What Tragedy Can Teach Us About Climate Preparedness
As CBS reports, 'survivors have described the floods as a 'pitch black wall of death' and said they received no emergency warnings.' Residents and summer camps along the Guadalupe River were not told to evacuate and only got an alert warning at 4 a.m., as the river had already begun to rise. Many have described the incident as 'a 100-year flood'—meaning it was one of the worst and most powerful floods of the past century. According to the Austin American-Statesman , at the flood's peak at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the river unleashed 111,000 cubic feet of water per second.
Kerr County officials say they had previously presented a proposal for an upgraded flood warning system, like other communities have for tornadoes, but, as CBS reports, 'the public reeled at the cost.' That looks short-sighted and misguided now. From a climate perspective, we know extreme weather and disasters like this flood are getting worse and more frequent. And climate-smart emergency preparedness is one of the best defenses against that looming unknown. It is up to every one of us to make that clear to anyone (elected or otherwise) who is willing to listen.
I really appreciated this op-ed in the Texas Observer , from a survivor of another massive flood in 2002, also on Independence Day. Parts of Hill Country are known as 'flash flood alley,' notes the author Chaney Hill, who found herself at a summer camp when the flood hit more than 20 years ago.
'Flash floods seem to come from nowhere—unexpected, sudden, terrifying. They seemingly manifest as sudden and inevitable events. This simply isn't accurate, though. Weather events such as the one that led to the 2002 floods were exacerbated by a number of things: an ongoing drought, weather patterns leading up to the rain, as well as the implementation of policies and practices of the landowners near the headwaters,' Hill writes. 'The flood did not come from nowhere: It was an effect of larger historical, structural, and environmental processes.'
Heavy words to reflect on, and I'm hoping that as officials, local leaders and survivors process this trauma, there are some lessons we can all learn. I am wishing for speed in finding those who are still missing, and peace for those who have been lost. Stay safe out there.
— Chloe Sorvino
This is Forbes' Fresh Take newsletter , which every Wednesday brings you the latest on the big ideas changing the future of food. Want to get it in your inbox every week? Sign up here . Featured Story I Remember the 2002 Fourth of July Hill Country Floods. This Year, The Water Returned.
Two women look at homes flooded by the Guadalupe River in July 2002 in New Braunfels, Texas. Flood waters at the time forced thousands from their homes. Photo by Alicia Wagner Calzada/ Getty Images
In an op-ed for the Texas Observer , Chaney Hill writes about memories from another instance of the Guadalupe River flooding more than 20 years ago, and the lessons that can be learned from climate disasters. JBS Watch
I was thrilled to have my reporting on meat-packing giant JBS (and my book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat ) featured in this mini-doc made by More Perfect Union. Give it a watch! The Feed
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Who's Got That MAHA Feeling?: The New York Times reports on two of the biggest hold-outs against the Make America Healthy Again push to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic food dyes: M&Ms and Froot Loops. Candy and cereal are some of the worst offenders when it comes to using these dyes, and Mars-owned M&Ms, for example, isn't yet swayed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's movement. While Mars recently removed the whitening agent titanium dioxide from Skittles, that's just one ingredient among others that MAHA questions, and M&Ms and other iconic candies are not yet being reformulated. Mars attempted to go synthetic-dye-free in 2016, the NYT reports, but abandoned plans after consumer tests indicated that U.S. shoppers preferred the artificial versions. Mars is America's fourth-largest privately held company, with $50 billion in 2024 revenue. Its six heirs share a fortune that tops $100 billion in all.
Food systems consume 40% of petrochemicals. IPES-Food
It's Getting Hot In Here: Fossil fuels are embedded throughout the food system, writes Forbes contributor Errol Schweizer, and a study showing that the usage of fossil fuels is growing is cause for concern. But Schweizer puts forth another way forward where 'fossil fuel dependence is not inevitable.'
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Don't Cry Over Spilled Mozzarella: Or maybe we should. In Centre County, Pennsylvania, a crash of three tractor-trailers left the contents of one truck—mozzarella cheese—spilling out onto Interstate 80. According to Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI, partially ripped boxes of mozzarella stretched the length of two football fields. Field Notes
Chloe Sorvino
The grilled clams at The Place in Guilford, Connecticut—pictured here are the famous 'house special' (read: cocktail sauce heavy, in a good way). This tented, open-fire institution has been dishing out grilled clams, lobsters, steaks and corn since 1971. It's worth a detour to, as The Place's T-shirts say, 'put your rump on a stump' under its red and white striped big tent. And it's a good recommendation to keep in mind, especially if you find yourself roadtripping along Interstate 95 this summer—The Place is roughly 30 minutes north of New Haven. Cash only (with an ATM on-site) and BYOB.
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It was 4 a.m. on July 4 at Camp La Junta in Kerr County when Kolton Taylor woke up to the sound of screaming. The 12-year-old boy stepped out of bed and straight into knee-deep floodwaters from the nearby Guadalupe River. Before long, the water had already risen to his waist. In the darkness, he managed to feel for his tennis shoes floating nearby, put them on, and escape to the safety of the hillside. All 400 people at the all-boys camp survived, even as they watched one of their cabins float away in the rushing river. But 5 miles downriver at Camp Mystic, 28 campers and counselors were killed. The flash flooding in Texas would have been catastrophic at any time of day, but it was especially dangerous because it happened at night. Research shows that more than half of deaths from floods happen after dark, and in the case of flash floods, one study put the number closer to three-quarters. Other hazards are more perilous in the dark, too: Tornadoes that strike between sunset and sunrise are twice as deadly, on average, as those during the day. No one can stop the sun from rising and setting, but experts say there are simple precautions that can save lives when extreme weather strikes at night. As climate change supercharges floods, hurricanes, and fires, it's becoming even more important to account for the added risks of nocturnal disasters. Stephen Strader, a hazards geographer at Villanova University, said that at night, it's not enough to rely on a phone call from a family member or outdoor warning sirens (which Kerr County officials discussed installing, but never did). The safest bet is a NOAA radio, a device that broadcasts official warnings from the nearest National Weather Service office 24/7. One major advantage is that it doesn't rely on cell service. 'That's old school technology, but it's the thing that will wake you up and get you up at 3 a.m.,' said Walker Ashley, an atmospheric scientist and disaster geographer at Northern Illinois University. Even with warning, reacting in the middle of the night isn't easy. When people are shaken awake, they're often disoriented, requiring additional time to figure out what's happening before they can jump into action. 'Those precious minutes and seconds are critical a lot of times in these situations for getting to safety,' Strader said. The darkness itself presents another issue. People tend to look outside for proof that weather warnings match up with their reality, but at night, they often can't find the confirmation they're looking for until it's too late. Some drive their cars into floodwaters, unable to see how deep it is, and get swept away. It's also harder to evacuate—and try to rescue people—when you can barely see anything. 'I invite anybody to just go walk around the woods with a flashlight off, and you find out how difficult it can be,' Ashley said. 'Imagine trying to navigate floodwaters or trying to find shelter while you're in rushing water at night with no flashlight. It's a nightmare.' The logic applies to most hazards, but the night problem appears the worst with sudden-onset disasters like tornadoes and earthquakes—and the early-morning flash floods in Texas, where the Guadalupe rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, meaning that storms can dump more water more suddenly than they used to. 'We have essentially, because of climate change, put the atmosphere on steroids,' Strader said. It's on his to-do list to study whether other disasters, like hurricanes and wildfires, are deadlier at night. When Hurricane Harvey pummeled Texas with rain for days in 2017, people described waking up to water creeping into their homes; the Texas National Guard navigated rescue boats through neighborhoods in the dark, searching for survivors. In recent years, hurricanes have rapidly intensified before making landfall, fueled by warmer ocean waters. That shrinks the window in which forecasters can warn people a strong storm is coming. To compound the problem, at the end of July, the Pentagon plans to stop sharing the government satellite microwave data that helps forecasters track hurricanes overnight, leaving the country vulnerable to what's called a 'sunrise surprise.' While daytime tornado deaths have declined over time, nighttime fatalities are on the rise, Strader and Ashley have found in their research. (It's still unclear as to how climate change affects tornadoes.) 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