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	WATER'S WRATH
Canyon Lake road in Comal County, Texas, above, is destroyed by fast floodwaters spilling into the Guadalupe River.	30 inches of rain in a week

Texas residents welcomed the first drops of rain that fell from towering dark clouds in late June, 2002.

Afterall, Bexar County had just declared emergency water conservation measures, and the life-giving aquifer beneath San Antonio was dangerously low.

But the rain kept coming. When it finally stopped, 10 days later, over 30 inches had fallen, and nine people had been swept to their deaths in overflowing creeks and rivers.

Most of south and central Texas was declared a federal disaster area. The flood caused over $2 billion in damage.

My wife, Alicia Wagner Calzada, covered the tragedy for the Los Angeles Times, Getty Images and the San Antonio Express-News. You can see her photos at www.aliciawagner.com.

My fellow staff photographers and photo editors of the San Antonio Express-News and I worked long hours to provide photos around the clock to the newspaper.

At top, Comal County residents remove belongings from their flooded home near New Braunfels. Right, a hastily written note warns the resident of this home to leave before a dam breaks.

"I have no flood insurance."
--V. Ojeda

Vicente Ojeda ponders his future. He lost his home and truck to the flood water.

The integrity of the Medina Lake dam was questioned. It was within feet of flooding over.


Homes were washed downstream by the swollen Guadalupe River.	A school bus was turned onto its side in New Braunfels. The bus was empty.

Vicente Ojeda surveys the damage to his home in Bandera. He is a retired civil servant.

Photos by Billy Calzada
http://www.billycalzada.com

To next photo feature, "A Red Texas Sky"

	"I have no flood insurance." --V. Ojeda Vicente Ojeda ponders his future. He lost his home and truck to the flood water.