When the Rivers Rose: A Texas Story of Resolve and Relief – Part 2
Written by Ida Eva Zielinska
Published #78 | Fall 2025 Issue
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Relief Reaches the Austin Area
While most fatalities occurred in western Kerr County, Travis and Williamson counties were also impacted by intense rainfall in early July, which caused creeks and rivers to overflow, resulting in significant flooding and damage around Sandy Creek and Cow Creek in Travis County, as well as along the San Gabriel River in Williamson County. Runoff funneled through narrow channels of creeks and rivers forced water levels to rise swiftly, and limited early warning coverage left many with only minutes to react.
On August 2, 2025, Tzu Chi USA’s Austin Service Center held a flood relief distribution for families from Travis and Williamson counties, serving 47 people from 13 households. The event had initially been planned for July 26, the same day as the Burnet County distribution, but was postponed because the official list of affected households had not yet arrived. When Sean Lo finally received the list from the Texas Division of Emergency Management on July 30, Tsang-Bin Wen immediately scheduled the event for August 2: It would be the Austin Service Center’s very first disaster relief distribution.
| From Caution to Confidence
There were 49 households on the Texas Division of Emergency Management list; however, people’s unfamiliarity with Tzu Chi may have reduced attendance after invitations were sent out. Some attendees described how they overcame early skepticism. “To see your text when it popped up, my first thought was, ‘How did they get my number?’” Jackson Cassady said. “I went to the website and read about your organization, and I was very impressed.”
Teresa Ruebbling also shared her doubts after getting the text message invite. “I didn’t feel comfortable, so I called 311 to make sure that it’s a legit organization that helps people from storm damage. And they were able to confirm that it was,” she said. The Tzu Chi team was thankful for everyone who overcame their hesitation and came, as it allowed them to extend a helping hand and offer a listening ear to ease their distress.
There are many large trees surrounding Ruebbling’s South Austin home, and some fell on the roof during the heavy rainstorms, punching holes through it. Family members helped put a tarp over the damage to stem the leaks, but such fixes were clearly temporary, and she was at her wits’ end. “I need immediate help, like, I need help! No one knows what people go through when you’re dealing with that. And it was just getting worse and worse,” she exclaimed.
“The money helps with the repairs and anything else that was damaged, so I’m very grateful,” Ruebbling continued, referring to the Tzu Chi cash card. “But the emotional and mental stress that it caused me, that’s going to take a while…” she said, fighting to keep her composure. “I try not to be emotional, but I think the song that you played out there brought my emotions out and made me cry.” She meant the Tzu Chi classic One Family, whose message touches hearts around the globe.
Jackson Cassady and Prancer, his beloved dog, had lived in a trailer along the South San Gabriel River. He described how the torrent of rising water caught them both by surprise. “The water came up so fast. I couldn’t carry him out, and so he had to swim behind me,” he said, dreading even the memory of their escape. “It took my car and my home, everything!”
In the aftermath, despite his own losses and trauma, Cassady remains preoccupied with helping others. “My immediate concern was for my neighbors. I have elderly living near me, single mothers, a family that doesn’t speak English…” Since coming into contact with Tzu Chi, he’s been spreading the word. “I’ve been taking resources like you back to my community and telling people, ‘There’s help there. Don’t lose hope!’ I’m so glad to learn about your organization. [On your website], one of the videos said, many of the people that you help turn around and help the cause. I would like to help.”
Today, receiving this money will go a long way. Every bit counts. Every drop of love. So thank you all for being here.
Michael and Judy Hale’s home backs up to the Little Gabriel River, which flows into the South San Gabriel River. “On July 5, we had historic flooding in that area,” Michael told the volunteers. “People who have lived out there 60 and 70 years have said they have never seen that much rain, that much water,” he noted. “We ended up having about three and a half feet of water in the home. Two days later, the water had receded, but it left ankle-deep mud on everything. It’s hard to watch everything that you’ve owned ruined.”
Hale expressed the couple’s appreciation for the cash card and eco-blankets from Tzu Chi, which will help them meet their immediate needs. “We don’t even have toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels. We had sets of clothes that we took out for the Fourth of July holiday, and then that was it,” he shared. “Organizations like yours, you move around all over the world, and you know what people need, like blankets.”
| College Students Join the Mission
Among the volunteers serving during the August 2 event were seven members of the Tzu Chi Collegiate Association (TCCA) from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). Some TCCA members, such as Zoe Huang and Angelica Chu, have been involved with Tzu Chi since childhood, and were accustomed to seeing its disaster relief operations in videos and other media. The distribution in Burnet County on July 26 presented the first opportunity to participate in a mission themselves.
“I never really thought that it would hit somewhere close to home, and I would actually get the chance to be involved. I’m very grateful,” said Huang, president of the UT Austin TCCA chapter. “When I went last week, I didn’t really know what to expect. But it was a rewarding experience by the end of it, and I’m glad I was able to help here in the Austin office this week as well.”
“The young volunteers are all willing to take on responsibilities,” remarked Sean Lo, as the seasoned team welcomed this new cohort, representing the next generation of Tzu Chi volunteers. “When they have questions, they are very happy to seek guidance from the veteran volunteers. This is a great opportunity for everyone to learn from each other.”
“Seeing the veteran volunteers working so hard to help these people, hearing their stories, and witnessing… I was actually quite moved,” shared TCCA member Angelica Chu. “Last week, I did check-in, which means I helped these people fill out the forms first. After they finished, I could chat with them and listen to their stories.”
Chu recounted how the survivors often showed pictures of their homes before and after the disaster. “When I saw it, my heart broke. It was really hard to imagine that such nice houses, filled with so many memories, were just gone. The flood just flushed everything away. When I saw them crying, I actually felt a little teary-eyed myself,” she said.
“Through interacting with the disaster survivors, they can feel the suffering they have endured,” observed Tsang-Bin Wen. “I believe this is a very valuable experience in their life journey. It is a good thing for them to reflect on.” Just one week later, on August 16, the college students, along with the rest of the Southern Region team, would have another chance to help Texas flood survivors, this time in hard-hit Kerr County, which suffered the most fatalities. The stories they would hear would be heartbreaking, indeed.
Serving Kerr County, Where Grief Runs Deep
The stretch of the Guadalupe River around Hunt, an unincorporated community in Kerr County, was the epicenter of the flooding on July 4, 2025. Maria Grieser, who lives there, considers herself fortunate as she received the first text message flash flood alert from the National Weather Service (NWS) at 1:14 AM, and could take action. She and her husband moved to another house higher up on the hill and went to sleep, but not for long.
At 4:03 AM, the NWS issued another flash flood emergency warning for south-central Kerr County, including Hunt. “This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!” it screamed in caps. The couple already knew, as did the wildlife.
“About 3:15 AM, I woke up and looked out the window and saw a herd of deer running from the river to the hills, and I mean, breakneck speed running. They probably heard the water coming down the river. And then my nephew called…” Grieser recounted.
With the sound of the river roaring in their ears, Grieser and her husband made their way toward the RV where he lived, situated in front of their house. “There’s water. I mean lots of water. There are fish flopping on the ground. And we’re sinking and slipping and sliding. By the time we got over to him, he’s up in a tree with his girlfriend and the water is at their necks,” she continued.
Her nephew said he saw huge propane tanks coming down the river and crashing into his RV, ripping the side off. Grieser herself later obtained a picture from a trail camera of a 40-foot container floating by that night in about 10 feet of water. “He was very scared. He didn’t think he was going to make it. He called his brother and said, ‘I think this is it.’”
The Griesers had to wait for the water to recede somewhat before attempting a rescue, which it finally did. “It took us about 30 or 40 minutes to help them get down. The hardest part, I think, was when we were helping them out of the tree, we could hear those little Camp Mystic girls going down the river…”
What happened at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River, left Texans and the nation grieving: 27 campers and counselors lost their lives that night.
The specter of tragedy was palpable at the August 16 distribution, woven through each care recipient’s narrative. Marshall and Rena Bailey shared the story of their dramatic ordeal, as well as the shock and pain of losing neighbors and friends.
“I heard the Post Office explode. Something hit it, tore the entire building down, a U.S. Post Office made of brick and concrete. And then I looked over at the Hunt Store, and 5,000-gallon gasoline tanks were bobbing like corks. So we were really scared because it’s gasoline. I said, ‘We have to go,’” Marshall recounted. “That’s when I heard the screams and the cries. I didn’t know what they were because it’s unnatural to hear screams and cries. We went out the back window, and about half a mile up to our little cabin. Higher ground, thank God.”
“They said it was a 30-foot wall of water. It was not. It was closer to 50 feet. And we know this because we live there,” Rena noted. “And there are way too many of us who are affected by this. Our community is not what we remember: It’s shattered.”
“We’re still in shock. Beautiful place, in a little valley, with a beautiful river, and beautiful trees. 50% of the trees are gone. And 50% of the people are gone. We don’t know where they are,” Marshall told Tzu Chi volunteers. “Many people had to leave because their homes were destroyed. The river just took them, piece by piece. And there were people in some of those homes,” Rena explained. “Our good friend, who was deaf, lived in a house on the river. He never heard it coming…” Marshall said, his voice trailing into silence.
Even the cleanup has been tragic for this community. “There are bulldozers and noise. And people and trucks. And then there’s an alarm that goes off when they find a body. All these alarms. It just gets to you. A friend of mine found 14 bodies…” Marshall recounted, the last words catching in his throat.
| Experience Ensures a Smooth Disaster Relief Operation
Assisting flood survivors in Kerr County was emotionally demanding, given the trauma so many endured. Yet the Tzu Chi team stood ready to shoulder their pain while offering tangible aid in the form of cash cards. The August 16 distribution, the third in the Texas flood relief mission, took place at the Happy State Bank Expo Hall Conference Center in Kerrville. Thirty-six volunteers from Houston, Austin, and San Antonio converged there despite the day’s heavy rain.
With her husband, fellow Tzu Chi volunteer Cheepay Liu, she also drove to the Austin Service Center the day before to pick up setup materials. Then, on the event day, the couple, alongside other San Antonio volunteers, arrived in Kerrville early to stage supplies so that when the volunteers from Houston and Austin arrived, they could get straight to work. “We are very grateful to them for making the entire process smoother. We didn’t have to waste time on setup. I think it was well worth it,” Tsang-Bin Wen confirmed.
Tzu Chi USA notified the affected households by text, and to ensure everyone received the message, Wen personally called each person on the list the day before. “It was a bit challenging, because when the disaster survivors received the call, they might have thought it was a scam. ‘We are here tomorrow to distribute aid and bring blessings from people around the world.’ You have to make them understand within three seconds, so they don’t hang up,” Wen relayed. Seventeen households, comprising 34 individuals, were served that day. “Most of the people who came were those who had received the call beforehand,” noted Wen.
Steve Ellington from Kerrville, whose house was severely damaged by the flood, was among them. “When I got the phone call, the number came up, ‘Buddhist something.’ So I knew it had something to do with Buddhism and compassion, and so I answered and agreed to come,” he recounted. “But I had never heard of Tzu Chi, so while I was waiting, I read about your founder.”
Reading about Tzu Chi’s origins, Ellington was moved by how Master Cheng Yen encouraged her first followers to set aside a small amount of money each day with the intention of helping others, rather than a larger monthly sum, thereby cultivating compassion daily. “What you all did here today, besides helping me financially, was to remind me that I need to do that every day. That’s just one way that I’m supposed to love my neighbors.”
To have your organization come here and show that compassion and then let me find out about it, gives me a chance to spread the word.
“The things I really like are the spiritual beliefs that I try to believe. I am trying to do something good for somebody every day and not tell anybody about it, trying to be compassionate and help,” Ellington said. “Lately, I haven’t been good about it because I’ve been hurting with my house being gone and having to get help from other people,” he admitted. Ellington wasn’t the only one struggling to wrap his mind around his new reality, alas.
| Coming to Terms With a New Reality
“It washed the town away. There are no buildings left,” Maria Grieser bemoaned. “We were hit by a seven-foot wall of water, and it moved my house about two inches, popped the roof off, and dug under the foundation. So it’s going to be an expensive repair.” Accepting a cash card, Grieser said, “Every dollar, even one dollar, is a help because that’s just one more dollar that I don’t have to work hard to find. Somebody can help me. And then in the future, when I’m back, I can help other people the same way. Paying it forward is what we call it.”
Mike Trolinger and Brenda Espinoza, who lived between Ingram and Hunt, were met by waist-deep water when they opened their back door to flee their quickly flooding home. “We had to go through about 30 yards of water to finally get up the hill. And then within five to ten minutes, we watched the water rise and just engulf the house,” Trolinger said. “We could hear it cracking because cars floated into our yard and hit our house,” Espinoza added. “We literally lost everything but the shirts on our backs. We’re grateful to be alive, but it’s hard starting over…” she said, fighting back the tears.
This has been a blessing to be here with you all and to feel the joy and hope again, to feel the love. We definitely felt that today. Thank you so much. We're used to helping people: We're not used to getting help. So we're ready to be on that side. We want to give back.
| Service and Solace
Looking back on the mission, the entire disaster relief team felt fulfilled by the chance to serve and help lift heavy hearts in the wake of the Fourth of July floods.
The recipients of our care, besides shedding tears, also have smiles on their faces. We also feel joy. This is what we are committed to, and everyone worked together to accomplish this task.
Moreover, the day proved to be a valuable learning experience for those who had never participated in disaster relief. “From the mobilization onward, I feel that everyone is more familiar with the entire process now. Today, everyone maintained a consistently positive attitude. Not only were the disaster survivors moved, but even the FEMA personnel assisting us, the government’s emergency response team, felt this organization was completely different from others,” said Tsang-Bin Wen.
Indeed, Tzu Chi’s aid is about more than forms and paperwork, more than cash cards and blankets. It is love in action and a sincere effort to lift the human spirit after tragedy. Listening to each person as they share their story of survival and loss is a big part of that, and it can bring healing and the resolve needed for the long road to recovery. Here in the Texas communities scarred by the floods, the Tzu Chi uniforms have become a signal everyone understands: help, delivered with compassionate care, is on its way.
