Skip to content
Artwork for After the Flood
NewsSociety & CultureDocumentary

After the Flood

The Texas Newsroom

In the early morning hours of July 4th, 2025, floodwaters tore through the Texas Hill Country. At least 130 people died, many of them children. For the last 12 months reporters from The Texas Newsroom have been talking to people about what happened that night and what it’s been like in the aftermath. This podcast is about their stories and the questions they have. Why did this happen? How could this happen with almost no warning? And could it happen again?

Play
  • 8 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 25 min
  • English
  • September 8 · 36 min

    Introducing: Where the River Took Us

    Where the River Took us is a podcast from Texas Monthly about the July 4th floods. Senior Editor Aaron Parsley was on vacation with his family in the Hill country when the floods hit. Their house was torn from its foundation with him and his family in it. His original account of this event recently won a Pulitzer Prize, and the story continues in a podcast. Through interviews with his family… Source

  • S1 · E5
    July 31 · 25 min

    The Flood After the Flood

    A year after historic flooding killed more than 130 people in the Texas Hill Country, we meet a local official fighting for change — and getting more pushback than he expected. In the midst of it all, another massive flood happened. Was the community better prepared this time around? After the Flood is a collaboration of The Texas Newsroom and FRONTLINE (PBS). Source

  • July 22 · 5 min

    A Note on Episode 5

    As we were putting the finishing touches on the fifth and final episode of After the Flood, another flood hit the Hill Country. So, we had to pivot. How were these two floods different? Were elected officials more prepared? Did residents have timely information? That’s going to take some time to figure out, so our next episode will come out soon. In the meantime, we caught up with Bob… Source

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E4
    July 15 · 37 min

    Feeling Forgotten

    On July 5, 2025, one day after the deadly floods in Kerr County, another flood hit the community of Sandy Creek 100 miles away. Nine people died and more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. Ashlee Willis and her mother, Brandy Gerstner, lost everything in that flood and didn’t get the help they expected in the direct aftermath. In the months that have followed, they’ve discovered what many… Source

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E3
    July 8 · 34 min

    Who, When, Where…and Now What?

    After Matthew and Wendie Childress buried their only daughter, Chloe, an 18-year-old counselor at Camp Mystic, they turned their grief into action. In this episode, Matthew and other Camp Mystic families head to the Capitol in Austin to fight for stronger regulations around summer camps. Months later, they finally learn what really happened the night Chloe died in the flood along with another… Source

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E2
    July 1 · 33 min

    A Place Where Memories Are Made

    Winding rivers and scenic canyons make the Hill Country beautiful. But its beauty also makes it susceptible to flooding, so much so that it’s earned the nickname “Flash Flood Alley”. In this episode we dive into what makes the area so vulnerable and look into its history of flooding — and how residents and visitors alike have been warned of massive floods before. We also follow Matthew and Wendie… Source

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E1
    June 24 · 30 min

    The Day Of

    Matthew Childress and his wife, Wendie, learn that their daughter, Chloe, an 18-year-old counselor at Camp Mystic, is missing. And residents in Kerr County recount how they survived the grueling initial hours of the flood. After the Flood is a collaboration of The Texas Newsroom and PBS’s Frontline. The full transcript of this episode of After the Flood is available on the KUT & Source

    • Transcript
  • May 22 · 2 min

    Introducing: After the Flood

    In the early morning hours of July 4th, 2025, floodwaters tore through the Texas Hill Country, catching most people by surprise. More than 130 people died, many of them children. For people who lived through the disaster — and those who lost friends and family — the devastation was unimaginable. And that was just the beginning. Reporters from The Texas Newsroom have been talking to survivors… Source

Showing 1–8 of 8 episodes