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Forbes
6 days ago
- Climate
- Forbes
Blame Cast After Texas Floods: Were Warnings Too Late Or Too Weak?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday fired back at suggestions that staffing shortages at the National Weather Service or problems with emergency alert systems impacted the response to the deadly Texas floods over the July 4 holiday weekend—but Texas state officials and others have questioned their effectiveness after the disaster. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said blaming the Trump administration's cuts for ... More exacerbating the disaster was a 'despicable lie.' Getty Images One high-profile public official in Texas placed early blame on the early NWS forecasts for failing to predict the severity of the storm—'listen, everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service,' Texas Division of Emergency Management chief W. Nim Kidd said at a press conference Friday, noting 'it did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.' A New York Times report published Saturday then detailed staffing shortages at the NWS offices in San Antonio and San Angelo, but representatives for the NWS employees union told CNN the offices had 'adequate staffing and resources.' The San Antonio office was missing a warning coordination meteorologist, a role that works with officials to send emergency alerts, after the office's 32-year veteran meteorologist took an early retirement offer earlier this year as part of the Trump administration's move to downsize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, local station KXAN reported. The National Weather Service, however, issued alerts of increasing severity ahead of the flash flood, which included an overnight text alert warning of a "dangerous and life-threatening situation." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the NWS, but said President Donald Trump wanted to improve the NWS' warning system, telling reporters at a press conference 'we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.' When asked on Sunday, President Donald Trump called the situation the 'Biden setup,' but stopped short of directly blaming his predecessor for the destructive floods: 'I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either, I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe." 'Flash Flood Warnings were issued on the night of July 3 and in the early morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours,' NWS said in a statement to multiple outlets. When Did The First Warnings Go Out? The Texas Division of Emergency Management activated their emergency response resources as early as Wednesday in anticipation of heavy rainfall and potential flash floods. The NWS issued the region's first flood watch on Thursday afternoon, around 1:18 p.m. CDT, then issued a flood warning that evening at 11:42 p.m. CDT. The NWS in San Antonio also sent a text alert to cell phones in the area, warning of a "dangerous and life-threatening situation" around 1:14 a.m. CDT, Reuters reported. The NWS' Weather Prediction Center noted in a 12:26 a.m. CDT discussion that flash flooding was 'likely' over central Texas, with 'significant impacts possible,' predicting up to six inches of rain in the region. Some municipalities in the area ended up recording over 20 inches of rainfall over the course of the holiday weekend, according to data compiled by the NWS. The Guadalupe River rose over 20 feet in just three hours on July 4, according to data from NOAA. In the immediate aftermath of the July 4 floods, state officials said they were caught off guard by the severity of the storm, despite the warnings. 'Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,' Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a press briefing Friday. 'We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the warnings may not have communicated the acute danger the storm posed for Kerrville, which was severely impacted by the flooding. 'There were alerts or warnings about heavy rain, potential for flash flooding in certain areas,' Abbott said at a press conference Sunday. 'The problem with that is that to most people in the area, flash flooding would mean one thing—not what it turned out to be. Because they deal with flash floods all the time, just like I put people on notice in these regions of Texas right now. There's the potential for flash flooding, but there's no expectation of a water wall of almost 30 feet high.' How Has The Trump Administration Responded? Speaking at a briefing Monday afternoon, Leavitt lashed over claims staffing shortages or policy decisions from the Trump administration contributed to the disaster. 'Unfortunately, in the wake of this once in a generation natural disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Senator Chuck Schumer and some members of the media. Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,' Leavitt said, praising the NWS' response and disputing reports that they were impacted by staffing shortages. 'The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers the forecasts for Austin, San Antonio, and the surrounding area had extra staff on duty during the storm, despite claims of the contrary.' What To Watch For Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote a letter (first published by Politico) to the Commerce Department's acting inspector general, urging him to open an investigation into whether staffing shortages at the NWS offices in San Antonio and San Angelo contributed to 'delays, gaps, or diminished accuracy' in forecasts or weakened weather alerts. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, also called for an investigation.. 'I don't think it's helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies,' he said during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday, though he didn't directly blame the tragedy on staffing. 'I don't want to sit here and say conclusively that that was the case, but I do think that it should be investigated.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Kerrville DNA ID effort as Texas flood toll surpasses 100
Texas's Division of Emergency Management predicted the number of dead as a result of catastrophic flooding in Kerrville on July 4 would top 100, Daily Mail can exclusively reveal. In an email sent out Saturday, the state disaster office told partners the number of dead would surpass 100, two different sources confirmed to Daily Mail. The estimate of the dead is vastly different than the message state officials are projecting publicly, insisting that they are still searching for people who are alive, and refusing to say rescue efforts have shifted to recovery of remains. 'Our state assets and local partners are continuing to search for live victims,' the head of TDEM W. Nim Kidd told reporters at a press conference Saturday. 'Our hope and prayer is that there is still people alive that are out there.' As of Sunday morning, 69 had been confirmed dead, and 11 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are missing. Of the dead, 46 are adults and 21 are children, local officials said. Additionally, DNA testing will be used to help identify the remains of the flood victims, a state source told Daily Mail. Families have been asked for blood draws or other records to help identify the bodies of loved ones who have been recovered. Relatives of the missing have started arriving in the Kerrville area from across the Lone Star State to provide investigators with DNA samples. More is emerging about the victims, including those lost at Camp Mystic. The all-girl's Christian camp hosted 700 campers, including Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck of Dallas (pictured). Their parents were told the devastating news that their girls, described as 'best friends,' had died in the flood waters. Some of those who are missing or died at Camp Mystic are connected to wealthy families in Highland Park. Known as the Beverly Hills of Dallas, Highland Park and neighboring Park Cities are home to many of missing girls who belong to prominent families. Some have ties to Highland Park United Methodist Church - whose most famous member is former President George W. Bush. 'This crisis affects many our HPUMC family and our local Park Cities community, including generations of women and families touched by Camp Mystic,' wrote Highland Park United Methodist Church head pastor Paul Rasmussen. 'One of the girls unaccounted for, Hadley Hanna, is a part of our church family. Please pray for her safety and for her parents, Doug and Carrie, along with her two sisters.' Over 300 people attended a prayer vigil at the church Saturday in support of the flood victims. A hotline has been established for anyone who is looking for loved ones. Relatives are asked to call 830-258-1111 with information of the missing, including their last known location.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Texas flood death toll could top 100 as family members summoned to Kerrville to ID bodies of through DNA
Texas 's Division of Emergency Management predicted the number of dead as a result of catastrophic flooding in Kerrville on July 4 would top 100, Daily Mail can exclusively reveal. In an email sent out Saturday, the state disaster office told partners the number of dead would surpass 100, two different sources confirmed to Daily Mail. The estimate of the dead is vastly different than the message state officials are projecting publicly, insisting that they are still searching for people who are alive, and refusing to say rescue efforts have shifted to recovery of remains. 'Our state assets and local partners are continuing to search for live victims,' the head of TDEM W. Nim Kidd told reporters at a press conference Saturday. 'Our hope and prayer is that there is still people alive that are out there.' As of Sunday morning, 59 had been confirmed dead, and another 12 campers missing. Of the dead, 38 are adults and 21 are children, local officials said. Additionally, DNA testing will be used to help identify the remains of the flood victims, a state source told Daily Mail. Families have been asked for blood draws or other records to help identify the mangled bodies of loved ones who have been recovered. Relatives of the missing have started arriving in the Kerrville area from across the Lone Star State to provide investigators with DNA samples. More is emerging about the victims, including those lost at Camp Mystic. The all-girl's Christian camp hosted 700 campers, including Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck of Dallas. Their parents were told the devastating news that their girls, described as 'best friends,' had died in the flood waters. Some of those who are missing or died at Camp Mystic are connected to wealthy families in Highland Park. Known as the Beverly Hills of Dallas, Highland Park and neighboring Park Cities are home to many of missing girls who belong to prominent families. Some have ties to Highland Park United Methodist Church - whose most famous member is former President George. W Bush. 'This crisis affects many our HPUMC family and our local Park Cities community, including generations of women and families touched by Camp Mystic,' wrote Highland Park United Methodist Church head pastor Paul Rasmussen. 'One of the girls unaccounted for, Hadley Hanna, is a part of our church family. Please pray for her safety and for her parents, Doug and Carrie, along with her two sisters.' Over 300 people attended a prayer vigil at the church Saturday in support of the flood victims. A hotline has been established for anyone who is looking for loved ones. Relatives are asked to call 830-258-1111 with information of the missing, including their last known location.
Forbes
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Forbes
Texas Flood Live Updates: 32 Dead Including 14 Children
Texas officials provided search and rescue updates Saturday on a flash flood that has killed at least 32 people, including 14 children, and left some 27 others missing, a day after authorities blamed the National Weather Service forecasts for not predicting 'the amount of rain that we saw' after the agency faced federal budget and staffing cuts, according to W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Flooding caused by a flash flood at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images Texas authorities confirmed at least 32 people were dead as of Saturday afternoon, noting 14 of the deceased are children and that around 850 people have been rescued or evacuated so far. Rescue teams are continuing to search for a group of around 27 people who were attending an all-girls Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Kerr County judge Rob Kelly provided a similar statement to Kidd's on Friday, when he was asked why camps along the Guadalupe were not evacuated, telling reporters, 'I can't answer that, I don't know,' before saying the county had 'no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here.' The NWS issued a flash flood watch Thursday afternoon that noted Kerr County, where much of the flooding began early Friday morning, was a particularly vulnerable area. The NWS was one of several federal agencies targeted by the controversial cost-cutting efforts of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, and has recently laid off nearly 600 employees—around the same amount of staffers it lost in the 15 previous years, the Texas Tribune reported. Forbes has reached out to the NWS for comment. Some NWS field offices have reported the loss of around-the-clock staffing and reductions in weather balloon launches, which are crucial in collecting data on humidity, pressure, temperature and more elements needed to produce forecasts. The NWS office overseeing Kerr County, where at least 24 people have died in the floods, is the Austin/San Antonio Weather Forecast Office. Longtime meteorologist Troy Kimmel, who leads his own meteorological services company, told CBS Austin in May that local Texas offices such as the Austin/San Antonio office experienced some staffing shortages. The Austin/San Antonio office's website shows a total of six vacancies across its meteorological, management, observations and technician teams, though it is not clear how many of the vacancies are a direct result of cuts engineered by the Department of Government Efficiency. What Has Trump Said About The Flooding? Trump said Friday the deaths reported in Texas were 'shocking' and that the government would work with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to provide federal aid. He added in a statement on Truth Social Saturday morning his administration is working with state and local officials in Texas, adding Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem would visit the state Saturday. Trump has insisted states should play a larger role in handling their own weather disasters, saying last month his administration intends to 'wean' states off help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency following this year's hurricane season. FEMA has lost hundreds of employees since Trump took office and ended its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which awarded around $4.6 billion to communities throughout the U.S. in an effort to prepare them for future weather disasters. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for San Antonio and several neighboring cities, warning of two to four inches of additional rainfall and excessive runoff that may result in flash flooding for rivers and creeks, low-lying areas and low water crossings. What Do We Know About The Missing Children? The children considered missing as of Saturday were attending an all-girls Christian summer camp known as Camp Mystic. The camp has been around since 1926 and operates two sites along the Guadalupe River. The organization told parents in an email Friday morning it experienced 'catastrophic level floods.' according to The New York Times. Big Number Over 1,000. That is how many rescuers were deployed in Texas on Saturday morning, the Associated Press reported. Key Background The Guadalupe River has had a history of floods, with one of the most prominent incidents occurring in 1987, when five to 10 inches of rain fell in the upper headwaters of the river's basin. The river crested at 31.5 feet and flooding resulted in the deaths of 10 teenagers and 33 injuries. Inclement weather in Texas may continue in the coming months, as it and several other states are approaching the most active part of the 2025 hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting a range of 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 of which are forecast to become hurricanes.
Forbes
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Forbes
Texas Flood Live Updates: Officials Blame NWS Forecasts As Death Toll Climbs To 24
Texas officials provided search and rescue updates Friday on a flash flood that has killed at least 24 people and left some 25 others missing, blaming National Weather Service forecasts for not predicting 'the amount of rain that we saw' after facing federal budget and staffing cuts, according to W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Flooding caused by a flash flood at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images Rescue teams are continuing to search for a group of around 25 people who were attending an all-girls Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
