Texas Officials Did Not Use Technology That Would Have Sent Lifesaving Messages amid Flooding Tragedy: Report

Yahoo

14-07-2025

A new report found that officials in Kerr County, Texas, did not use technology that would have sent lifesaving emergency messages to everyone in the vicinity of the Guadalupe River as it flooded on July 4
The Washington Post obtained messages from a National Weather Service meteorologist warning Kerr County officials about potential flash flooding, beginning at 1 a.m. that morning
The death toll from the flooding has risen steadily since July 4 and now sits at more than 120 peopleA new report found that officials in Kerr County, Texas, did not use technology that would have sent lifesaving emergency messages to everyone in the vicinity of the Guadalupe River, where dozens of people have died and been reported missing in the wake of devastating flooding that began on July 4.
According to The Washington Post, Kerr County officials did not use the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) — a notification tool that uses vibrations and emits a loud alert noise — even after a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist warned them about the severity of the floods.
The outlet obtained messages posted in a Slack channel — a message system used by NWS meteorologists to communicate about changing conditions with local officials and members of the press — that showed one meteorologist asking county officials to send an alert about the severe flooding to the public several times in the early hours of July 4, to no response.
Kerr County did issue cellphone alerts that morning, using a system called CodeRED that sends voice messages to landlines listed in the White Pages, as well as text messages to the cellphones of people who have signed up, according to the Post. The outlet reported that although it couldn't confirm the exact time of each CodeRED message, some local residents' first message from the system was at 10:55 a.m., hours after the water had reached record-breaking levels.
It's not clear whether any Kerr County officials were monitoring the channel that night, CNN reported.
Jason Runyen, the NWS meteorologist on duty for the Austin/San Antonio region that night, first sent a message just before 1 a.m., saying that officials should look out for flash flooding in Kerr and neighboring Bandera County. One person reacted to the message with a thumbs-up emoji, but it was an emergency manager from another county.
The Weather Service used the IPAWS system at 1:14 a.m. to send a flash-flood warning to Kerr and Bandera, and instructed recipients to "turn around, don't drown."
By 2:28 a.m. Runyen wrote in Slack that Kerr County had received 200% of the rainfall needed to trigger flash flooding, and that the flooding had "likely begun." No Kerr County officials reacted or replied to the message, the Post reported.
The water in the Guadalupe River would rise more than 20 feet in the hours following Runyen's message, and by 3 a.m., he wrote: "A very dangerous flash flood event is unfolding across south-central Kerr County."
Runyen also wrote that Hunt, Texas, might reach a "moderate" flood level later in the morning, calling the town a "bullseye."
The meteorologist also wrote in Slack at 3:56 a.m. that the flooding in Hunt had been categorized as "major," and said the Weather Service was about to issue another IPAWS alert about a "Flash Flood Emergency" to Kerr and Bandera counties.
At 4:35 a.m., the level of the Guadalupe River had surged above 29 feet near Hunt, and soon after, the gauge that measures the water level was destroyed.
Kerr County officials made their first public comment at 5:31 a.m., according to the Post. The Kerr County Facebook page announced that the flooding was "happening now." The Kerr County Sheriff's Office also wrote on its Facebook page soon after that people near the river should "move to higher ground immediately."
Two and a half days after the flooding, Kerr County sent its first IPAWS evacuation order at around 3 p.m. on July 6.
"High confidence of river flooding," read the message. "Evacuate the Guadalupe River and low-lying areas. Move to higher ground."
Many local Texas residents told the Post that flash flood warnings sometimes come so often in the region that people ignore them.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq, a professor at the University of Central Florida who researches emergency management, told the Post that if local authorities had sent an IPAWS message rather than the National Weather Service, residents might have paid closer attention.
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"If the alert had gone out, there might be one or two people who might have still been able to receive that message, who now, through word of mouth, alert people around them," Sadiq said.
"We are eight days removed from the most devastating tragedy in this community's history," officials told PEOPLE when asked for comment on the Post's report. "From the start, the city and county have pledged transparency and a full review of the disaster response, and we stand by those commitments."
"The special session begins July 23, and that review work is underway while we remain focused on active emergency response," their statement added.
Central Texas is still reeling from the destructive and deadly floodwaters, which were spurred by nearly unprecedented rainfall that swelled the Guadalupe River, drowning portions of the state's Hill Country.
The death toll has risen steadily since July 4 and now sits at more than 120, with another 150 people still missing, CNN reported. Among the dead, at least 36 were children.
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp located just off the Guadalupe River, previously confirmed that 27 of its campers and counselors died. Five girls from the camp remain missing, according to authorities.
To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here.
Read the original article on People