Texas, Flood and Warning
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Twice, the Texas Division of Emergency Management turned down Kerr County's requests for money to improve flood warnings.
Nearly a week after floodwaters swept away more than 100 lives, Texas officials are facing heated questions over how much was – or was not – done in the early morning hours of Friday as a wall of water raced down the Guadalupe River.
Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens in Kerr County, Texas.
In the Austin area, 12 people are still missing and 16 are known to have perished after rain swept away homes along rivers and creeks.
Over 35,000 signed a petition urging Kerr County to install flood warning sirens after flash flooding killed at least 100 people on July 4.
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings.
SAN ANTONIO — Five days after the waters of the Guadalupe River rose and overwhelmed much of Kerr Country on July Fourth, search and recovery efforts continue as the community picks up the pieces of one of the state's worst natural disasters in years.
In Kerr County, Texas, Thad Heartfield is leading nearly 100 volunteers searching for flood victims. For him, this mission is personal. His son and three of his son's friends disappeared in the flood.