founded water system because of the sand that has accumulated on their property. But their cabins have not been flooded.
This was not the case for many in the region.
Patricia Heinecke, who lost her home, said: "The water would not stop coming."
Heinecke lost everything, just down the road near the bridge connecting the farm to the 1431 market along the Colorado River. "I'm still in shock right now."
Heinecke and her husband remained on the spot, watching from their second floor the waters that did not stop flowing.
"We did not know if the house was going to collapse or what was going to happen," she said.
Inside, the deluge has left its mark. "It's full of mud. I mean, it's in my fridge, it's in my stove, that's all I want, it's terrible.
She can only save what's left. "I'm sure we'll put everything back together and then maybe I'll move out," Heinecke said.
Kingsland families begin cleaning
The carpet of Joe Johnson's mother installed in his home in Kingsland is covered with mud.
In 40 years of life there, he never saw the water as high as it was when the river broke into the river on Tuesday. He added that the water had risen even more than during the 1997 flood, filling his house with dirt and debris.
"You know there's a big swell out there, it looks like a whale was rolling over there," Johnson said.
And he could not believe it when a friend told him that the 2900 Bridge from Farm to Market had collapsed.
The county says the bridge has collapsed as a result of the rapid flow of water into the river.
"I was here when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and I saw that it was under construction and I thought no, this bridge had not disappeared, of course, it had disappeared, "he said.
Legislators, including Senator Ted Cruz, were able to see what remains of the bridge. Johnson said some of them could perhaps help to get disaster relief funds in the area or an extra pair of hands.
"Anyone who wants to volunteer and help me clean, can do it and help me do the housework," Johnson said with a laugh.
Despite the danger, he says that he can not leave, he was born on the Llano River and it is there that he intends to stay.
"The Llano River is one of Texas' untamed rivers," Johnson said. "There are no dams, no controls, you just get what Mother Nature sends you but you'd better get ready, it could send you a lot more than you think."
The county of Llano announced Wednesday that a woman's body had been found in the water in Llano after the floods. Llano police investigate. To their knowledge, this is the only loss of life in their country related to these floods.
The county added that water supply systems in some areas have been compromised by floods. Llano County has water distribution centers located in Llano College and Kingsland Community Center, where residents can get bottled water.
The county advises all evacuated residents not to return home for the time being. With more rain in the forecast, the county does not want to put residents at risk of being near additional floods.
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