things despite the devastation, despite the loss of life, despite everything that happened. For my team and the community, I want to focus on making our community as resilient, as mentally strong, and as improved as possible – to honor everyone who has come before us. There is an opportunity for us to reimagine how we’re going to move forward.” The city organized its response into three categories: search and recovery, economic recovery, and debris management and rebuilding. Todd Bock, full-time executive director of Kerr EDC, explains the scope of the long-term recovery effort. “Through our leadership and our City Council and the County Commissioners, we have already stood up a longterm recovery group post-disaster, which consists of approximately 16 individual working groups that represent the county from far east to far west.” Rice observes that recovery has progressed faster than typical post-disaster timelines. “This seems to be moving very quickly, and you’re right, it has been moving faster than other disasters, especially for the devastation,” he says. The rapid response points to the severity of the crisis and the strength of the community’s coordinated action. FROM DIRECT DAMAGE SUPPORT TO ECONOMIC RIPPLE EFFECTS The flood’s impact on Kerrville’s business community involved more than the immediate waterline damage. Of approximately 265 businesses that reported being affected, 74 sustained direct flood impact. The West Kerr and Ingram areas bore the brunt, with youth camps, short-term rentals, and restaurants facing particularly acute challenges. “We are working diligently with our business community especially those who are directly impacted at this time, to figure out what their needs are to get back up and running,” Hagemeier says.“We are finding that the greater impact, outside of the immediate aftermath, is the economic impact that we’re going to see coming down the line and the shift, especially with tourism and what that future looks like for our business owners.” Bock outlines the dual approach to business recovery. “We have a business recovery working 92 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx