As Texas Floods Swept Campers Away, A Top Official Didn't Show Up. Another Was Asleep.

Yahoo

5 days ago

Texas officials involved in the deadly Kerr County flood response testified to lawmakers Thursday about the many failures made during the tragedy.
In the early morning of July 4, the Guadalupe River rose around 26 feet, causing flash floods that killed more than 100 people, including 28 children. More remain missing. As the disaster unfolded, the county's top official was nowhere to be found. Another official said he was sick and asleep.
William B. Thomas IV, the county's emergency management coordinator, testified that he was sleeping off an illness as floodwaters rose.
'I stayed in bed throughout July 3 and did not participate in the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Texas Emergency Management Coordination Center coordination calls,' Thomas testified.
Thomas said his supervisors knew he was off that day, and said he slept most of July 3. At around 2 p.m., Thomas said he went back to sleep until his wife woke him at 5:30 a.m. on July 4 to alert him about the floods.
Part of Thomas' job was to then alert the public. He testified that he reported to the sheriff's office, but decided not to issue an alert to cell phones because the National Weather Service already did.
'To those who ask, what would you have done differently? The honest answer is that, based on the data we had at the time, there was no clear indicator that a catastrophic flood was imminent,' Thomas said. 'The situation evolved faster than anyone could have predicted.'
Thomas' response is similar to one given by Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's most senior elected official.
'We didn't know this flood was coming,' Kelly said at a news conference after the flood.
As county judge, Kelly serves as the head of emergency management. On the day of the tragedy, Kelly was at his second home in Lake Travis and didn't wake up until 4:20 a.m. on July 4 after getting calls and texts from law enforcement officials.
'We received no alerts suggesting an extreme weather event was imminent,' Kelly testified Thursday.
Kerr County lacks a local flood warning system, despite being prone to flooding. Kelly previously said that residents felt a warning system was too expensive to implement, The New York Times reported.
Among those who died were girls at a Christian summer camp. Dick Eastland, the 70-year-old owner and director of Camp Mystic, was among those who died while trying to save the lives of his campers. He had been warning of floods and the need for warning systems for years.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) tore into Kelly during Thursday's hearing.
'We didn't just lose people, we didn't know where people were,' Patrick told Kelly. 'And you weren't here. I asked where you were for the press conference that night, you weren't here.'
Patrick said it was Kelly's responsibility to direct the emergency response.
'I just want to set the record straight: Everyone was here that day working their ass off, and you were nowhere to be found.'
The hearing is ongoing and expected to last throughout the day.