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Local officials were repeatedly denied state funding for emergency flood warning system at Camp Mystic site but didn’t deploy Amber Alert-style warning according to report
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President Donald Trump has suggested that Texans were given “a lot of warning” ahead of the devastating floods in the state.
“The way this happened, there was a very early warning — warned a day before, they warned even two days before,” Trump told his daughter-in-law, Fox News host Lara Trump, in an interview broadcast on Saturday night. “They warned four hours before. Maybe they should have had bells or something go off, but it’s pretty dangerous territory when you think of all the times that they’ve had this problem.”
“They were given a lot of warning, but it was late at night, and people were sleeping,” he added. “Some people heard the warning and they got out. They were able to get to higher land.”
This comes after Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives.
ThGuadalupe River swelled to record levels on July 4, inundating campsites and homes.
The system, which costs nothing, was implemented in place of an expensive siren system that county officials reportedly couldn’t obtain funding for.
There have been at least 129 deaths, and more than 160 people are missing, one week later.
Two days after severe floods hit Central Texas, nearly two-thirds of calls to FEMA’s disaster assistance line went unanswered, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
The lack of response was due to the agency firing hundreds of contractors at call centers, a person familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously, told the paper.
The contractors were laid off on July 5 after their contracts expired and were not renewed, based on the documents and the source’s account.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, has introduced a new rule requiring her personal approval for expenses exceeding $100,000 and delayed renewing these contracts until Thursday, five days after they expired.
The report of unanswered calls on July 6, which had not been previously revealed, coincides with increased scrutiny of FEMA’s flood response efforts and questions about the agency’s future.
A spokesperson for DHS told the Times: “When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase. Despite this expected influx, FEMA’s disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.”
Individuals impacted by disasters can apply for various types of financial assistance from FEMA, including a one-time payment of $750, which can help cover their immediate needs, such as food or other essential supplies for those who have lost their homes.
On July 5, as floodwaters started to go down, FEMA received 3,027 calls from disaster survivors and responded to 3,018, or about 99.7 percent, according to the records. Contractors from four call center companies handled most of the calls.
However, Noem did not renew the contracts with the four companies, and hundreds of contractors were fired, according to the documents and the person briefed on the matter.
The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846, or about 35.8 percent, according to the documents. Things got worse.
On Monday, July 7, the agency received 16,419 calls and answered 2,613, or approximately 15.9 percent, according to the documents.
Some FEMA officials grew frustrated with the lapse in contracts and the delay in Noem’s response, according to the person briefed on the matter and the documents.
Federal regulators repeatedly approved appeals to remove Camp Mystic’s buildings from their 100-year flood map, easing oversight as the camp operated and expanded in a hazardous floodplain in the years leading up to the central Texas flash floods of July 4, according to new reporting by The Associated Press.
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President Donald Trump suggested during an interview with Fox News broadcast on Saturday night that the area of Texas struck hardest by the flash floods should’ve had a more robust early warning system.
“Maybe they should have had bells, something go off, but it’s pretty dangerous territory, when you think of all the times that they’ve had this problem,” Trump told his daughter-in-law, Fox News host Lara Trump. “They were given a lot of warning, but it was late at night, and people were sleeping.”
The president noted that those who were alerted “were able to get to higher land.”
“When you hear this wave that was up to 30 feet high just came roaring through that valley. It’s just a very sad thing,” he added.
The body of a 22-year-old man has been recovered in the Texas Hill Country after devastating floodwaters inundated his family’s river cabin on July 4, his father confirmed.
Aidan Heartfield was with three friends when they were caught in a sudden deluge that saw water levels inside the property rise from inches to several feet in moments.
The tragedy unfolded around 4 a.m. when Thad Heartfield received a frantic call from his son, Aidan, who was at the cabin in Hunt with his girlfriend and two friends, NBC News reports.
Aidan reported four inches of water inside the property, but within seconds, the water surged to approximately four feet. Mr Heartfield urged his son to escape to the highway, but the rapidly rising waters swept away their cars.
Aidan then told his father he needed to help his girlfriend, handing the phone to one of the other girls. Within moments, she told Mr Heartfield that his son and the others were gone, before the line went dead.
Thad Heartfield confirmed on Saturday to KFDM/Fox 4 News that Aidan’s body had been recovered. His longtime girlfriend, Ella Cahill, and friends Joyce Badon and Reese Manchaca, both 21, were also found deceased.
“I want to thank everyone in the community for their prayers and support,” Mr Heartfield said. “It has meant the world to us and sustained us through this difficult time. I know it has been important to all of the affected families. This is an important step toward closure.”
Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives before last week’s devastating flood, leaving almost 100 dead and over 160 missing in the county. The Washington Post revealed that despite having the technology to turn every mobile phone in the river valley into a loud alarm, local authorities did not deploy it as the Guadalupe River swelled to record levels on July 4, inundating campsites and homes.
As the river began to flood, county officials eventually sent text message alerts, but only to pre-registered residents. Even as a federal meteorologist warned of worsening conditions and extreme risk, the more potent notification system, previously used for flood alerts, remained inactive. The National Weather Service, however, began sending its own alerts through this system from 1:14 a.m. on July 4.
The Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) is a mass notification programme used by National Weather Service meteorologists for imminent threats. Like Amber Alerts, IPAWS warnings force phones to vibrate and emit a unique, jarring tone, provided they are on and have a signal. It also enables local officials to send targeted messages.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq, a University of Central Florida professor researching emergency management, told The Post that residents are more likely to trust messages from local government. He suggested the alert could have made a significant difference, despite patchy mobile service and many likely asleep as floodwaters surged.
For years, Kerr County officials have discussed a more robust flash-flood warning system, including the installation of expensive sirens. Lacking that infrastructure, they adopted IPAWS, which cost nothing, to alert more people.
IPAWS had been activated by Kerr County twice before, most recently in July 2024 for flash floods. Just two days after this year’s deadly storm, amid further thunderstorms, county officials did use IPAWS to warn of another potential round of river flooding.
House Democrats addressed a letter to President Donald Trump and weather infrastructure officials on Friday, expressing “deep concern” about the flooding in Kerr County, Texas, and the “structural shortcomings at the federal, state, and local levels that contributed to the tragic loss of life.”
It comes as Trump toured disaster areas alongside local officials on Friday.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a press conference today that the response to the Texas flash floods is President Donald Trump’s vision for how FEMA will operate in the future.
“Some of what you saw for our response in Texas is going to be a lot of how President Trump envisions what FEMA would look like into the future … emergencies are locally executed. They are state-managed. The federal government comes in and supports.”
Watch her remarks below:
As floodwaters in Texas rose in the early morning of July 4, a local firefighter petitioned for an emergency alert to quickly be sent out, but local officials do not appear to have followed his request until about an hour later, according to leaked audio.
Josh Marcus reports.
Federal regulators repeatedly approved appeals to remove Camp Mystic’s buildings from their 100-year flood map, easing oversight as the camp operated and expanded in a hazardous floodplain in the years leading up to the central Texas flash floods of July 4, according to new reporting by The Associated Press.
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