Texas Singer-Songwriter Julia Hatfield Survives Deadly Floods: ‘It’s Absolute Devastation’

Julia Hatfield, an Americana singer-songwriter born and raised in Texas, and her husband, Jake Richards, are among the survivors of the devastating flash floods that tore across the central part of the state over the holiday weekend, leaving more than 80 people dead.

Raging floodwaters swept across the Texas Hill Country region in the early hours of July 4, after torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in less than an hour.

Hatfield and Richards, who married in October 2024, were staying in the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville, located about an hour northwest of San Antonio, when the floods hit.

“My husband woke me at 4.35 a.m., and 15 minutes later our RV was under water,” Hatfield shared in an Instagram post on Friday.

The singer recalled seeing a young boy screaming as the waters took him downstream.

“It was the most helpless I’ve ever felt,” she wrote. “I yelled out to the first responders, but the current was too fast. It was all I could do not to vomit.”

Hatfield said she and her husband were devastated about losing their home, but were grateful they made it out alive.

“There were many around us who didn’t. The only feeling I can describe it as is helplessness. I’d give 100 RVs to know that little boy made it. There are so many children missing,” she wrote. “I can’t imagine what the families are going through. It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen.”

Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp perched along the banks of the South Fork Guadalupe River, confirmed the deaths of 27 campers and counselors in catastrophic floods.

On Saturday, Hatfield and her husband returned to the RV park, where they managed to locate part of their trailer.

“It provided closure, but in contrast to the devastation, it was a small loss. It didn’t really seem to matter,” she wrote in a separate Instagram post.

Hatfield spoke to several of her neighbors, who were still trying to locate missing family and friends.

“It’s absolute devastation. Thank y’all for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support. We feel those prayers,” the singer wrote.

“At this point, it’s all about how we can help. The community is showing up in a major way and although the circumstances are tragic, seeing people show up to help their fellow man is healing.”