A family saved, a hero lost from Burnet County floods
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Days after the tragic flooding that hit Burnet County, community members are still working on cleaning up the area.
Jodi Riley-King and her family were in their house when the flooding happened. Their house now is damage severely, but Riley-King said she's happy she got out alive.
"We actually thought we weren’t going to make it, and we were telling each other how much we loved each other and that we knew it was goodbye," Riley-King said.
Riley-King and her family made it to the Pecan tree in their front yard and held on to it while the water was chest high.
“We made it this far, and the vehicles were gone—they were washed we don’t know where they were—so we were like we have to make it to higher ground," Riley-King said. "We made it to this tree.”
Riley-King said that they held on to the tree for two hours until firefighters were able to rescue them. The family is now staying at a nearby motel as they look to rebuild their house.
That same fate wasn't met by everyone in Burnet. Five people died as a result of the flooding in Burnet County, one of them being William "Govani' Venus.
"I make my way over there, and sure enough he was in the water—faced down," said Will Venus Jr., who is Govani's son.
Venus was in Hawaii when heard his father went missing following the flooding. He came to Burnet to search for him right after he got the news.
"He was taking care of people—that all he did, that’s all he did that was his purpose. And he fulfilled it to a tee," Venus said. "You ask anyone who knows him, they will tell you the same."
Venus said that he aims to carry on his father's legacy of helping anyone in need.