Floodwaters in Texas's Hill Country transformed the Guadalupe River into a striking blood-red color on July 16, a phenomenon attributed to a dye spill from a local business amidst severe flooding. The incident occurred as thunderstorms delivered several inches of rain overnight, causing rapid water level rises and prompting mass evacuations and road closures.

A viral social media video captured a structure being submerged by the unusually colored water. The building was identified as the headquarters of Pavement Restoration Inc., a company specializing in asphalt pavement preservation. Rob Wiggins, president of Pavement Restoration, confirmed the red fluid was a dye used in some of the company's products, not diesel fuel as widely suspected.

Wiggins explained that the company does not store diesel on the premises. The red dye originated from a 44-gallon drum containing approximately 16 gallons of concentrated dye. After the drum was submerged about five feet underwater, it burst, releasing an estimated four to seven gallons of the dye into the river.

The building belonging to Pavement Restoration Inc - a business specializing in asphalt pavement preservation - was submerged by water containing large amounts of a red fluid

He asserted that the incident posed no environmental hazard and that authorities, including the local fire marshal, police chief, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, were notified. Wiggins stated that the property's retention dam is believed to have contained the majority of the dye, with little to no red coloration visible downstream from the company's yard once the floodwaters receded.

Rob Wiggins, the president of Pavement Restoration, stated the fluid was a highly concentrated dye and that the incident was not an environmental hazard

The National Weather Service described the river's surge as a 'large and deadly flood wave,' a phenomenon typically caused by rapid runoff from intense rainfall. Several areas of Texas had experienced significant rainfall in the days leading up to the event.

Guadalupe River sent what National Weather Service described as a 'large and deadly flood wave' downstream, after thunderstorms added several inches of rain across the region overnight

In recent days, various areas of Texas have received many inches of rain leading up to the flooding

Local residents were advised to seek higher ground and avoid roads due to the hazardous conditions. The flooding led to numerous highway and local road closures, forced evacuations, and the opening of emergency shelters. As of Thursday afternoon, no flood-related fatalities had been reported, with rescue efforts involving aerial and water units underway.

Local residents were urged to get to higher ground and stay off roads, with the floods leading to highway and local road closures, evacuations, and numerous emergency shelters opening