Max Chesnes is the Tampa Bay Times' environment and climate reporter, covering public lands, water quality, wildlife and everything in between. Reach him at mchesnes@tampabay.com or follow him on Instagram @MaxChesnes. Anyone can view a sampling of recent comments, but you must be a Times subscriber to contribute. Log in above or subscribe here.

Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter Wednesday morning instructing flags on state property to immediately be lowered statewide.

The flash flooding deluged summer camps in Kerr County, dotted along the Guadalupe River, and also left families in Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson Counties looking for family

As of Friday, the Central Texas flooding has claimed the lives of 18 Houston-area residents, including a family of three.

The record of frequent, often deadly floods in Central Texas goes back more than 200 years to July 1819, when floodwaters spilled into the major plazas of San Antonio. That city on the edge of the Hill Country was hit by major floods again in 1913, 1921, 1998 and 2025, to cite a few examples.

From fundraisers and benefits to nonprofit organizations doing the hard work, here's a list of ways to help victims of the July 4 weekend floods.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

The Fourth of July flooding had an outsized effect not just on the Hill Country but also on rain-starved Texas cities like San Antonio and Austin.