Big revelation in Texas tragedy: Was ‘flash flood' warning system scrapped before 27 died at Camp Mystic?
Texas officials scrapped 'Flash Flood Alley'
NWS defends flood warnings amid cuts
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A July Fourth weekend deluge in Texas caused catastrophic flash flooding that has killed more than 80 people. Camp Mystic in Kerr County says Monday morning that it is 'grieving the loss' of 27 campers. The risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas with more rain on the way.Officials in Kerr County, Texas had discussed installing a flood warning system along the banks of the Guadalupe River, known as 'Flash Flood Alley". But the idea was rejected as it was too expensive, reports The New York Times.Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual in this region of south and central Texas, known colloquially as " Flash Flood Alley ." Human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense in recent years.A flood warning system was first suggested in 2015 in the wake of deadly floods in Wimberley, Texas, some 75 miles east of Kerrville, the Kerr County seat.According to the outlet, Kerr County had looked into installing sirens, river gauges and other modern communication tools along the waterway in 2017. But it never happened. 'We can do all the water-level monitoring we want, but if we don't get that information to the public in a timely way, then this whole thing is not worth it,' Kerr County Commissioner Tom Moser said at the time.But the county, which has an annual budget of around $67 million, lost out on a bid to secure a $1 million grant to fund the project in 2017, county commission meeting minutes show. It is unclear how much installing a flood warning system would have cost specifically.The report says Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official in a recent interview, said residents were hesitant about the high cost of a warning system. 'Taxpayers won't pay for it,' he said, according to the Times.After the devastating floods, Wimberley upgraded to a more advanced monitoring system, installing cell towers to send emergency alerts directly to local cellphones.Inspired by Wimberley's improvements, former commissioner Moser visited the town to study the new flood warning setup and returned to Kerr County advocating for a similar approach. His plan included enhanced water detection technology and improved public alert mechanisms, but it ultimately stalled due to budget constraints.'It sort of evaporated. It just didn't happen,' he told the Times.He admitted that he 'didn't know' if people might reconsider their position in light of the recent tragedy.Moser admitted it isn't certain that a flood warning system like the one he proposed a decade ago would have prevented the recent tragedy in the county, which has seen at least 80 killed, including some 28 children — but he does believe it would have made a difference.'I think it could have helped a lot of people,' he said.The fatal and deadly floods in Texas have also sparked a fresh round of scrutiny of Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS). Some Texas officials were critical of the NWS, saying forecasts underestimated the rainfall.President Donald Trump rejected the idea of investigating whether NWS cuts had left key vacancies, and the White House said claims that NWS cuts had anything to do with the tragedy were 'disgusting", reports NBC News.'The forecasting was good. The warnings were good. It's always about getting people to receive the message,' said Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist based in Wisconsin. 'It appears that is one of the biggest contributors — that last mile.'(With inputs from agencies)
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