Multiple water rescues reported as flooding closes roads across San Antonio area

Heavy rain across the San Antonio area on June 20 triggered multiple water rescues, flooded roads and widespread closures, according to county officials and local reports.

Medina County Fire/EMS said crews responded to multiple water rescues overnight and urged residents to stay off area roadways. The agency said FM 471 was flooded near San Geronimo Creek and shared photos showing a partially submerged vehicle near FM 471 North and County Road 381.

Bexar County authorities also warned drivers about dangerous travel conditions and told residents to avoid flooded roadways whenever possible.

Morning closures

At 7:40 a.m., the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office reported closures on portions of Bulverde Road, Old Fredericksburg Road, Haby Lane, Scenic Loop and Specht Road.

By 10 a.m., the Bexar Flood Operations Center tracker showed 21 closed locations out of 196 monitored crossings. The flooded locations listed by the tracker included Bulverde Road at Cibolo Creek, Cagnon Road at the Medina River, Doheny Road at Culebra Creek and Pinn Road.

Officials reminded motorists that driving around barricades at low-water crossings is illegal and repeated the standard warning: Turn Around, Don't Drown.

Why conditions worsened

The San Antonio Express-News reported that the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning for much of Bexar County, including San Antonio, early Saturday morning. The warning covered downtown San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Castle Hills, Leon Valley, Helotes and Lackland Air Force Base.

The report described rain rates of 2 to 5 inches per hour in a nearly stationary thunderstorm, which helped turn roads and crossings dangerous quickly.

What remains uncertain

Officials had not yet given a final count of rescues or a full reopening timeline by the time of the latest reports. The key questions for later in the day were how quickly crossings would reopen, whether the weather service would extend or cancel the warning, and whether additional corridors would be affected as rain continued.