Guadalupe River Flood — 1987
Training thunderstorms produced widespread heavy rain over the upper Guadalupe River basin, sending a major flood wave through the Hill Country. The National Weather Service documents extreme river rises, evacuations, rescues, injuries, and the deaths of ten teenagers near Comfort.
Where this record is anchored
Reference points follow the affected river corridor from Hunt through Kerrville to Comfort. They do not show water depth or the precise 1987 inundation boundary.
A defining Texas disaster record
The event remains one of the Hill Country’s defining flash-flood disasters and a lasting example of how rapidly a distant headwater flood wave can reach downstream roads, camps, and crossings.
What happened
Condensed from the official records linked below.
- Training storms develop
Repeated thunderstorms produced a broad area of five to ten inches of rain over the upper Guadalupe headwaters.
- Flood wave moves downstream
A massive flood wave traveled through Hunt, Kerrville, and Comfort.
- Camp vehicles encounter flooding
A bus and van evacuating a church camp became stranded near a flooded crossing as water rose rapidly.
- Multi-agency rescues
Rescuers saved 33 children and adults; the National Weather Service account documents ten teenage deaths.
What this record does—and does not—show
This record addresses a historical event that included loss of life. Counts and descriptions use the cited National Weather Service anniversary account; the map is a river-corridor reference rather than a reconstructed inundation analysis.