The National Weather Service issued flash flood emergencies for Kerr and Uvalde counties early Thursday as torrential rain sent the Guadalupe River surging toward levels comparable to the flood that killed more than 130 people in the region last July.

The Guadalupe River rose 32 feet in four hours at a gauge in Center Point, between Kerrville and Comfort, and was forecast to crest at 35.6 feet in Comfort around 9 a.m. CT, the weather service said, on par with the river's crest during the July 4, 2025, flood. The agency called it a "large and deadly flood wave" moving downstream.

The city of Boerne, about 30 miles northwest of San Antonio, received more than 10 inches of rain Wednesday, pushing Cibolo Creek to a record 22.63 feet at a gauge at the Cibolo Nature Center, city spokesman Chris Shadrock told the Boerne Star. The Boerne Police department fielded 109 calls for service, including 36 calls for water rescues, and reported no fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Steve Perez told KSAT.

Response teams moved 53 people to a shelter at the Boerne Independent School District's central office, Perez said, including 30 evacuated from the Trails at River Road Apartments, the Boerne Star reported.

"But floodwaters rise quickly and we got to the point where we could no longer get to those folks," Perez said. "We were getting reports that water was coming in through some of the first-floor apartments. So, we were telling them just to get to higher ground."

Boerne Mayor Frank Ritchie signed a disaster declaration for the city, and officials said they would request additional resources from the state.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday in Uvalde County, where some areas received more than a foot of rain and city police warned additional neighborhoods to be ready to evacuate "at any time" overnight, the Texas Tribune reported.

North of Uvalde, the Nueces River reached a historic high of 20 feet at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to National Weather Service gauge data.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 59 Texas counties Tuesday, citing flash flooding and rainfall that "poses a threat of imminent disaster, including widespread and severe property damage, injury or loss of life," according to a statement from the governor's press office.

Abbott said Wednesday evening that he expects the storm system to exceed 30 inches of rainfall in some areas, compared with 20.29 inches recorded during last year's Fourth of July floods, Texas Public Radio reported.

"We are dealing with and responding to a flood that is likely going to break records in Texas history," Abbott said.

The governor activated the Texas National Guard, Texas Department of Public Safety and state rescue resources, including Black Hawk helicopters and boats, ahead of the storms.

A Flood Watch remains in effect through Thursday evening across more than 20 counties in South Central Texas, including Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Medina, Uvalde and Real counties, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned an additional 2 to 6 inches of rain was possible across the watch area, with isolated totals of 10 to 15 inches in parts of the western Hill Country and southern Edwards Plateau.

The Upper Guadalupe River Authority installed a new flood warning system after last year's disaster, including six outdoor warning sirens and a public dashboard called RiverHub that pulls together river and rainfall gauge data from partners including the U.S. Geological Survey, according to the Kerr County Lead. Forecasters said additional rounds of rain are expected through Thursday before the heaviest rainfall shifts west toward New Mexico.