Latest news with #LisaWinters
SBS Australia
08-07-2025
- Climate
- SBS Australia
"We had no warning": locals questioning lead-up to deadly floods in Texas
'(A) Sturdy aluminum kayak, canoe, that is wrapped around a tree like a pretzel. And that just shows you the sheer power of the water." That's Lisa Winters, one of the camp officials at Mo-Ranch, a Presbyterian conference centre in central Texas that runs retreats and summer camps. It was one of the places hit by flash flooding when the nearby Guadalupe River broke its banks after torrential rain fell on the fourth of July, the U.S. Independence Day holiday. The number of deaths in the region has already reached at least 104 - and Texas Governor Greg Abbott says an undetermined number of people are unaccounted for. "Especially in the Kerrville area, there were so many people who were just camping out, not children in camps, but adults camping out near the river, people in RVs and things like that. There are people who are missing who are not on the known confirmed missing because we don't yet know who they are." Hardest hit by the flooding was Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old camp, where dozens of young girls were swept away in the floodwaters and 27 are still missing. Mo-Ranch was more fortunate. Lisa Winters say the staff and campers there were all safely evacuated to higher ground when the facilities manager noticed the nearby river rising rapidly. "He started to see it at one in the morning and that's when he called our president and CEO who lives on the ranch. And that they were worried enough that they started to just pull up everything on the riverfront. And then by three (in the morning), the only lodging where we knew we had kids, they evacuated them all. So that was three, four. So it just, from one on, it kept rising." She says they didn't know things were going to get so bad. "Hundreds of kids there, and I remember - what I remember, I wasn't even thinking, we had no warning, we had no warning that this was coming." Local reporter Jim Vertuno says he's been hearing similar accounts. "Some families have relayed some frustration that maybe they did not get enough warning in advance of the floods. Others have said things happened so fast, even those who've got a warning have very little time to react." But state officials have so far bristled at suggestions that camps and residents in the area were potentially left to make their own decisions - in the absence of warnings or notifications from the county. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice has said it's not the time to be responding to those concerns. "I know you guys keep asking this question. You know, we appreciate it. We think it's important. We don't want to speculate. And, know, at this time we know there's a lot of speculation and questions around it again. There's gonna be a full review of this so we can make sure that we focus on future preparedness. We just - again - we want to continue to focus on the families at this time and so we're getting through that." Senator Ted Cruz says some have been eager to point at the National Weather Service, and say the Trump administration cuts led to a lack of advance notice - an argument he argues is contradicted by the facts. Chief Meteorologist for Accuweather, Jonathon Porter, agrees with such assessments. "Notice the time difference between these flash flood warnings that were issued and the peak of the flash flooding that occurred in the Hunt, Texas, area around 4:30 Central Time. There were several hours of advanced notice, ample time for people to move to higher ground, and for the local officials to take action in order to move people to safe areas." Still, questions about preparation and warnings are being asked in the nation's capital. The U.S. Senate's top Democrat - Chuck Schumer - has requested the Department of Commerce's acting inspector look into whether staffing vacancies at the Weather Service's San Antonio office contributed to any delays, gaps, or diminished accuracy in forecasting the flooding. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has responded furiously to the request, saying local and state agencies acted appropriately - and that Trump's cuts did not affect authorities' responses to the flooding. "Any person who has deliberately lied about these facts surrounding this catastrophic event, you should be deeply ashamed." In the meantime, the grim task of finding victims and even survivors has continued. Governor Greg Abbott has vowed that authorities will be relentless and work around the clock to rescue and recover victims. Colonel Freeman Martin from the Texas Department of Public Safety says new areas will be searched as the water recedes. "This is tough work. It's hot there in the mud to remove and debris. There's snakes. There's water moccasins. This is God's work that they're doing."
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Climate
- New York Post
Texas summer camp near Camp Mystic had ‘no warning' about rising waters but were able to safely evacuate 70 before deadly flooding: ‘Saw it coming'
Officials at a Texas summer camp located just miles from Camp Mystic, where 27 young girls and counselors died in historic floods over the weekend, claimed they received 'no warning' that rising waters were coming — but were able to safely evacuate dozens on their own as thWe were making our plans and changing our plans and moving people up to higher ground well in advance last night.' river swelled. The Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, a 500-acre property that was hosting a summer camp and youth conference with 'several hundred campers' at the headwater of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, had been monitoring the waters for 24 hours before it surged 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning. 'We were making our plans and changing our plans and moving people up to higher ground well in advance last night,' communications director Lisa Winters told KENS5 Friday. Mo-Ranch had received no alerts or information from local authorities ahead of the deadly deluge that has claimed more than 100 lives, so camp leaders took it upon themselves to move 70 children and adults staying in a building by the river out of harm's way, saving all of their lives, she added. 'We had no warning this was coming,' Winters reiterated Monday, adding that it would have been 'devastating' had camp officials not been closely following weather reports and the rising river. Mo-Ranch 'saw it coming well in advance, and they did something about it,' she added. 'They helped them pack up. They got them up, they got them out, put them up on higher ground.' The facilities manager at Mo-Ranch notified leaders of the potential danger around 1 a.m., and the kids and chaperones were moved sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m., camp CEO Tim Huchton told the Wall Street Journal Monday. 3 At least 27 counselors and campers at Camp Mystic were killed in the catastrophic floods. AFP via Getty Images Camp Mystic, another all-girls Christian summer camp just seven miles away, was caught by surprise with deadly consequences when the river suddenly surged. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha on Tuesday was unable to answer questions about who was in charge or whether they were asleep early Friday morning when the Guadalupe River burst its banks. At least 87 bodies — including 30 children — have been recovered in Kerr County, up from the 75 reported dead in the county on Monday. 3 Search and rescue team looks for people along the Guadalupe River near a damaged building at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. AFP via Getty Images Five girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing, officials said. Lorena Guillen, owner of the Blue Oak RV Park and Howdy's Restaurant, on the banks of the Guadalupe, said she called the Sheriff's Office shortly after 2 a.m. Friday morning and asked if she had to evacuate. She was told they had no information for her. 'It was just raining, you know, like nothing,' she told the Wall Street Journal. 'We did have a warning, a flash flood warning, but this … is very, very normal for the Hill Country.' Within an hour, she said, the water had risen 10 feet on the property, and she frantically ran and banged all 33 RV doors to wake people up. All of the vehicles were washed away by the floodwaters. 3 Chairs inside a damaged room at Camp Mystic following deadly flooding on the Guadalupe River. REUTERS The National Weather Service office for Austin and San Antonio issued a flash-flood warning for Kerr County with 'catastrophic' potential for loss of life around 1:14 a.m. An emergency alert was finally posted to the Kerr County Sheriff's Office's social media account at 3:32 am that read: 'DANGEROUS FLOODING NOW on the Guadalupe River in Hunt, in western Kerr County. This flood wave will continue downstream. If you are near the water, move to higher ground immediately. Stay clear of low water crossings—turn around, don't drown!' The sheriff admitted Tuesday he was only informed about the flood waters ravaging his county at some time between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. that morning. The Texas Division of Emergency Management was initially expecting between 3 to 6 inches of rain, Nim Kidd, chief of the agency, recalled in a news conference, the Journal reported. 'However, some of those models showed numbers that were higher than that,' he said, 'which caused us to activate additional resources and have them in the area just in case.' Emergency-response teams were in Kerr County by noon on Thursday. With Post wires
