Responding to the
Flooding in Texas

In response to the July 4 flooding in Texas, we deployed an emergency response team and are partnering with the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC). We have mental health specialists on the ground who are providing urgent behavioral and mental health care to frontline responders, healthcare workers and affected community members, including in the town of Hunt in Kerr County—near where nearly 30 campers and counselors lost their lives at Camp Mystic. As part of mobile medical units, team members are conducting daily wellness checks and outreach visits, and are connecting affected first responders and community members who have been involved in search-and-recovery operations—and are thus coping with the sudden loss and grief—with national, state and local mental health resources.

Beyond Kerr County, the International Medical Corps team and local health center network have identified pressing and underserved flood-related needs in Gillespie, Kimble, Mason, McCulloch and Menard counties, which also suffered severe flooding and infrastructure damage. We are delivering services in community hubs such as food pantries, school districts and community centers, as well as conducting wellness checks and disseminating free mental health and self-care resources. The clinical team has so far conducted almost 1,000 wellness checks and visits. Mobile outreach enables team members to meet with community members and provide a space to listen to their stories and experiences, allowing them to process their grief safely.

We also are working in coordination with the TACHC and other partners to provide critically needed relief and recovery supplies to help affected communities—procuring and delivering supplies to health facilities in Kerrville and the surrounding areas that will help these facilities remain operational and ensure that patients receive the resources and services they need. We already have distributed hundreds of critical supplies and items to first responders and affected community members, including hygiene kits, wound-care kits, and hygiene products and essential items—such as baby wipes, deodorant, socks and t-shirts—across schools and community hubs.

Twenty-four federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) operate within a 50-mile radius of Kerrville, serving vulnerable populations—including low-income, uninsured and elderly residents, and those living with chronic conditions. Once our team leaves the area, we will continue to support FQHCs’ longer-term recovery need by expanding community health worker coverage, improving access to care and medications, and addressing sharp declines in clinic visits among low-income, uninsured, and underinsured patients. We stand ready to deploy additional medical supplies, resources and staff if requested by local officials and partners.

Support is urgently needed to expand our response and ensure access to essential services for affected Texans. We will report more on our response activities as the situation develops. Please check this page frequently for updates.