KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — A rural Texas county needed but lacked an updated warning system, local officials testified Thursday, when flash flooding swept away homes and vehicles and left families begging for rescue on the roofs of their homes earlier this month.
Texas lawmakers searched for answers during a hearing on the deadly July 4 floods that overwhelmed Kerr County in a matter of hours. The hearing was the first time a panel of lawmakers visited the hard-hit Texas Hill Country since the floods. At least 136 people were killed, including 27 youths and counselors at an all-girls camp.
Among local officials who testified was the county’s emergency management chief, who explained his absence in the initial hours as the disaster unfolded.
Others who testified Thursday before an audience of hundreds of people — some who wore green ribbons in memory of the victims — called for urgent improvements for better flood warnings and flood mitigation.
Kerrville County Judge Rob Kelly said residents had virtually no warning of the impending weather catastrophe until it was too late.
“We need stronger communications and better broadband so we can communicate better,” he said, adding that poor cell service did not help those along the river. “What we experienced on July 4 was sudden, violent and overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator said he was relieved to have the opportunity to address rumors that he was slow to respond.
William “Dub” Thomas, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator, told lawmakers he was sick the day before the flooding occurred and missed two calls with Texas Emergency Management officials, although he said those calls were routinely followed with written summaries sent to other county leaders, “ensuring that the flow of situational updates remained uninterrupted in my absence.”
Thomas said on the morning of July 4, he was first awakened by his wife around 5:30 a.m., more than an hour after emergency rescue operations were underway, and quickly drove to the sheriff’s office.
“There was no visible flooding on my drive into the office, but it quickly became clear that the situation was escalating,” he said.
The hearing comes as authorities have begun publicly releasing records and audio — including 911 calls — that have provided new glimpses into the escalating danger and chaos in the early hours of the July Fourth holiday. They include panicked and confused messages from residents caught in trees as well as families fleeing with children from homes with water creeping up to the knees.
“People are dying,” one woman tells a 911 operator in call logs released by nearby Kendall County. She says she had a young relative at a church camp in Kerr County who was stranded along with his classmates because of the high waters.
“I don’t want them to get stuck in a low-water crossing. And what are they going to do? They have like 30 kids," the woman says.
Kerr County officials have denied several Texas Public of Information requests filed by The Associated Press for 911 calls and body-camera footage related to the floods.
Lawmakers have had to address flood relief amid a busy 30-day legislative special session that has included a highly-partisan sprint by Republicans to redraw the state's maps to pick up five more seats in the U.S. House.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott added flood relief and disaster preparedness to the agenda items shortly after calling a special session in June. He also included redrawing the state's maps after receiving pressure from President Donald Trump, who has said he wants Texas Republicans to squeeze five additional seats.
House Democrats have launched a series of protests that have involved fleeing the state to meet with Democratic governors to try and stop Republican redistricting. As the minority party in both chambers, the caucus has few options and lawmakers face up to $500 a day for walking out after they broke a quorum in 2021. Party leaders have said they will not engage in other legislative business until the legislature addresses flood relief.
Lawmakers have filed bills to provide funding for early warning systems, improve emergency communications and strengthen flood infrastructure in flood-prone areas.
Residents along the Guadalupe River have said they were caught off guard and had no warning when rainfall struck. Kerr County does not have a warning system along the river after several missed opportunities by state and local agencies to finance one.
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Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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