Finding hope and healing after Kerr County flood devastation
Kerr County flood survivor Georgia "Cooney" Wells, who lost everything—including her RV and neighbors' lives—finds hope and purpose amid the devastation, emphasizing faith and community resilience.
"One minute you've lost everything you have and the next minute you feel blessed and full of hope," said Wells. "It's hard to look at because there's no life there right now. There's just the river, there is God, there is nature there, but life is gone."
Wells said her RV was next to a huge tree.
"A lot of people would come to my area and we would cook out," said Wells. "This area is hard to look at, but I still have those memories."
Wells' RV was one of the dozens washed away by the flood on July Fourth. She said four of her neighbors lost their lives and that she might be lost as well, if she hadn't been working an overnight shift at a women's recovery center.
"I didn't know why God put me on that job, but on July Fourth, it all came together on why God put me there, because he wasn't ready for me to leave this earth yet," Wells said. "He still has a plan for me."
She said she's at peace with the loss, except for one item: the American flag she received when her dad, an Air Force veteran, passed away earlier this year.
"When I realized I had lost that, that was probably the hardest thing," Wells said. "My father was watching, he's watching this happen. And he would've been out here to help people."
She said the river that was once her sanctuary now holds the tears of the community, but also hope.
"God is here, he is still in this River," said Wells. "He is here in these organizations, calling and checking on me. We have an army of angels who have been sent here to help us. We don't know the reason that all of this happened, but God has a plan."
Despite the loss, Wells has a message of hope for her Kerr County community: keep the faith.
"There is a plan, we just don't know it," she said. "I don't know why I am still here, but I am going to figure that out."
Wells said she and many other survivors are getting help from FEMA and the Small Business Administration.
