Latest news with #UniversityofTexasatSanAntonio
Axios
2 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
How Texas redistricting could prove risky for Republicans
Texas Republicans' move to redraw congressional district boundaries in the middle of the decade could backfire on them. Why it matters: Everything starts with Texas. The push to add up to five GOP House seats here is sparking a chain reaction as the parties fight tooth-and-nail over the majority. Redistricting is usually done after the census, next scheduled for 2030. State of play: Midterm elections are typically a tougher playing field for the party in power. Democrats are eyeing taking back the House in 2026. If safe Republican districts in Texas are diluted with Democratic voters to build Republican districts elsewhere, then reliable seats could turn competitive for Republicans, Jon Taylor, department chair and political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, tells Axios. Between the lines: Gov. Greg Abbott and other state Republicans were at first hesitant to take up the issue, the Texas Tribune reported. After President Trump called Abbott, it appeared on the agenda of the special session that started a week ago. What they're saying:"Given the kind of election that's taking place, given the issues that may be in play, they may be in for an unpleasant surprise," Taylor says of the Republican Party. "They are putting everything at risk in this special session by putting this on the agenda." Zoom in: The Cook Political Report says the most obvious targets are the 28th and 34th congressional districts in South Texas, represented by Democratic U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, respectively. Taylor also thinks Republicans could "radically" redraw the 35th Congressional District, represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, which runs from East Austin to San Antonio along Interstate 35. Other potential targets: the 32nd and 37th districts, represented by Democratic U.S. Reps. Julie Johnson of the Dallas area and Lloyd Doggett of Austin. Republicans who could gain Democratic voters include U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales, whose sprawling district extends from San Antonio to El Paso, and Chip Roy, whose district encompasses much of the conservative Hill Country but includes portions of Austin and San Antonio. What we're watching: Republicans are looking to South Texas after Trump performed well with Latino voters there. But Taylor says it isn't a given that they will continue to prefer Republicans. Hispanic adults give Trump's handling of immigration a lower approval rating (21%) than the national rating (35%), per a Gallup poll conducted in June. Zoom out: Republicans in other states, including Ohio and Missouri, are now looking to redraw their maps to gain an advantage. Democrats, led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have vowed to punch back by drawing roughly as many new Democratic seats. The bottom line: There's already a warning sign for Republicans as they weigh redistricting.
RTÉ News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Texas floods: How geography, climate and policy failures collided
"There's no such thing as a natural disaster," geographers like to say - a reminder that human choices turn hazards into tragedies. The Texas flash floods this weekend that left more than 100 people dead, including many children, offer a stark illustration. Here is a look at the intertwined forces that amplified this storm's impact. 'Flash Flood Alley' Texas's Hill Country sits in an area known as "Flash Flood Alley," explains Professor Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Warm Gulf air rushes up the Balcones Escarpment - a line of steep hills and cliffs that arcs southwest down from near Dallas - cools, and dumps torrents onto thin soils that quickly give way to bedrock. Runoff then funnels through a dense web of creeks. "Water will rise very, very quickly, within minutes or a few hours," Prof Sharif said. The early hours of 4 July proved that. Around 3am, a gauge near Camp Mystic in Hunt showed the Guadalupe River rising nearly 30cm every five minutes; by 4.30am the river had surged more than 6m, National Weather Service data show. That is enough water to sweep away people, vehicles and buildings. An urgent NWS warning went out shortly after 1am, but most campers were asleep; phones are banned, coverage is patchy, and darkness makes escape routes hard to judge. Mr Sharif urges the use of hydrologic forecasts that convert rainfall into likely river levels. "Rainfall needs to be translated into runoff," he said. "If you have 10 inches (25cm), what will happen?" Summer camps have long been drawn to the region for its natural beauty. But with increasing risks, Prof Sharif warns that treating these sites as safe or permanent is unwise. 'We need to adapt' A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, loading the dice for heavier downpours. A new analysis by ClimaMeter finds that the meteorological conditions preceding the floods, which delivered more than twice the monthly average rainfall in a single day, could not be explained by natural variability alone. "Climate change is already affecting us, so we need to adapt," said Mireia Ginesta, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford who co-authored the research, which is funded by the European Union and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). "We also need to cut our emissions, and make sure that proper funding is provided to the forecast services and research in general on climate change." The call comes as the US National Weather Service, like other agencies, has experienced deep staffing cuts under President Donald Trump's administration. Experts stress, however, that NWS forecasters performed admirably under the circumstances. The real failure, wrote climate scientist Daniel Swain on Bluesky, "was not a bad weather prediction, it was one of 'last mile' forecast/warning dissemination." No warning system For years, commissioners in Kerr County, where the camps lie, considered flood sirens and digital alerts to replace the informal practice of summer camp staff getting on the radio and warning fellow camps. Minutes from a 2016 meeting show officials labelling even a feasibility study "a little extravagant," suggesting sirens would mainly help tourists, and vouching for the word-of-mouth system. "The thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all," Commissioner H.A. Buster Baldwin said in a transcript. The debate rolled on. Residents during meetings in 2021 expressed strident opposition toward relying on federal funds tied to the Biden administration. After the disaster, San Antonio mother Nicole Wilson - who almost sent her daughters to Camp Mystic - launched a petition on urging Governor Greg Abbott to approve a modern warning network. "Five minutes of that siren going off could have saved every single one of those children," she said.
Japan Today
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Japan Today
Texas floods: How geography, climate and policy failures collided
A view inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025 By Issam AHMED "There's no such thing as a natural disaster," geographers like to say -- a reminder that human choices turn hazards into tragedies. The Texas flash floods this weekend that left scores dead, including many children, offer a stark illustration. Here is a look at the intertwined forces that amplified this storm's impact. 'Flash Flood Alley' Texas's Hill Country sits in an area known as "Flash Flood Alley," explains Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Warm Gulf air rushes up the Balcones Escarpment -- a line of steep hills and cliffs that arcs southwest down from near Dallas -- cools, and dumps torrents onto thin soils that quickly give way to bedrock. Runoff then funnels through a dense web of creeks. "Water will rise very, very quickly, within minutes or a few hours," Sharif told AFP. The early hours of July 4 proved that. Around 3 a.m., a gauge near Camp Mystic in Hunt showed the Guadalupe River rising nearly a foot (30 centimeters) every five minutes; by 4:30 a.m. the river had surged more than 20 feet, National Weather Service data show. That's enough water to sweep away people, vehicles and buildings. An urgent NWS warning went out shortly after 1:00 am, but most campers were asleep; phones are banned, coverage is patchy, and darkness makes escape routes hard to judge. Sharif urges the use of hydrologic forecasts that convert rainfall into likely river levels. "Rainfall needs to be translated into runoff," he said. "If you have 10 inches, what will happen?" Summer camps have long been drawn to the region for its natural beauty. But with increasing risks, Sharif warns that treating these sites as safe or permanent is unwise. 'We need to adapt' A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, loading the dice for heavier downpours. A new analysis by ClimaMeter finds that the meteorological conditions preceding the floods, which delivered more than twice the monthly average rainfall in a single day, could not be explained by natural variability alone. "Climate change is already affecting us, so we need to adapt," said Mireia Ginesta, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford who co-authored the research, which is funded by the European Union and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). "We also need to cut our emissions, and make sure that proper funding is provided to the forecast services and research in general on climate change." The call comes as the National Weather Service, like other agencies, has experienced deep staffing cuts under President Donald Trump's administration. Experts stress, however, that NWS forecasters performed admirably under the circumstances. The real failure, wrote climate scientist Daniel Swain on Bluesky, "was not a bad weather prediction, it was one of 'last mile' forecast/warning dissemination." No warning system For years, commissioners in Kerr County, where the camps lie, considered flood sirens and digital alerts to replace the informal practice of summer camp staff getting on the radio and warning fellow camps. Minutes from a 2016 meeting show officials labeling even a feasibility study "a little extravagant," suggesting sirens would mainly help tourists, and vouching for the word-of-mouth system. The debate rolled on. In 2021, commissioners again balked, this time wary of federal funds tied to the Biden administration that they opposed politically. After the disaster, San Antonio mother Nicole Wilson -- who almost sent her daughters to Camp Mystic -- launched a petition on urging Governor Greg Abbott to approve a modern warning network. "Five minutes of that siren going off could have saved every single one of those children," she told AFP. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The Guadalupe River in Texas surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes. It caught everyone off guard
With at least 105 dead and two dozen still missing, Friday's catastrophic flash flooding in Central Texas ranks among the worst natural disasters in the state's history. The brunt of the disaster centered in Kerr County, where the torrential rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to burst its banks, taking 84 victims, including 28 children. Among those killed were 27 young girls and staff members at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp situated on the riverbank. Eleven were still missing on Tuesday morning. What began as a routine flood watch quickly devolved into a deadly disaster. The National Weather Service predicted between one and three inches of rain, with some isolated spots possibly getting five to seven inches. Instead, parts of Kerr County were slammed with 10 to 15 inches, and in some places, over 20 inches, within a few hours. The storm is believed to be fueled by warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and leftovers from Tropical Storm Barry, according to San Antonio Express-News meteorologist Anthony Franze. These combined to create a slow-moving weather system that slowed over the area and dumped heavy rain over hills and valleys. The geography of Hill Country made things worse. The steep hills and rocky land don't absorb water well, so rain quickly flows into creeks and rivers. This caused the Guadalupe River to rise rapidly to its second-highest level ever recorded, even higher than a historic 1987 flood, Franze said. The area is often called 'Flash Flood Alley' because it's prone to these kinds of fast, dangerous floods, Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist and civil engineer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said in an article for The Conversation. Experts say predicting exactly where and how much rain will fall is difficult, and this storm caught many off guard. Dr. Jess Neumann of the University of Reading said this was a 'tragic reminder of the dangers of sudden extreme rainfall and flash flooding.' 'This terrible event, in which children are missing and many have died, raises critical questions about effective early warning systems, flood planning and preparedness in the region,' Neumann said in a news release. 'It cannot be right that a flood of this magnitude, in an area known to be at high risk of flash floods, caused such devastation and has taken so many people by surprise.' The flood struck in the middle of the night when most people were asleep. There weren't strong warning systems in place to alert residents or campers in time to escape. 'We didn't know this flood was coming,' Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said Friday. 'No one knew this kind of flood was coming.' Chuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, demanded that the government's watchdog investigate whether the Trump administration's cuts to the National Weather Service's workforce increased the death toll. The strength of the flood was depicted by a 22-year-old woman who was swept 20 miles downstream and survived by clinging to a tree until help arrived. More than 850 people had been rescued by Tuesday morning, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott stating that over 1,750 personnel from 20 state agencies had been deployed so far to respond to flood threats. As the hopes of finding survivors faded, hundreds of emergency responders continued to search through the debris. 'Texas is working tirelessly to assist local officials with recovery and rescue operations,' Abbott wrote on X Monday. 'Texas will not stop until every missing person is found.'
NDTV
08-07-2025
- Climate
- NDTV
Geography, Climate, Policy Failures: What Intensified Texas Floods
"There's no such thing as a natural disaster," geographers like to say -- a reminder that human choices turn hazards into tragedies. The Texas flash floods this weekend that left more than a hundred dead, including many children, offer a stark illustration. Here is a look at the intertwined forces that amplified this storm's impact. 'Flash Flood Alley' Texas's Hill Country sits in an area known as "Flash Flood Alley," explains Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Warm Gulf air rushes up the Balcones Escarpment -- a line of steep hills and cliffs that arcs southwest down from near Dallas -- cools, and dumps torrents onto thin soils that quickly give way to bedrock. Runoff then funnels through a dense web of creeks. "Water will rise very, very quickly, within minutes or a few hours," Sharif told AFP. The early hours of July 4 proved that. Around 3:00 am, a gauge near Camp Mystic in Hunt showed the Guadalupe River rising nearly a foot (30 centimeters) every five minutes; by 4:30 am the river had surged more than 20 feet, National Weather Service data show. That's enough water to sweep away people, vehicles and buildings. An urgent NWS warning went out shortly after 1 am, but most campers were asleep; phones are banned, coverage is patchy, and darkness makes escape routes hard to judge. Sharif urges the use of hydrologic forecasts that convert rainfall into likely river levels. "Rainfall needs to be translated into runoff," he said. "If you have 10 inches, what will happen?" Summer camps have long been drawn to the region for its natural beauty. But with increasing risks, Sharif warns that treating these sites as safe or permanent is unwise. 'We need to adapt' A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, loading the dice for heavier downpours. A new analysis by ClimaMeter finds that the meteorological conditions preceding the floods, which delivered more than twice the monthly average rainfall in a single day, could not be explained by natural variability alone. "Climate change is already affecting us, so we need to adapt," said Mireia Ginesta, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford who co-authored the research, which is funded by the European Union and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). "We also need to cut our emissions, and make sure that proper funding is provided to the forecast services and research in general on climate change." The call comes as the National Weather Service, like other agencies, has experienced deep staffing cuts under President Donald Trump's administration. Experts stress, however, that NWS forecasters performed admirably under the circumstances. The real failure, wrote climate scientist Daniel Swain on Bluesky, "was not a bad weather prediction, it was one of 'last mile' forecast/warning dissemination." No warning system For years, commissioners in Kerr County, where the camps lie, considered flood sirens and digital alerts to replace the informal practice of summer camp staff getting on the radio and warning fellow camps. Minutes from a 2016 meeting show officials labeling even a feasibility study "a little extravagant," suggesting sirens would mainly help tourists, and vouching for the word-of-mouth system. "The thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all," Commissioner H.A. Buster Baldwin said in a transcript. The debate rolled on. Residents during meetings in 2021 expressed strident opposition toward relying on federal funds tied to the Biden administration. After the disaster, San Antonio mother Nicole Wilson -- who almost sent her daughters to Camp Mystic -- launched a petition on urging Governor Greg Abbott to approve a modern warning network. "Five minutes of that siren going off could have saved every single one of those children," she told AFP.
