In 1987, sudden and intense rainfall caused the river to surge at an unprecedented rate in mid-July, leading to a tragedy that killed 10 campers at Pot O' Gold Christian Camp, a summer camp near Comfort, Texas. The campers drowned when their bus attempted to evacuate them and was overtaken by floodwater.

Flash floods in Texas have killed nearly 90 people, many of them children. Heavy rains fell quickly in the predawn hours Friday in the Texas Hill Country, causing the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in just 45 minutes.

Flash flood alley is a curved-shaped region about 300 miles long and 50 miles wide in central/south-central Texas, extending from north of Dallas to southwest of San Antonio. Its location, weather patterns, and geology often combine to create devastating floods.