A 94-year-old grandmother lost her house in the Texas floods. Her family says rebuilding their home is worth the risk

By Taylor Galgano, CNN

(CNN) — Betty Matteson’s four children, nine grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren have squeezed into her Texas Hill Country home countless times since 1968.

They’ve spent summers relaxing on the deck and floating down the nearby Guadalupe River in tubes, waving to kids and counselors at Camp Mystic paddling by in canoes. They’ve hiked the cliffs and fished in the deeper part of the river, soaking in the tranquil Texas countryside. They’ve celebrated milestones just steps away from the house, watching Matteson’s granddaughter getting married on a sunny day under a tree arch last May.

“It is a special place to my children and grandchildren and all the friends that have come,” Matteson said.

Her family had just gathered, again, at the Hunt, Texas, house to celebrate the Fourth of July, one of their favorite holidays.

But early that morning, 94-year-old Matteson, seven friends and family members, two cats and two dogs rushed into the attic as the house was starting to flood.

Rushing water was making its way through central Texas, and the three-story house was filling with water and debris. The Guadalupe River, where they had planned to play in the water and build rock forts on the river banks, had surged to nearly 30 feet, barreling through neighborhoods and camps, and sweeping away hundreds of people.

More than 120 people, including 27 from nearby Camp Mystic, have died in the floods. At least 150 people are still missing.

After hours of waiting and praying in the attic, the water stopped rising and the family was rescued. A first responder helped Matteson, wearing a navy and pink floral dress and quilted white jacket, into the back of a car. Her family survived. Their home was not so lucky.

The cobblestone house referred to as “Casa Del Rio,” where they had gathered for nearly 60 years, was drenched in water and mud. Massive piles of debris, trash and furniture lined the road along the property, Shannon Swindle, Matteson’s 53-year-old granddaughter said.

“The land didn’t just flood, it became a collection point for destruction from all directions,” she wrote in a GoFundMe for her grandmother.

Matteson said the house, where she used to sit in her bedroom and look out the large windows at the river and lush trees, would need to be gutted to the studs. But the family didn’t have flood insurance, she said, and the family estimates it could cost half a million dollars to fix.

Flood insurance was “nearly impossible” to afford, Swindle said, and most families could not keep up with the premiums. Matteson said she was renting out a cottage on the property already to help with housing costs, and couldn’t afford to pay roughly $6,000 to $8,000 a year for flood insurance.

She said she had been trying to save the property, where her husband and other family members are buried nearby, for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The family has had ties to the area for nearly 100 years, since her husband’s parents bought the house next door in 1929.

“I’ve just been holding on for dear life because it was just an exceptionally beautiful, calming, peaceful place,” she said, just days after the river destroyed her home.

Only 4% of homes nationwide have flood insurance, according to FEMA estimates, and even high risk areas lack wide coverage. In Kerr County, which was the hardest hit by the floods, 2% of residents have flood insurance.

Flash flooding has erupted along nearly every part of the Guadalupe River basin, with an uptick over the last 20 years in both frequency and magnitude, the US Geological Survey says. Gov. Greg Abbott says the flooding in central Texas was a 1-in-100-year event, but such disasters are becoming more frequent as the world warms.

Texas, North Carolina, Illinois and New Mexico all experienced flash flooding this month.

Matteson said another natural disaster could happen living so close to the Guadalupe River, which rose after slow-moving thunderstorms unleashed a summer’s worth of rain in a few hours.

The family said they’re aware of the risks of living near the water and the possibility of another flood event.

But still, the overwhelming sentiment is to rebuild the home, even with Matteson’s daughter calling the weather increasingly “unpredictable.”

Looking past the risks of climate change and the financial strain to rebuild, Swindle added, was like “suspending one’s disbelief.”

“If (it’s) something that you love so much and so dearly, there’s so many memories that saying goodbye is like almost not an option,” she said through tears.

Barry Adelman, Matteson’s grandson who was at the house the night of the flood, said it was hard to imagine not rebuilding it.

It’s a part of his identity, he said, and he wants the younger generation to have the same experience as he did, even if rebuilding doesn’t make sense to others.

“Love is blind,” he admitted.

The family is hopeful they will receive some money from FEMA, but they don’t believe it’ll even be a fraction of the cost to rebuild, said Adelman.

Matteson, who is staying with her daughter, said they’re still figuring out the finances of the house and weighing what to do.

But Sherry Matteson, Betty Matteson’s daughter, doesn’t think her mom will give up on the house. She feels confident they will find a way to figure out the finances to rebuild the home despite the risks.

“You can’t live your life afraid of what might happen. You have to live your life the best you can,” she said.

“None of us around here are going to live our life based on fear.”

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