According to KVUE, Lake Travis -- which supplies much of the water to Austin, Texas -- saw a massive increase in water level following flooding in July.
Accounting for all data since 1942, this is the fourth-largest increase in one month. The water level in July 2025 rose 27.08 feet. The highest the water level ever rose was 36.31 feet in September 1952.
Just a decade ago, in June 2015, Lake Travis rose over 31 feet with flooding, and many who lived along the Blanco River had their homes destroyed.
This July's spike in water level also came with flooding. Heavy rainfall began on July 5 in central Texas, flooding multiple tributaries that lead to Lake Travis. The flooding killed over a dozen people across three Texas counties.
"It's a relief that the water has come back up, that mother nature helped us out, even though there was heartache associated with it," Hurst Harbor Marina general manager Nick Shepherd said, according to Community Impact.
The outlet noted that Lake Travis can hold the floodwater until it can be released to help downstream cities, such as Austin.
This increased rainfall and flooding is not limited to the United States. Thirty percent of Europe's river systems experienced flooding in 2024, killing 335 people and affecting more than 410,000, according to a joint report by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization cited by Reuters.
Cloudbursts, intense amounts of rain released quickly from the combination of high humidity and low pressure, have increasingly caused flash floods in India and Pakistan.
One of the impacts of human-caused climate change is warmer air. It holds more moisture, which makes these flood events around the world more dangerous.
Extreme weather events also come with a large economic cost. As the Center for Disaster Philanthropy explains, "From 1980 to October 2024, there have been 44 floods in the U.S. that caused more than a billion dollars in damage each. The average cost is $4.5 billion per year."
More floods also bring more flood insurance claims. As a result, insurance rates have been rising beyond what some can afford.
When explaining the rise in flood insurance premiums, America's Flood writes, "Climate change is no longer speculation. It's happening."
After this latest incident, Central Texas Water Coalition Director Shannon Hamilton cautioned that this rise in water after the flooding is an opportunity to prevent a repeat.
According to Community Impact, Hamilton warned that "failing to conserve water received in July means the lakes could fall short of meeting the needs of Central Texans" when the next drought hits.