Texas Officials Defend Response To Deadly Floods: 'we Saved As Many People As We Could'

3 days ago

CENTER POINT, Texas — Local and authorities officials who responded to nan catastrophic flooding this month successful Central Texas defended their actions successful an question and reply pinch NBC News, saying they did everything successful their powerfulness to prevention lives and are now considering what much could beryllium done to forestall early tragedies.

“Our teams did everything that they perchance could pinch this gruesome, devastating business that happened, and we would not alteration nan measurement we did that. And I deliberation we saved arsenic galore group arsenic we could,” Dalton Rice, nan metropolis head of Kerrville, said.

He said pinch NBC News alongside Jeff Holt, a Kerr County commissioner, and authorities Rep. Wes Virdell, complete nan weekend, earlier a new information of dense rain and flooding threatened parts of nan region. The officials said they did their champion to coordinate evacuations and rescues against uncontrollable forces of nature, but noted that a imperishable emergency operations center, much diversion dams and amended cellphone work successful definite areas mightiness thief prevention lives successful early floods.

Hundreds of group were rescued successful nan early greeting of July 4 arsenic nan Guadalupe River surged to unprecedented heights successful little than an hour, its intractable existent carrying homes and vehicles for miles downstream. At slightest 132 group died successful nan flood, including campers and counselors astatine a girls’ summertime camp, and much than 160 group are still missing.

Flash floods are communal successful nan Texas Hill Country, wherever Kerrville is located, but National Weather Service forecasts predicted little rainfall than yet descended connected July 4 — and by nan clip officials learned that lives were successful jeopardy, galore homes on nan stream were already submerged aliases washed away.

“It happened truthful quickly that nobody, cipher could person anticipated it,” Rice said.

Kerr County and Kerrville officials held abstracted meetings Monday astir nan ongoing flood response. Officials mostly steered clear of addressing speculation complete really leaders communicated astir nan events connected July 4, but 1 noted that he had received decease threats.

Rice told NBC News nan h2o level was normal successful his greeting tally on nan stream astatine astir 3:30 a.m., during which he planned to study nan Fourth of July festivities. At 5:20 a.m., he started getting telephone calls and matter messages astir nan h2o surging. By that point, evacuations were already underway astatine campgrounds and RV parks.

Holt, who is besides a unpaid firefighter, received an alert from nan Center Point Volunteer Fire Department astatine 4:59 a.m. that thief was needed on nan river. He had been up pinch his cat, who was agitated by nan storm, for nan past hr and a half.

“My feline would not time off maine alone, really scratched my eyeball erstwhile I was sleeping,” he said.

In anticipation of dense rain, immoderate first responders from nan Texas Division of Emergency Management were already stationed successful nan area, on pinch unpaid swift h2o rescue teams. Holt assisted pinch evacuations astatine astir 5:30 a.m. astatine nan Old River Road RV Park successful Kerrville, he said, wherever immoderate group were still accelerated dormant arsenic nan h2o encroached.

“We each came successful to meet astir apt nan hardest time we’re going to spot successful our lives, and I’m a 30- twelvemonth combat Marine,” he said.

Dalton Rice, Jeff Holt, and Wes Virdell guidelines for a photo.

Virdell, a Republican authorities lawmaker who represents Kerr County, woke to messages astir nan flood astatine astir 8 a.m. He sewage successful his car arsenic accelerated arsenic he could, he said, and drove to nan segment from Brady, much than an hr and a half northbound of Kerrville.

“I conscionable threw, I think, 1 shirt, immoderate cogwheel aliases immoderate successful there, and my woman hopped successful pinch me, and we drove 90 miles an hour,” he said.

Would alerts person made a difference?

In nan aftermath of nan disaster, questions person swirled astir whether residents were adequately alerted astir nan dangers facing them, and if specified alerts could person made a difference.

Since its support successful 2009, Kerr County has utilized a telephone notification system, known arsenic CodeRed, to present emergency messages to residents who opt in. Officials person not said whether CodeRed alerts went retired to pass astir nan upwind and evacuations, aliases who was driving nan determination of whether aliases not to nonstop them.

NBC connection KXAN successful Austin obtained audio of a unpaid firefighter successful nan metropolis of Ingram asking a region sheriff dispatcher astatine 4:22 a.m. if they tin “send a CodeRed retired to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher crushed aliases enactment home.” The dispatcher responded: “We person to get that approved pinch our supervisor.”

KXAN reported that 1 personification adjacent a flooded area said they received a voicemail astatine 1:14 a.m. from a number traced backmost to CodeRed, while different area resident received a CodeRed alert astatine 5:34 a.m. astir nan National Weather Service’s “flash flood warning,” suggesting inconsistencies among recipients countywide.

Parts of nan region besides person spotty compartment work aliases nary astatine all. Others whitethorn not person had their phones pinch them, for illustration nan young girls who were staying astatine Camp Mystic successful nan unincorporated organization of Hunt, wherever officials opportunity astatine slightest 27 campers and unit members died.

Holt, nan Kerr County commissioner, said nan region judge and sheriff typically must work together connected issuing alerts specified arsenic a CodeRed. From his perspective, evacuating group connected nan ground, he said, “felt for illustration we were each successful nan conflict already, and didn’t request needfully a telephone retired for it.”

“It’s not easy for anyone, particularly if you unrecorded connected nan stream and your ain location is flooding and you can’t get to nan [emergency operations center] because you unrecorded connected Highway 39, which is nan lawsuit pinch a region judge,” Holt added. “He is caught up successful nan disaster and trying to respond from location arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.”

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said astatine a July 5 news convention that he lives on nan Guadalupe River and his properties were devastated by nan flood.

As a metropolis manager, Rice said, “CodeRed was not connected our mind” astatine astir 5 a.m. erstwhile evacuations were underway.

“We were actively communicating pinch emergency responders successful nan community,” he added. “It’s very reliable to say, would that [alert] person been effective?”

Hours aft nan flood, Rice helped found an emergency operations halfway astatine nan Hill Country Youth Event Center, wherever state, region and metropolis officials — including nan region judge and sheriff — could coordinate their response.

Virdell, nan authorities representative, praised nan effort to synchronize section and authorities operations, noting that 2 region commissioners worked retired of nan emergency halfway while nan remaining 2 assisted pinch progressive rescues.

“People cognize maine arsenic sometimes being difficult connected government, authorities efficiency. What happened present was 1 of nan astir businesslike things that I’ve ever seen betwixt each nan agencies moving together,” he said.

'They're conscionable playing a blasted game'

Questions complete nan timeline of events continued Monday arsenic elected officials successful Kerr County and Kerrville held nationalist meetings.

“This flood was intolerable to accurately and precisely predict,” Mayor Joe Herring said astatine nan extremity of nan Kerrville City Council meeting. He previously said he was awakened to nan flooding by a telephone from Rice astatine astir 5:30 a.m. and received nary emergency alerts that morning.

At nan Kerr County Commissioners’ Court meeting, residents praised nan consequence from emergency crews amid exhaustive hunt and rescue operations. Kelly, successful his first nationalist appearance since nan news conferences instantly aft nan flood, said he would not beryllium answering questions.

“This is not a property convention today,” Kelly said. “This is simply a business meeting, and we’ve sewage business that we person to do successful nan midst of this disaster response.”

Commissioner Rich Paces said Monday he has received decease threats successful consequence to anterior actions nan region has taken complete funding. He clarified that Kerr County received $10 cardinal successful national money from nan American Rescue Plan Act, a trillion-dollar Covid alleviation package signed by President Joe Biden successful 2021, but that nan money was for a power strategy to thief pinch emergency consequence — not a flood informing system.

“It’s sad to spot nan evil that’s retired location arsenic well. In nan midst of each this beauty,” Paces said, referring to nan donations and support. “You know, I’ve been getting decease threats. Can you imagine, and group cursing america for decisions that we’ve ne'er had a chance to make? And they’re conscionable playing a blasted game,” he said.

Lessons learned

More than a week aft nan flood, authorities and section officials said they’re focused connected betterment operations — including locating nan bodies of missing group — alternatively than identifying immoderate points of weakness successful their emergency response.

“Right now I don’t want to walk my clip having to spell backmost and look astatine timelines, because our attraction is connected nan operation,” Rice said.

Holt said nan region apt needs much diversion dams to portion disconnected h2o successful nan flood zone, an action that would require signoff from backstage landowners.

And while officials were capable to quickly shape an emergency operations center, establishing a imperishable 1 would beryllium a wise semipermanent solution, he added. He described nan request for officials to rehearse for emergency scenarios for illustration flash floods astatine a azygous location that’s built for that purpose, “instead of relying connected [the Texas Division of Emergency Management] to bring america each together.”

Virdell said it’s besides important to find retired whether sirens were useful during nan disaster, since group sleeping indoors whitethorn not person heard them. One assets that whitethorn person helped, he added, is amended cellphone work on nan stream successful Hunt.

“I’m going to beryllium requesting that immoderate of nan cellphone companies activity connected putting towers successful that area,” he said. “I deliberation that’s going to make a large quality because we didn’t person connection pinch a bunch of nan camps.”

A spokesperson for nan Eastland family, which owns and operates Camp Mystic, said nan camp’s director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, who died that day, received a flood informing from nan National Weather Service astatine 1:14 a.m. connected his cellphone. He alerted his family via walkie-talkies, nan spokesperson said, but it’s unclear if nan campy had intends of communicating pinch authorities different than cellphones. Eastland was past seen evacuating girls from nan Bubble Inn cabin, wherever nan youngest campers were staying.

Virdell said he has been looking into whether outer connection could thief make alerts successful coordination pinch nan National Weather Service.

However, he noted, moreover those devices mightiness not person been capable to avert disaster connected July 4: “The wide statement is, everything was done that could beryllium done astatine that moment.”

Aria Bendix and Morgan Chesky reported from Center Point, and Erik Ortiz from New York.