Members of Nebraska Task Force One returned home Tuesday after spending two weeks in flood-ravaged areas of central Texas.
Ashley Engler, Task Force One program manager, said the 45 members of the task force searched 12 to 14 hours a day, putting in 24,000 to 28,000 steps daily to clear debris left by the Guadalupe River, which at the height of the July 4 flooding rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.
“There are no words to describe the unimaginable devastation that occurred in that area,” Engler said. “We would see houses that were completely displaced miles down the way from where it originally was or turned over or there was debris underneath and it was completely turned over."
The flooding killed more than 130 people in central Texas, including more than 100 in Kerr County alone. As of Tuesday, there were still a handful of people listed as missing.
Nebraska Task Force One was one of 28 urban search and rescue teams activated to help with search and rescue operations after the flooding.
Gov. Jim Pillen, who activated the task force, called its members “heroes.”
“As Nebraskans always do, Nebraska Task Force One stepped up to help our neighbors in need. We can’t thank these heroes enough,” Pillen said in a statement. “Our hearts continue to break as we think about the families and communities that have forever been changed.”