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Associated Press
18 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Texas officials face scrutiny over response to catastrophic and deadly flooding
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Before heading to bed before the Fourth of July holiday, Christopher Flowers checked the weather while staying at a friend's house along the Guadalupe River. Nothing in the forecast alarmed him. Hours later, he was rushing to safety: He woke up in darkness to electrical sockets popping and ankle-deep water. Quickly, his family scrambled nine people into the attic. Phones buzzed with alerts, Flowers recalled Saturday, but he did not remember when in the chaos they started. 'What they need they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now,' Flowers, 44, said. The destructive fast-moving waters that began before sunrise Friday in the Texas Hill Country killed at least 32 people, authorities said Saturday, and an unknown number of people remained missing. Those still unaccounted for included 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered. But as authorities launch one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in recent Texas history, they have come under intensifying scrutiny over preparations and why residents and youth summer camps that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate. The National Weather Service sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. Local officials have insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming and have defended their actions. 'There's going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday morning quarterbacking,' said Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes Kerr County. 'There's a lot of people saying 'why' and 'how,' and I understand that.' When the warnings began An initial flood watch — which generally urges residents to be weather aware — was issued by the local National Weather Service office at 1:18 p.m. local time on Thursday. It predicted rain amounts of between 5 to 7 inches (12.7 to 17.8 centimeters). Weather messaging from the office, including automated alerts delivered to mobile phones to people in threatened areas, grew increasingly ominous in the early morning hours of Friday, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas, said Jason Runyen, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office. At 4:03 a.m., the office issued an urgent warning that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private weather forecasting company that uses National Weather Service data, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities. 'People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast,' Porter said in a statement. Local officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. 'We know we get rains. We know the river rises,' said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. 'But nobody saw this coming.' Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because of the expense. 'We've looked into it before … The public reeled at the cost,' Kelly said. Hundreds of rescues Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that the massive response to the flooding had resulted in the rescue and recovery of more than 850 people, including some found clinging to trees. Scores of people in and along the river were airlifted to safety by helicopter, including girls at Camp Mystic. Kelly said he didn't know what kind of safety and evacuation plans the camps may have had. 'What I do know is the flood hit the camp first, and it came in the middle of the night. I don't know where the kids were,' he said. 'I don't know what kind of alarm systems they had. That will come out in time.' U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Saturday it was difficult for forecasters to predict just how much rain would fall. She said the Trump administration would make it a priority to upgrade National Weather Service technology used to deliver warnings. 'We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technology that's been neglected for far too long to make sure families have as much advance notice as possible,' Noem said during a press conference with state and federal leaders. Weather service had extra staffers The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms, Runyen said. Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather, they had up to five on staff. 'There were extra people in here that night, and that's typical in every weather service office — you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,' Runyen said. ___ Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Frantic search for survivors of Texas floods that killed 32, including 14 children
A frantic search for survivors is under way in central Texas after flash floods killed at least 32 people, including 14 children. Many were asleep when the Guadalupe River rose more than 26 ft (8m) in less than an hour in the early hours of Friday. Officials in Kerr County have said 27 children are missing from a Christian youth camp located along the river. Some 850 people were rescued. Weather forecasts suggest that more rain and, potentially, more flooding could be on the horizon for the area. Among the areas most severely hit by the floods were mobile homes, summer camps and camping sites where many had gathered for 4 July holiday celebrations. At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had signed an expanded disaster declaration to boost search efforts. Texas flood victims: Girl 'living her best life' and 'heart and soul' of camp He said officials would be relentless in ensuring they locate "every single person who's been a victim of this event", adding that "we will stop when job is completed". It remains a search and rescue mission, officials said, not a recovery effort. They said rescuers were going up and down the Guadalupe River to try to find people who may have been swept away by the floods. Much of the rescue has focused on a large all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic. The camp, where 27 remain missing, is on the banks of the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told the BBC's Radio 4 PM programme that of the 27 children missing from Camp Mystic "many of these girls are younger girls under the age of 12". He also said that many more people were likely to remain unaccounted for across the region, because some were visiting for the holiday weekend. In an email to parents of the roughly 750 campers, Camp Mystic said that if they haven't been contacted directly, their child is considered missing. Some of the families have already stated publicly that their children were among those who were found dead. US President Donald Trump has said his administration is working closely with local authorities to respond to the emergency. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the president was "devastated" by the loss of life and promised full federal support. Noem joined Governor Abbott at Saturday afternoon's press conference and said the federal government would soon be deploying the Coast Guard to help search efforts. Elsewhere in central Texas, in Travis County, officials say another two people have died and 10 are missing because of the flooding. Forecasters have warned that central Texas may see more flooding this weekend. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the area could see 2 to 5in (5cm to 12cm) of rain on Saturday. Up to 10in of rain was possible in some areas that are still reeling from Friday's deluge. Texas flood victims: Girl 'living her best life' and 'heart and soul' of camp
CBS News
23 minutes ago
- CBS News
Scattered storms to close out the holiday weekend in Southeast Michigan
Sunday will start warm and humid, with morning temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Expect to feel more humidity throughout the day as winds from the southwest bring more moisture to the area. NEXT Weather/CBS Detroit Expect showers and some isolated storms ahead of a cold front, which will slowly move through the state Sunday night. NEXT Weather/CBS Detroit While we are not expecting severe weather, we could see some brief heavy rain and some isolated marginally strong wind gusts. NEXT Weather/CBS Detroit All of Southeast Michigan is under a marginal risk for excessive rain. The slow-moving storms may produce over an inch of rain an hour in localized areas, which may lead to flooding. The main threat of flooding will fall between 3 and 9 pm. NEXT Weather/CBS Detroit Expect the storms to diminish after sunset, with a chance of scattered showers remaining for the overnight hours and Monday morning.
