Texas county deflects mounting questions over actions before deadly flood

As deaths from catastrophic Texas flooding surpassed 100 on Monday, local officials in one of the hardest-hit counties have still revealed little about what, if any, actions they took to safeguard residents, tourists and visitors in an area known as “flash flood alley.”

At a series of briefings since the flooding on July 4, Kerr County officials have deflected a series of pointed questions about preparations and warnings as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions. The county in the scenic Texas Hill Country is home to several summer camps, including Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp that announced Monday it lost at least 27 campers and counselors.

“Today’s not the day and now’s not the time to discuss the warnings, who got them, who didn’t got them. Right now I’m only worried about public safety,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday during an emergency session of the county commissioners court.

Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville, said Monday that authorities were reluctant to “cry wolf” and order evacuations, adding that rainfall “significantly” exceeded the projected amounts. He said officials had little time to react in the middle of the night, adding that qualified first responders were being “swept away” driving through the initial rainfall.

“This rose very quickly in a very short amount of time,” Rice said.

Dire weather service warnings

In the 48 hours before the floods, the potential for heavy rains put precautions in motion as the state activated an emergency response plan and moved resources into the central Texas area.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning at 1:14 a.m. Friday to mobile phones and weather radios, more than three hours before the first reports of flooding at low-water crossings in Kerr County at 4:35 a.m. The warning was updated at 4:03 a.m. to a flash-flood emergency.

The warning included Hunt, the small town that’s home to Camp Mystic. Girls who were rescued from the camp have said they were woken up after midnight by strong storms that knocked out power. Bright flashes from lightning strikes showed the river rising rapidly.

It was not immediately clear what kind of evacuation plans Camp Mystic might have had.

‘Flash flood alley’

Local officials have known for decades that flooding posed serious risk to life and property in the region, and a county government report last year warned the threat was getting worse.

Kerr County’s hazard mitigation action plan reported at least 106 “flood occurrences” dating back to 1960. Local officials determined that another flood was likely in the next year and that “future worst-case flood events” could be more severe than those of the past.

The risk of a 500-year flood was “not negligible” and could lead to downed power lines, stranded residents and buildings that were damaged “or even completely washed away,” the report warned. Climate change could make the river flooding more frequent, it noted.

The region has known significant tragedy. A 1987 flood after a heavy rain prompted the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort. A wall of water quickly swamped buses and vans. Ten teenagers died.

Decades later, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which manages the river watershed, released a video to YouTube titled “Be Flood Aware 2017.”

Viewed over 40,000 times online, the video outlines the history of the Guadalupe River, its history of tragic flooding and ways the public can remain safe when floodwaters rise.

“Terrain here is unique for flash flooding,” the video noted. It mentioned the dangers of a significant rainfall near the river’s headwaters near Camp Mystic.

The video noted the shallow headwaters with limestone underneath the riverbed.

“If you get 3 or 4 inches of rain at one time, that can be a real serious problem,” the video warned.

The storm that hit last Friday dumped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) on the area in three hours. The river rose 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

In January 2017, the Kerr County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an application for a $975,00 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a flood warning system, according to transcripts of the meeting.

Less than a year later, commissioners learned the grant was not approved. Most of that funding went to communities hit by Hurricane Harvey.

Calls for an alarm

The river authority has cited the need to develop a flood warning system in Kerr County as a top priority in its last three annual strategic plans.

Kerr County commissioners considered several years ago a proposal for a flood warning system similar to sirens used for tornadoes in other parts of the country, including in nearby Comal County, which includes part of the Guadalupe River.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who was not on the commission at the time but attended meetings, said the warning system idea was shelved because residents “reeled at the cost.”

Nicole Wilson, a San Antonio mother who took her daughters out of a neighboring hill country camp ahead of the flooding amid concerns about its evacuation plans, said county leaders need to push for one.

Wilson launched an online petition calling for Kerr County to install flooding warning sirens to alert in real time. She plans to present the signatures to Gov. Greg Abbott when lawmakers convene in a special session July 23.

She called a siren system “almost a no-brainer.”

“I’m sure those children expected at any moment that an adult was going to rescue them,” she said. “I don’t think there can be much more heartbreak than that, and so if there’s a way to prevent it, it needs to be implemented quickly.”