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Kerrville’s mayor said he was unaware of any help sent by the state to his community ahead of the flood, a day after Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had “assets, resources and personnel” in place two days before a flood tore through the Hill Country, claiming 120 lives as of Wednesday evening.
“The state was aware that there was a possible serious flooding event days in advance and pre-positioned assets and resources and personnel,” Abbott said at a Tuesday press conference. “We originally pre-positioned those assets, personnel and resources on Wednesday. Then, when greater clarity was discerned on Wednesday, we moved them closer and made sure we had adequate supplies going into Friday. We were ready.”
The Texas Division of Emergency Management “activated” state emergency response resources across West Texas and the Hill Country on July 2, according to a TDEM press release. TDEM cited “heavy rainfall with the potential to cause flash flooding” and encouraged Texans to prepare for flooded roads and monitor weather forecasts.
The state agency listed a number of state agencies and Texas A&M services “available to support local flood response operations,” such as rescue boat teams, helicopters, and personnel to monitor road conditions.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said during a press conference on Wednesday that he wasn’t aware of any resources or personnel sent to his area, although the TDEM had people in Kerrville after the floods struck his city.
“I haven't seen the governor’s remarks ... I don't know what resources TDEM had in place at that time,” Herring said.
The National Weather Service sent out its first flash flood warning to residents at 1:14 a.m. Friday, about three hours and 21 minutes before they received the first reports of flooding along the Guadalupe River, which runs through Kerrville.
NWS officials said they communicated directly with local officials the night of the flood, but Herring said he wasn’t aware of the flooding until around 5:30 a.m. when the city manager called him. By that time, floodwaters were already meters high and parts of Highway 39 were flooded, limiting evacuation efforts.
Five days after the July Fourth flood, more people remain missing than have been recovered.
Abbott said search and rescue teams were looking for 161 missing people in Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, on Tuesday. The death toll in the county rose to 96, which includes 36 children, in a county update Wednesday evening, but the number of missing people did not change. The total number of victims across Texas is now at 120.
The number of missing people provided by Abbott was the first time a comprehensive public estimate for Kerr County was given. Spokespeople from Abbott’s office and the Texas Division of Emergency Management deferred questions to county officials about how the number of missing people was determined. It is currently unclear how many of those represent Kerr County residents or visitors there for the holiday weekend.
At least seven people died in Travis County, eight in Kendall County, five in Burnet County, three in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County.
Kerrville, located in part of the Hill Country known as “Flash Flood Alley,” has discussed efforts to install flood warning systems. But when the flood came early Friday morning, such systems weren’t in place.
Herring was asked at Wednesday’s press conference why that’s the case, he said “I wasn't in office during those discussions, and frankly, I'm more focused on the future than the past.”
The flood is already among the deadliest natural disasters in Texas history, and it is currently the second deadliest flood, after a 1921 flood in San Antonio that killed 215 people. The Hill Country flood death toll is higher than the total number of flood-related deaths recorded across the country last year, along with the year before.
Among those killed were 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a summertime Christian retreat for generations of Texas girls. The camp’s director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, also died. Five campers and a counselor were among the missing Wednesday.
Before Tuesday, only 25 people were reported missing across the region. A local government official said Monday it was still “a lot” after days of search and rescue operations. Those searching said they have been dealing with prank calls, false tips and rugged terrain across a roughly 60-mile area.
On Wednesday night, rain returned to the Kerr County area and officials put out a flash flood advisory impacting low-lying areas, according to a post from the county. That advisory expired at 8 p.m. Gillespie and Llano Counties, both north of Kerr County, were also placed under a brief flash flood warning by the National Weather Service on Wednesday.
Abbott announced Wednesday that the special session of the Texas Legislature set to start on July 21 would include four items related to the floods, including legislation focused on bolstering emergency warning systems and communications for flooding. Relief funding for communities affected by flood damages was also included.
During Abbott's press conference Tuesday, he said that state House and Senate committees will form as early as this week to investigate “ways to address this.” Abbott did not provide further details into what the committees will be investigating, but responded to a reporter's question about where to place blame as “the word choice of losers.”
“The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame,” Abbott said. "The championship teams are the ones that say, ‘Don't worry about it, man, we got this.’”
“The way winners talk is not to point fingers, they talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions,” he later added.
President Donald Trump is also planning to visit the region on Friday to tour the damage, which one estimate placed between $18 billion and $22 billion in destruction and economic losses.
