Could flooding of the magnitude that hit the Texas Hill Country on July 4 happen in Wichita Falls?
The city’s emergency management coordinator, John Henderson, said yes, it’s meteorologically possible, but factors ranging from terrain differences to preparedness could lessen the impact.
Flooding along the Wichita River in Wichita Falls has caused destruction on several occasions.
Henderson pointed to one occasion when a devastating flood was narrowly avoided. In May 2015, the National Weather Service predicted heavy rain would cause the Wichita River to rise to 27 feet, which would have been a record level that could have flooded thousands of homes.
Some homes in the city were evacuated, but Henderson said the heaviest rain stayed north of the Red River, sparing Wichita Falls a worse catastrophe.
The flood of record happened on June 30, 2007, when the Wichita River rose to 24 feet. The Times Record News reported on July 1 the water flooded neighborhoods in Tanglewood, the East Side, Wrangler’s Retreat and Horseshoe Bend Estates. The extent of damage was such that the city obtained a federal grant to buy and demolish about 100 homes on the East Side that were damaged beyond repair, according to an Aug. 16, TRN article.
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Henderson said when the river reaches about 20 feet, nearby homes are in danger of flooding.
He pointed out the difference of topography here compared to Central Texas where the disastrous July 4 flood occurred.
“It’s called Hill Country for a reason. We don’t have that massive rush of water like they do in Hill Country due to the topography,” he said.
Henderson said the extent of Wichita River flooding depends more on rainfall west of the city rather than right over it, which gives officials time to prepare.
“If we see Beaver Creek (near Electra) with a massive amount of rain, we know how long it’s going to take to get to Wichita Falls. We have some lead time,” Henderson said.
He described the flood water that flows through the Wichita River to Wichita Falls as a “bulge.”
When the 2007 flood struck, rain had stopped and skies had cleared by the time the bulge arrived and flooded Wichita Falls.
Henderson said the extent of river flooding here can depend on multiple factors.
“We’d need to have everything full. The Red River would have to be at its banks. How’s Lake Texoma looking (where the Red River empties)? All that factors into how fast we’re going to move water out of here,” he said.
In addition to river flooding, Wichita Falls sometimes experiences flash flooding that can inundate streets, but Henderson said that it has been greatly alleviated because of work done by the Public Works Department. In years past, significant flooding happened along Holliday and McGrath creeks, but that has been largely eliminated.
“We still see some areas that are trouble areas, but most of it dissipates within an hour after the rain stops” he said.
Henderson also said the city is well prepared to monitor flood conditions and alert the public.
On April 29, 2025, the National Weather Service predicted the Wichita River would rise to 22.5 feet.
It never got that high, but Henderson said the city monitored the river for seven days, sending firefighters and other personnel out to measure river levels regularly.
“We were being proactive very quickly. We didn’t say, ‘Let’s wait till we start seeing the rain.’ Even though it never hit, we were ready,” he said
Henderson said the city will not sound tornado sirens in the event of flooding but has other ways to notify those in danger.
“We have reverse 911Code Red for landline phones and IPAWS,” he said.
IPAWS stands for “Integrated Public Alert and Warnings System.”
It enables emergency dispatchers to send warnings to all devices in the area of concern, including cellphones.
“It breaks in on everything, TVs, radios, cellphones,” he said.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Could it happen here? Wichita Falls is no stranger to flooding