Family members say the Snyder Ranch—located on Nameless Road in Leander—wasn’t on a flood plain, so they never expected flood waters to reach them.
LEANDER, Texas — Cleanup and recovery efforts continued Thursday across Central Texas as families begin to assess damage from recent flooding, including one Leander family who narrowly survived after floodwaters swept their home off its foundation with them inside.
The Snyder family, whose ranch off Nameless Road has served as a gathering place for family and friends for more than 20 years, lost nearly everything when heavy rains inundated the area late last week.
“All of our birthdays, holidays, we have like 20 people come over,” said Christi Hartman, who was staying in a mobile home on her parents’ property with her husband and two children. “It’s just the go-to place. I mean, it’s home.”
On July 4, as the family watched news coverage of flooding in Kerrville, they had no idea their own home would soon be at risk.
“We were praying for them because they needed rescue, they needed help, and so we were aware of it, but we had no idea,” said Jeanie Snyder, Hartman’s mother. “We were out of the flood zone, so we weren’t even worried.”
That changed overnight, when Hartman was awakened by a phone call from a relative who was concerned about the heavy rains.
Looking out the window, she saw water already rising to the bottom of the mobile home’s window.
Hartman and her husband rushed their children to the main house to warn the rest of the family.
“By the time we opened the door, the waters rushed in and so we ran up the stairs,” Snyder said.
Six adults and five children took shelter in an upstairs room, as floodwaters washed away everything below.
The house itself was pushed three feet forward before being stopped by three trees in the front yard, Snyder said.
“We were afraid for our lives, you know? We thought that we were going to lose our kids and grandkids,” Snyder said. “It was within minutes, we would have been dead.”
Rescue crews eventually arrived and evacuated the family.
“It’s a miracle that we’re alive,” Snyder said. “All of this, we can deal with. It doesn’t matter, but we have each other.”
On Wednesday, the Snyders demolished what remained of their home. Despite the loss, the family said the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming, helping them clean up the debris and pack up what was salvaged from the home.
“People we know, people we don’t know—we’ve had so much help,” Snyder said.
Hartman said the family’s memories are what matter most.
“It’s just materials,” Hartman said. “The memories are in our heads and we won’t lose that.”
The family is now raising money to relocate and rebuild. Anyone wishing to help can contact them at christihartman29@gmail.com or donate to their GoFundMe campaign.