Texas county deflects mounting questions over actions before deadly flood

As deaths from catastrophic Texas flooding surpassed on Monday local leaders in one of the hardest-hit counties have still revealed little about what if any actions they took to safeguard residents tourists and visitors in an area known as flash flood alley At a series of briefings since the flooding on July Kerr County authorities have deflected a series of pointed questions about preparations and warnings as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions The county in the scenic Texas Hill Country is home to several summer camps including Camp Mystic an all-girls Christian summer camp that disclosed Monday it lost at least campers and counselors In the present day s not the day and now s not the time to discuss the warnings who got them who didn t got them Right now I m only worried about society safety Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha announced Monday during an urgency session of the county commissioners court Dalton Rice the city manager of Kerrville revealed Monday that leadership were reluctant to cry wolf and order evacuations adding that rainfall significantly exceeded the projected amounts He declared functionaries had little time to react in the middle of the night adding that qualified first responders were being swept away driving through the initial rainfall This rose very swiftly in a very short amount of time Rice disclosed Dire weather organization warnings In the hours before the floods the foreseen for heavy rains put precautions in motion as the state activated an emergency response plan and moved guidance into the central Texas area The National Weather Organization issued a flash-flood warning at a m Friday to mobile phones and weather radios more than three hours before the first reports of flooding at low-water crossings in Kerr County at a m The warning was updated at a m to a flash-flood crisis The warning included Hunt the small town that s home to Camp Mystic Girls who were rescued from the camp have noted they were woken up after midnight by strong storms that knocked out power Bright flashes from lightning strikes proved the river rising rapidly It was not straightaway clear what kind of evacuation plans Camp Mystic might have had Flash flood alley Local officers have known for decades that flooding posed serious peril to life and property in the region and a county cabinet overview last year warned the threat was getting worse Kerr County s hazard mitigation action plan disclosed at least flood occurrences dating back to Local personnel determined that another flood was likely in the next year and that future worst-case flood events could be more severe than those of the past The jeopardy of a -year flood was not negligible and could lead to downed power lines stranded residents and buildings that were damaged or even perfectly washed away the review warned Atmosphere change could make the river flooding more frequent it noted The region has known vital tragedy A flood after a heavy rain prompted the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort A wall of water rapidly swamped buses and vans Ten teenagers died Decades later the Upper Guadalupe River Authority which manages the river watershed distributed a video to YouTube titled Be Flood Aware Viewed over times online the video outlines the history of the Guadalupe River its history of tragic flooding and techniques the community can remain safe when floodwaters rise Terrain here is unique for flash flooding the video noted It mentioned the dangers of a notable rainfall near the river s headwaters near Camp Mystic The video noted the shallow headwaters with limestone underneath the riverbed If you get or inches of rain at one time that can be a real serious trouble the video warned The storm that hit last Friday dumped more than inches centimeters on the area in three hours The river rose feet meters in just minutes In January the Kerr County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an application for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a flood warning system according to transcripts of the meeting Less than a year later commissioners learned the grant was not approved Bulk of that funding went to communities hit by Hurricane Harvey Calls for an alarm The river authority has cited the need to develop a flood warning system in Kerr County as a top priority in its last three annual strategic plans Kerr County commissioners considered several years ago a proposal for a flood warning system similar to sirens used for tornadoes in other parts of the country including in nearby Comal County which includes part of the Guadalupe River Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly who was not on the commission at the time but attended meetings declared the warning system idea was shelved because residents reeled at the cost Nicole Wilson a San Antonio mother who took her daughters out of a neighboring hill country camp ahead of the flooding amid concerns about its evacuation plans revealed county leaders need to push for one Wilson launched an online petition calling for Kerr County to install flooding warning sirens to alert in real time She plans to present the signatures to Gov Greg Abbott when lawmakers convene in a special session July She called a siren system almost a no-brainer I m sure those children expected at any moment that an adult was going to rescue them she stated I don t think there can be much more heartbreak than that and so if there s a way to prevent it it necessities to be implemented fleetly