For this week’s feature of ToolBank Disaster Services’ first mobile unit (MU-1), I jump ahead in time to its last deployment.
Last week’s post and this week’s bookend its service journey and show the visual impact 11 years of service has on a trusty trailer.
The images here show the unit when it was brand new, then camped at its very last deployment, right before retirement at the end of 2025. Other images show volunteers picking up tools, mucking and gutting a damaged home, and ToolBank staff sleeping accommodations during deployment.
Event
The final deployment for this workhorse took place in July and August 2025 in San Angelo, Texas after destructive floods swept through the Hill Country and caused damage in dozens of counties. Many people likely recall hearing about the devastating loss of life that occurred in Kerr County. The response effort was so swift and strong there that authorities were turning away volunteers within days. We deployed nearby to Tom Green County, specifically in the city of San Angelo, which had the highest amount of structural damage to residences per capita.
As many people watched on the news, massive downpours in the region early in the morning on the 4th of July caused the Guadalupe River to rise 28 feet in just 45 minutes. The swiftness of the flooding made it impossible for most people to evacuate safely and caused major damage to any structure in its path. In San Angelo alone, more than 12,100 structures were damaged or destroyed, including more than 4,000 homes.
In August, I joined a colleague in their response on the ground in San Angelo. The video at the right is one I took that shows just one street in one neighborhood with damaged belongings outside of every home awaiting removal. This video was taken three weeks after the event.
We were housed at a local church and slept on cots provided by our friends at the American Red Cross. In six weeks of service on the ground, we worked with four different organizations. Our primary partner was CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort). We also worked with Texans on a Mission, Celebration Church, and San Angelo Toys for Tots. $40,792 worth of tools and equipment from MU-1 were put in the hands of volunteers and staff with these partners.
After the first six weeks, many ToolBank tools remained in the area, boosting sustained efforts. Our affiliate ToolBank in Houston equipped groups with tools for a full 30 weeks through the end of November. As rebuild efforts continue, we’ve pulled resources from our Dallas TDS hub to serve partners in the next phase of recovery. Events may pass out of the news cycle; we are available for the duration of the repsonse.
Every deployment event has staggering stats of damage and hardship along with incredible stories of service. Not every event gets due press, particularly for unnamed events like floods and tornadoes. This one did receive a lot of press. We are proud to close out MU-1’s service record with a deployment that fulfilled the wishes of so many people across the country and world: the wish to help these communities recover swiftly.
Brief video showing one street of homes with damaged belongings piled outside post-flood.
MU-1 – April 2014
MU-1 – July 2025
CORE volunteers use ToolBank tools to muck & gut a home in San Angelo.
A CORE volunteer picks up tools from MU-1.
ToolBank staff sleeping accommodation courtesy of friends at the American Red Cross.