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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
At Texas flooding hearing, state officials look elsewhere for blame
Texas' emergency management chief on July 23 defended his agency's actions in the July 4 floods that ravaged the Texas Hill Country. AUSTIN, Texas – Texas' emergency management chief on July 23 defended his agency's actions in the July 4 floods that ravaged the Texas Hill Country , suggesting at the first legislative hearing on the disaster that local emergency officials were not adequately trained to respond. At several points during the hearing on the state's handling of the catastrophic floods that killed at least 136 people statewide, Mr W. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, directed attention to the role of local emergency managers in disaster response in Texas. 'The responsibility of being in charge rests with local officials,' Mr Kidd testified at the hearing of state Senate and House committees for disaster preparedness. He also pointed to the lack of specificity and urgency in National Weather Service forecasts until shortly before floodwaters began surging early on July 4. While Mr Kidd did not describe any particular failures by local officials, he stressed the need for 'a deliberate conversation about the credentialing of emergency managers at the local level.' At the moment, there are no requirements for credentials. 'We can do better than that,' he said. The testimony opened a daylong hearing at the state Capitol in Austin, part of a special session called by Governor Greg Abbott to address the flooding, as well as to redraw congressional maps to benefit Republicans in response to pressure from President Donald Trump. The state is still reeling from the flooding. At the hearing on July 23, the director of the state police Freeman Martin told lawmakers that another person missing in the flood, a woman whom he did not identify, had been found dead. Two people, including a child from Camp Mystic, remain missing in Kerr County, he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business GIC posts 3.8% annualised return over 20 years despite economic uncertainties Business GIC's focus on long-term value aims to avoid permanent loss amid intensifying economic changes Opinion No idle punt: Why Singapore called out cyber saboteur UNC3886 by name Asia Both Cambodia, Thailand willing to consider ceasefire, says Malaysian PM Anwar Singapore Singapore urges all parties in Thailand-Cambodia border dispute to exercise restraint Business MAS' measures spark cautious optimism for Singapore stock market revival: Analysts World Trump, Fed chief Powell bicker during tense central bank visit Life Hulk Hogan, who helped turn pro wrestling into a billion-dollar spectacle, dies at 71 Texas leaders have sought to avoid any finger-pointing over potential government failures that may have contributed to the flooding's staggering toll, particularly in Kerr County, where over 100 people died. Mr Abbott has said that those looking for whom to blame were 'losers.' 'Our select committee will not armchair-quarterback or attempt to assign blame,' said Senator Charles Perry, the chair of the Senate's special committee on disaster preparedness. But local officials in Kerr County have faced questions about their failure to secure funding for a flood warning system in recent years, and the apparent lack of local government action amid increasingly dire weather alerts in the early hours of July 4. No one from the Kerr County government or the city of Kerrville, the county seat, was invited to testify in Austin on July 23. Residents of the areas hit by the floods were also not permitted to speak. But they will have a chance to testify before lawmakers next week at a legislative hearing in Kerrville. On July 23, lawmakers directed pointed questions at one local official who did appear late in the day: the general manager of the Upper Guadalupe Water Authority, which covers the river in Kerr County. 'We've had a number of funerals for eight-year-old girls from the families that trusted and sent their children to your county,' said Representative Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat. 'You know that river can kill, because it killed children in the '80s.' The water authority's general manager Tara Bushnoe testified that over the years, the authority had accumulated US$3.4 million in reserves for a water supply project. But when the project fell through, in 2022, the board did not use that money for an improved flood warning system, despite a 2016 study finding that it was needed and several unsuccessful attempts to get grants from the state. 'You had the money, but not the will,' said Representative Drew Darby, a West Texas Republican. Senator Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, said the decision was 'pathetic.' Ms Bushnoe said the authority had taken steps to spend down the surplus and lower its tax rate, after a review and direction from a state commission in 2023. The review did not recommend spending the money on flood warning systems. The surplus was first reported by The Houston Chronicle. Representative Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, said the response to the floods could have been better 'before, during and after.' 'That's not a blame game,' he said. 'That's accountability.' The hearing began with lawmakers watching a 10-minute video clip from a Houston television news meteorologist who called the confluence of weather factors that led to the severe river flooding a 'freak event.' The idea, Mr Perry said, was to underscore just how unusual the event was. 'I'm hearing from the old-timers, this is a 500-year event,' Mr Perry said. Mr Kidd said the forecasts leading up to July 4 predicted significant storms, but were not specific about the areas that might be most affected and required state officials to spread out resources over a large region. He said that the 'area of concern' the day before the flooding stretched across 44 counties and that his agency convened a weather call with local governments in which well over 400 people participated. The lawmakers mostly thanked the state officials who testified for their agencies' work in responding to the flooding. Several appeared interested in taking action to improve systems of communication between emergency responders, and, after Mr Kidd's comments, of improving the training and credentialing of local emergency officials. But there were a few moments of tension. Senator José Menéndez, a San Antonio Democrat, asked whether more could be done by the state to make sure local officials received important weather warnings. 'We know we can share the information,' Mr Kidd said. 'But we really have no way of knowing whether they have received the message.' 'You do see the problem with that?' Mr Menéndez asked. 'I do,' Mr Kidd replied. He added that part of the issue was that local emergency officials, who supply their contact information to the state, sometimes provided only office numbers or generic emails. NYTIMES
CBS News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Organizational failures highlighted in hearing over deadly Central Texas flooding: "We're better than that."
On day three of the 2025 special session, Texas lawmakers are addressing issues discovered during the deadly Fourth of July flooding in Central Texas. Top state officials are testifying that communication needs to improve between the state and local officials, between first responders, and with the large number of volunteers on the ground. As the Guadalupe River began rising on the Fourth of July, state officials say the authority to order evacuations lay with city and county leaders. "When was the order for evacuation ordered?" asked Republican Senator Charles Schwertner. "I do not believe there was ever one ordered, sir," said Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. "There was never one ordered?" Schwertner replied. "I'm not aware of one, no," said Kidd. Kidd testified before a joint committee on disaster preparedness and response at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday about lapses in communication with local officials. His department, he says, doesn't even have reliable contact information for local emergency managers. "To this day, I still have forms that get sent to us that have an office number as the Emergency Management contact number," said Kidd. "We still get e-mail addresses that we know are generic e-mail addresses that are not being monitored. You've given us the resources to put people in the field to make sure we're working directly with. We have an employee in Kerr County. We have had for two or three years now. That doesn't mean we have any way of guaranteeing a responsible adult, local officials, and those that are appointed are awake and seeing the same information that our people who are paid to be awake at two in the morning are seeing." Kidd also drew attention to the absence of any required certification or training for local emergency management coordinators. "There's no minimum requirements to be an emergency management coordinator. We're better than that," said Kidd. "Those words are going to ring in my head throughout this. 'We are better than this,'" said Rep. Joe Moody, repeating the phrase. In the hall outside the hearing room, Joe Shopp, whose neighborhood in Sandy Creek sustained damage, said he came hoping to speak with state leaders. "Greg Abbott said, we're not going to assign blame," said Shopp. "That's what losers do. Right. But JJ, a friend of mine in our community in Sandy Creek who lost his entire family; he watched his wife and his two children drown. He lost his entire business, his livelihood, every vehicle he owns. And he wants to know who's going to be held accountable. It's not the blame game. It's accountability." Shopp said in his neighborhood, it's volunteers doing all the clean-up. "Every resource we see in our community is volunteer people that have spent thousands and thousands of their own dollars," said Shopp. Kidd, meanwhile, said those volunteers have been a challenge to manage. "It's very difficult to wrangle 27,000 spontaneous volunteers," said Kidd. "The fact of the matter is people come in so quick that we can't control them sometimes, and we don't know who they are." He asked lawmakers to require volunteers showing up after a disaster to register with authorities. "I'd like to know if we have registered sex offenders coming to work in shelters," said Kidd. "Do we have anybody with warrants who shouldn't be going through my personal belongings that are scattered all over the place?" On Wednesday, it was also learned that first responders from different areas weren't able to communicate with each other because their radios weren't compatible. That's been a problem talked about since 9/11. Also highlighted was the lack of any training or minimum qualification for local officials serving as Emergency Management Coordinators. All are issues lawmakers seem interested in taking on. The joint committee will meet again next week in Kerrville to hear from local officials there.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
At Texas Flooding Hearing, State Officials Look Elsewhere for Blame
Texas' emergency management chief on Wednesday defended his agency's actions in the July 4 floods that ravaged the Texas Hill Country, suggesting at the first legislative hearing on the disaster that local emergency officials were not adequately trained to respond. At several points during the hearing on the state's handling of the catastrophic floods that killed at least 136 people statewide, W. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, directed attention to the role of local emergency managers in disaster response in Texas. 'The responsibility of being in charge rests with local officials,' Mr. Kidd testified at the hearing of State Senate and House committees for disaster preparedness. He also pointed to the lack of specificity and urgency in National Weather Service forecasts until shortly before floodwaters began surging early on July 4. While Mr. Kidd did not describe any particular failures by local officials, he stressed the need for 'a deliberate conversation about the credentialing of emergency managers at the local level.' At the moment, there are no requirements for credentials. 'We can do better than that,' he said. The testimony opened a daylong hearing at the State Capitol in Austin, part of a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott to address the flooding, as well as to redraw congressional maps to benefit Republicans in response to pressure from President Trump. The state is still reeling from the flooding. At the hearing on Wednesday, the director of the state police, Freeman Martin, told lawmakers that another person missing in the flood, an adult woman whom he did not identify, had been found dead. Two people, including a child from Camp Mystic, remain missing in Kerr County, he said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Gov. Greg Abbott visits San Angelo, praises flood response, promises continued recovery aid
Texas Governor Greg Abbott visited San Angelo and held a press conference at the Spur Arena on Thursday, addressing Texas' ongoing response to severe flooding that impacted the state earlier in July. Prior to the press conference, Abbott received a briefing on the flood recovery efforts in Tom Green County and visited the Disaster Recovery Center at the Concho Valley Transit Annex to meet with families, first responders and volunteers. State Sen. Charles Perry, State Rep. Drew Darby, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Tom Kidd, Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter, San Angelo Mayor Tom Thompson, San Angelo Fire Department Chief Patrick Brody and other state officials joined Abbott for the briefing and press conference. 'In a disaster, saving lives is the first and foremost thing that anybody should prioritize,' Abbott said. 'Our first responders have stepped up and saved so many lives across the entire region. We will continue the search for everybody that was affected by these devastating floods. More: What to know about assistance and flood recovery in San Angelo: FEMA declares disaster More: San Angelo city council approves $1 million task force for debris clean up 'At the same time, we are working with local officials and the community to go through the many stages of the recovery process. Texas is going to remain working in Tom Green County and across the state until the recovery is complete.' Abbott noted the individual and public assistance available from the state and federal government for Texans who have been impacted by the recent devastating flooding. During the press conference, Abbott mentioned the agenda for the upcoming special session, which includes legislation to improve early warning systems and emergency response communities across the state. 'We're gathering information that helps us understand the way the response was undertaken here,' Abbott said. 'And I gotta tell ya, we've not seen a better response in the state of Texas (than Tom Green County), and there are articulated reasons for that. One, there was a great deal of collaboration at all levels from the very first minute, all the way until this moment in time. The response by local officials was extraordinary.' 'In talking to TDEM Chief Kidd, we consider the way Tom Green County, and I say the County, and it obviously involves the city, your mayor, every local official at every level. We consider (the response) to be a model for the way that communities need to respond to disasters like this.' Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@ Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer. This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Abbott praises San Angelo flood response, vows continued state support
Chicago Tribune
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Timeline raises questions over how Texas officials handled warnings before the deadly July Fourth flood
Officials in Texas are facing questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm's way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed at least 120 people, including more than two dozen children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp. More than 170 people are still believed to be missing, a week after the forceful floodwater hit over the July Fourth weekend. In the days since the devastation, state, federal and Kerr County officials have deflected pointed questions about preparations and warnings. Many remain unanswered. The Associated Press has assembled an approximate timeline of the events before, during and after the deadly flash flood from sources including state and local documents, social media posts, firsthand accounts and scanner traffic archived on Broadcastify. It begins with the activation of the state's emergency response resources on July 2, the day Texas signed off on the camp's emergency disaster plan. By daybreak on July Fourth, it was clear that some children from Camp Mystic had been swept away by floodwaters, even as others were able to escape to safety in their pajamas. The Texas Division of Emergency Management activates state emergency response resources anticipating the threat of flooding in parts of West and Central Texas. On the same day, state inspectors sign off on Camp Mystic's emergency protocol, according to records obtained by the AP. 10 a.m.: County judges and city mayors are invited to attend a daily call to discuss weather forecasts, according to comments by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and a regional coordinator reaches out personally to officials in the area. According to Patrick: 'The message was sent. It is up to the local counties and mayors under the law to evacuate if they feel the need.' However, in Kerr County, where the devastation is most extensive, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said later he did not know what state emergency management resources were deployed ahead of time and that he did not receive a phone call. 1:18 p.m.: The National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office issues a flood watch estimating rainfall of 1 to 3 inches, with isolated amounts of 5 to 7 inches for parts of south central Texas, including Kerr County. 'Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers,' the alert says. 1:14 a.m.: Citing radar, the National Weather Service issues a flash flood warning for central Kerr County until 4:15 a.m., warning that it is life-threatening. Between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m: Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice is running on the river trail and 'everything was fine,' he says later. 'Four o'clock, when I left, there was no signs of it rising at that point,' Rice says during a news conference. 'This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time.' Rice says the isolated location and the fast, heavy rain created an unpredictably dangerous event, even with radar and National Weather Service warnings. 'This is not like a tornado where you can have a siren. This is not like a hurricane where you're planning weeks in advance,' Rice says. 'It hit. It hit hard.' Between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.: Floodwaters begin to inundate Camp Mystic. Young campers, counselors and staff are roused from sleep and begin a desperate rush to higher ground, according to social media accounts. Some girls had to climb through cabin windows. One staffer says she was on the roof with water rising toward her at 4 a.m. 3:30 a.m.: Erin Burgess wakes up to thunder at around 3:30 a.m. in her home in Bumble Bee Hills, a housing development between Hunt and Ingram. Within about half an hour, the water is rushing into her house. Burgess and her 19-year-old son eventually cling to a tree outside for an hour before the water recedes. 3:35 a.m.: The National Weather Service extends its flash flood warning for central Kerr County until 7 a.m. based on radar and automated gauges. 3:35 a.m.: A U.S. Geological Survey gauge along the Guadalupe River about 5 miles north of Camp Mystic and about 1 mile east of Hunt shows the river has reached nearly 16 feet. At that location, the river floods at 10 feet. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.: Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha is first notified about the situation from one of his sergeants. 4 a.m.: Kerrville police officers on their way to work start to encounter rising floodwaters and people in need of rescue. A sergeant comes to the intersection of FM 1340, a secondary highway, and State Highway 39 and realizes he is trapped 'on an island that was Hunt, Texas,' according to Jonathan Lamb, a community services officer with Kerrville police. According to Lamb: 'He saw people, dozens of people, trapped on roofs. He saw people trapped in swift moving water.' For 13 hours until 5 p.m., according to Lamb, the sergeant, a detective, several Hunt volunteer firefighters and an emergency room doctor work to rescue, evacuate and treat injuries largely on their own, until other emergency responders can arrive. Meanwhile in Kerrville, officers are rescuing and evacuating a few hundred people as they realized low lying areas close to the river were in danger, according to Lamb: 'One of them was wrapping a 100-foot (30-meter) flex line garden hose around his waist to go into the water and rescue those people. I know that this tragedy, as horrific as it is, could've been so much worse.' 4 a.m.: Water was pooling on the floor of Jane Towler's family cabin in Hunt, just south of the town center and about 5 miles north of Camp Mystic. 4:03 a.m.: The National Weather Service names a flash flood emergency for south-central Kerr County, saying in all caps that it is a 'particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!' Citing radar and automated rain gauges, the bulletin says low water crossings and the Guadalupe at Hunt are flooding. 4:16 a.m.: Towler shoots video of muddy water rising as she and her loved ones wonder how they will survive. Furniture floats in the water. Towler calls 911 from atop the kitchen counter. The family climbs onto the roof. 4:35 a.m.: A U.S. Geological Survey gauge along the Guadalupe about 5 miles north of Camp Mystic and about a mile east of Hunt stops sending data. The last recorded river level is 29.5 feet. 5:30 a.m.: Police knock on Matthew Stone's door in a Kerrville riverfront neighborhood, urging residents to evacuate. Stone says he did not receive any warning on his phone: 'We got no emergency alert. There was nothing.' Then, 'a pitch-black wall of death.' 5:34 a.m.: The National Weather Service bulletin reports a flash flood emergency from Hunt through Kerrville and Center Point, saying 'automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River.' 5:38 a.m.: In a comment on a Facebook post, a woman begs the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to help her mother-in-law, who is trapped in a trailer between Hunt and Ingram. 5:52 a.m.: Minutes later, another woman comments on the same post to say Bumble Bee Hills is flooded and help is needed. 6:06 a.m.: The National Weather Service extends the flash flood warning until 10:00 a.m. The bulletin says local law enforcement have reported 'major flooding' and water rescues along the Guadalupe. 6:19 a.m.: Another person says on the Kerr County Sheriff's Facebook page that a 'friend and her family are on their rooftop in Hunt, waiting for rescue.' 6:45 a.m.: A U.S. Geological Survey gauge in Kerrville shows the Guadalupe has peaked at 34.29 feet, a preliminary figure that is subject to change. It is the third-highest level recorded at that location. The record of 39 feet was set July 2, 1932, 6:59 a.m.: The river water has receded from Burgess' home and she notes that the line of muck reaches halfway up her kitchen cabinets. 7:24 a.m.: The National Weather Service advises that the flash flood emergency extends to the community of Sisterdale. 7:32 a.m.: The emergency management agency in Kendall County, which is adjacent to Kerr County, posts on Facebook that people along the Guadalupe in the community of Comfort are under mandatory evacuation orders. 9:34 a.m.: A rescue boat brings several people to safety after they are pulled from a home on Carolyn Road in Comfort, according to communications between Kendall County dispatchers and fire personnel. The boat turns around to rescue others trapped in the house. 10:31 a.m.: According to archived radio traffic between county dispatchers and fire personnel, water levels are rising in Kendall County. One unit is asked to check whether the water is over the road at a bridge over Cypress Creek, a tributary of the Guadalupe in Comfort. 'It's just pouring in right now. I don't believe it's over the banks,' the unidentified unit answers. 'But we do have some houses in low flooding areas taking on water, but I don't believe it is over the bank at this time.' 10:52 a.m.: Comfort, Texas, sounds its flood sirens as a last resort to evacuate residents near the Guadalupe River who had not heard or heeded previous advisements to evacuate. A small Texas community where everyone survived flooding has sirens that warned them10:56 a.m.: Kendall County dispatch requests that a team be sent to the Bergheim Campground in Boerne, Texas, near Guadalupe River State Park. They are asked to 'try to make contact with management and everybody down there to advise them that it needs to be evacuated here in the next hour or so.' 11:29 a.m.: Camp Mystic parents receive an email noting that the grounds have 'sustained catastrophic level floods' and are without power, water and internet. Parents with a daughter who is not accounted for have been contacted directly, according to the camp. 11:30 a.m.: Local officials hold their first news conference to describe the situation and response. Asked what kind of warnings went out to residents, Judge Rob Kelly, Kerr County's chief elected official, says: 'We do not have a warning system. ' Asked why camps were not evacuated, Kelly says officials did not know 'this flood' was coming. 'We had no reason to believe that this was going to be any, anything like what's happened here,' Kelly says. 'None whatsoever.' 3:30 p.m.: Two afternoon news conferences are the first to offer an initial death toll. Lt. Gov. Patrick says six to 10 bodies have been found so far. Around the same time, Leitha, the Kerr County sheriff, reports that 13 people have died. Patrick also announces that the whereabouts of about 23 girls attending Camp Mystic are unknown. 7:11 p.m.: A state agency responsible for search and rescue operations, the Texas Game Wardens, posts on Facebook to say its agents have entered Camp Mystic and 'are evacuating the campers to safety.' Roughly two dozen campers are still missing. 9 p.m.: Gov. Greg Abbott signs a disaster declaration at a news conference. Leitha reports about 24 fatalities.
