Few Answers from Texas Leaders as Questions Mount Over Flood Response

HUNT, Texas — Local authorities and law enforcement in Kerr County were unable to provide basic information about the emergency response four days after the devastating flash floods in Texas Hill Country. One such question was whether the emergency management coordinator, who made the decision to order evacuations, was awake when the waters began to rise.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha emphasized that his top objectives were locating missing residents, identifying them, and informing their next of kin. He added, “We’re in the process of trying to put a timeline — that’s going to take a little bit of time.”

Leitha provided no explanation when asked about the crucial time following the National Weather Service’s initial flash flood warning for the region at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. He was unable to explain the part emergency management personnel performed at such times, such as who was in contact with the NWS or keeping an eye out for important alerts.

Even though these catastrophic weather events are growing more frequent, the magnitude and speed of the calamity that has killed over 100 people caught this region, known as “flash flood alley,” off guard. This is making people wonder if local authorities were ready and if adequate preparations are in place to prevent a catastrophe of this magnitude in the future.

When the flood levels rose, many were still in their beds. Thirty children and 57 adults, primarily from a summer camp on the Guadalupe River’s banks, were among the majority of those murdered in Kerr County. According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, 161 more people in the county were still unaccounted for. Among the questions that remain are: What steps were taken to inform the residents? Who sent out the emergency alerts, and were they sufficient?

Additionally, it was unclear if all phones received emergency alerts because service might be inconsistent and girls attending summer camp were not permitted to have them. Kerr County lacks an outdoor warning siren, but a nearby municipality does.

Speaking with Kerrville’s mayor and law enforcement officers, Leitha said that he was informed of the events between 4 and 5 a.m., hours after the National Weather Service’s flash flood warnings began to ping to cellphones, though not all locals claimed to have gotten them. The Guadalupe River buried its flood gauge when it climbed 26 feet in 45 minutes at daylight.

After five in the morning, when the river had already risen above a record level of more than 36 feet, Kerr County officials and police started posting on Facebook about “life threatening” flooding. Before then, it’s unclear if officials were interacting with locals in any other way.

Leitha was unable to confirm if W.B. “Dub” Thomas, the county’s emergency coordinator, had been out of bed earlier and active in alerting locals. Texas Game Wardens Lt. Col. Ben Baker would not comment on emergency operations or the person in charge.

Residents of Kerr County, like 67-year-old Marvin Willis, were left in search of answers following the disaster. Even Joe Herring, the mayor of Kerrville, claimed that he was not notified of any emergencies until 5:30 a.m. on Friday and was only roused by a call from Dalton Rice, the city manager.

“We definitely should have had more of them if they had come,” Herring said of the notifications, “and we had a chance to save all the people we’ve lost and are missing.” We ought to have received a warning.

“Do I wish we had warned those people?” is the question. Of course. “Do I hope we warn people better in the future?” is the question. Of course.

In a second news conference later Tuesday, Abbott reaffirmed that the search and rescue effort was still the major emphasis and stated that officials will discuss the disaster’s whys and hows once that phase was completed.

Abbott, who is a Republican, responded, “You’d have to ask them,” when asked what local officials knew early Friday as the water was approaching.

Hunt is an unincorporated settlement in Kerr County, and Ronnie Barker, who has lived there for 23 years, claimed he was one of the individuals who didn’t get any alerts early Friday. However, he is focusing on the good things, including the mobilization of first responders.

Baker remarked, “People from all over the country and the world, everybody wants to come in and do something. We’ve just been flooded with people helping.”

Rena Bailey, a Hunt resident who has been there since 1990, received alerts but felt they might have been more forcefully phrased.

“I’ve got notices all the time about whatever. There was no urgency in what I got,” Bailey remarked.

She said people could have required more direction, especially in an area where flooding is commonplace, even though she remembered one advisory stating the weather was “life threatening.”

“If they had said there’s a wall of water coming or evacuate,” Bailey said, “but I didn’t take it that way. And they can blame me, but don’t blame me, because I live here, and I know what I get all the time.”