Texas Flood

[butters]

owner of Camp Mystic, who died saving children from the floodwaters, actually got an improved warning system in place but it was then shut down as 'unreliable.'

In 1987, 10 teens were killed when the river overflowed. As kids at a Christian academy attempted to flee, a “wall of water, estimated to be as much as half a mile wide, rushed upon the campers,” according to a government report obtained by The Associated Press.

Since then, Eastland had been sounding the alarm about the dangers that Camp Mystic would one day face. Following the 1987 flood, Eastland successfully pushed for an updated flood warning system, and served on the board of the local river authority, CNN reported.

Despite Eastland’s work to improve flood warnings, the river authority shut it down in 1999 over what it called an “unreliable” system.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/c...1&cvid=e5501ebd8df241b69ef49fb2d25953ec&ei=45

 

[butters]

back in 2016, official jokes about the inconvenience of flood sirens going off in the night might drive him to drink

In 2016, local leaders debated a flood warning system designed to alert residents and out-of-town visitors to rising water, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Despite an engineering study recommending nearly $1 million in upgrades, including public sirens, the project was never funded, partly due to concerns that sirens might disturb residents while they slept. Then-commissioner H.A. "Buster" Baldwin, who died in 2022, dismissed the plan as excessive and joked that midnight sirens would drive him to drink.

"The thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all," Baldwin reportedly said in 2016.

it's a long list of suggestions, needs, studies recommending the upgrades, and public demand vs costs that has allowed this to happen to the extent it did.

 

[butters]

even given a lack of cell coverage in some areas, this is still important:

The Texas county where nearly 100 people were killed and more than 160 remain missing had the technology to turn every cellphone in the river valley into a blaring alarm, but local officials did not do so before or during the early-morning hours of July 4 as river levels rose to record heights, inundating campsites and homes, a Washington Post examination found.

Kerr County officials, who have come under increasing scrutiny for their actions as the Guadalupe River began to flood, eventually sent text-message alerts that morning to residents who had registered to receive them, according to screenshots of the texts. But The Post’s review of emergency notifications that night found that even as a federal meteorologist warned of deteriorating conditions and catastrophic risk, county officials did not activate a more powerful notification tool they had previously used to warn of potential flooding. The National Weather Service sent its own alerts through this system, beginning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4.

That mass notification system, known as the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, or IPAWS, is used by National Weather Service meteorologists to warn of imminent threats. Warnings of life-threatening weather events sent on that system — similar to Amber Alerts — force phones to vibrate and emit a unique, jarring tone as long as they’re on and have a signal. They also allow qualified local officials to send tailored messages to targeted areas.

The National Weather Service issued 22 alerts through IPAWS on July 4, sending increasingly dire warnings to swaths of Kerr County.

So why didn't Kerr county or Kerrville authorities warn the people most in danger?

the type and frequency of these warnings happen so often along 'flash flood alley' that residents often ignore them, but they might have listened to local authorities if it had been used by them:

Experts say that county officials, by contrast, could have issued evacuation orders, described risks to specific neighborhoods or provided other, more location-specific guidance to stay safe. Such targeted information, especially from a known and trusted source, can help persuade people to take action, experts say.

IPAWS was used last summer, with a warning that the river might rise by 4'... it wasn't used by Kerr county officials the night of the flooding on July 4th but they did use it 2 nights later to warn of further danger.

 

[Lazaran]

even given a lack of cell coverage in some areas, this is still important:








the type and frequency of these warnings happen so often along 'flash flood alley' that residents often ignore them, but they might have listened to local authorities if it had been used by them:


IPAWS was used last summer, with a warning that the river might rise by 4'... it wasn't used by Kerr county officials the night of the flooding on July 4th but they did use it 2 nights later to warn of further danger.

Wow…

Criminally negligent…

 

[butters]

Wow…

Criminally negligent…

they should have passed those warnings on more directly to their constituents, especially given the escalating threat they were being warned of by the NWS

criminal negligence? understaffing? holiday staff shortages?

time will tell, but those dead will never hear.

 

[Lazaran]

they should have passed those warnings on more directly to their constituents, especially given the escalating threat they were being warned of by the NWS

criminal negligence? understaffing? holiday staff shortages?

time will tell, but those dead will never hear.

Judging by the comments from that deceased local leader about the mere thought of sirens driving him to drink, I would lean towards criminal negligence.



“those dead will never hear” the sirens that MAY NOW get installed, or the emergency cellphone alerts that MAY NOW get sent out…

 

[RobDownSouth]

Trump Backs Kristi Noem’s Disastrous Texas Response for Dumbest Reason​

Donald Trump really is the reality TV president.​

"I saw her on TV the first thing the morning after the flood!"
Now we're finding out that Noem used the official Instagram account for DHS to run a photo contest on Independence Day weekend.
"Which picture makes me look prettiest? Vote now!" She wanted input from the public on what photo should be her "official portrait" as DHS Secretary.

 

[somesayno]

Nonsense. But, I love your enthusiasm ... even as devoid of logic and fact as it is.

 

[somesayno]

Are we talking about the siren system that the Biden administration defunded? That one?

 

[RobDownSouth]

Are we talking about the siren system that the Biden administration defunded? That one?

"the Biden Administration defunded"?

Flooded Texas County Turned Down Funds for Warning System From Biden Admin in 2021: 'We Don't Want to Be Bought'​

Welcome to the Political Board.

 

[Lazaran]

Are we talking about the siren system that the Biden administration defunded? That one?

"the Biden Administration defunded"?

Flooded Texas County Turned Down Funds for Warning System From Biden Admin in 2021: 'We Don't Want to Be Bought'​

Welcome to the Political Board.

BOOOOIOOOOOOM!!!!!!

 

[butters]

you gotta love it when a so-called 'noob' suddenly appears trying to post all cool and throwing shade only to have their high-horse pulled right out from under them.

 

[Lazaran]

you gotta love it when a so-called 'noob' suddenly appears trying to post all cool and throwing shade only to have their high-horse pulled right out from under them.

At this point, I can’t decide whether these "noob" MAGAts (and not-so-"noob" MAGAts) are: just plain ignorant; unsophisticated gaslighters / liars, or simply live in a right wing bizarro world bubble where wrong is right.





We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Hel_Books]

I'm remembering Orwell's doublethink.

Trump thought: FEMA must be abolished.

Also Trump thought: FEMA did a very good job in Texas.

 

[butters]

Report: FEMA Fired Call Center Workers Day After Texas Floods

when people need help the most, they need to be able to rely upon FEMA.

On July 5, a day after the devastating floods in Texas, FEMA's disaster assistance line received 3,027 calls and answered 99.7% of them, according to documents seen by the New York Times. The documents show, however, that hundreds of call center workers at four companies were fired the same day after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem failed to renew their contracts.

According to the documents, FEMA, which has been part of Homeland Security since 2003, answered only around 36% of the 2,363 calls it received on July 6. On July 7, FEMA received 16,419 calls and only answered 2,613 of them, around 16%. The call center workers' contracts were not renewed until Thursday, five days after they expired.

this ^^ shitshow aside, former results show the need to strengthen FEMA's resources, not slash away at them or even dissolve it.

The Times notes that FEMA also failed to keep up with calls during disasters under previous administrations. According to E&E News, the call centers failed to answer around 50% of calls over the course of a week in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene last year. The agency was also overwhelmed after disasters in 2012 and 2017.

 

[butters]

The State Department on Friday fired the remaining staff working in the office responsible for international climate policy, including annual U.N. negotiations related to climate treaties, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Most of the staff in the Office of Global Change had left voluntarily after President Donald Trump took office and moved rapidly to pull the United States out of international climate talks. Nearly a dozen people who remained on staff were fired Friday, and the office will be shuttered as part of the wider downsizing of the department, the people familiar with the firings said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...&cvid=2ff5b58db2274017b37d30a56b1806a3&ei=136

 

[Lazaran]

Report: FEMA Fired Call Center Workers Day After Texas Floods

when people need help the most, they need to be able to rely upon FEMA.

this ^^ shitshow aside, former results show the need to strengthen FEMA's resources, not slash away at them or even dissolve it.

We. Told. Them. So.

 

[DeluxAuto]

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/1lyd9g0/to_give_federal_aid_to_kerr_county

AKA the Derp.

 

[Lazaran]

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/1lyd9g0/to_give_federal_aid_to_kerr_county

AKA the Derp.

That threat in the video about holding people personally responsible…

Um, OK…



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Pad_Foot]

Trump called a reporter or “the People” evil for asking why there were no alarms

https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-asked-message-texas-173051415.html

You could have used my money to save lives. Now? You have my thoughts and prayers!

Money for rebuilding in a flood plain ??

Maybe to help build your damns better? But better not to build where God said “no”
At least in CA we can build back more fire wise and just rake more. But? What God determines is a loss? That’s your loss. I know when CA quakes finally hit, you will all cheer and cut us off. We should withhold all that rebuilding money now, but, we can’t.

We can put in house filters that won’t allow embers to blow in. That? Was what we really learned!

Rebuild on the coast after a hurricane?? Not on my dime!

 

[Pad_Foot]

One hour warning???

Good thing if the guy died

The camp should be set up as a memorial park. No camping allowed

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...2ddc50bde24668/11/67/687528c77867926b76393613

 

[Lazaran]

One hour warning???

Good thing if the guy died

The camp should be set up as a memorial park. No camping allowed

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2025/camp-mystic-alerts-texas-floods/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https://s2.washingtonpost.com/car-ln-tr/439bca9/687528c77867926b76393613/6739f9f6212ddc50bde24668/11/67/687528c77867926b76393613

Not only should the camps have been evacuated earlier, but they shouldn’t be set up in that location at all. “An ounce of prevention” and all that…



Related:

In a recent “Meet the Press” interview, Stepford Wife (DHS secretary) Kristi Noem GASLIT & LIED ABOUT the legitimate charge / accusations that the CHANGES TO FEDERAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS & PREVENTION POLICY UNDER HER (Donold’s) "leadership" at DHS likely CONTRIBUTED to the magnitude of the death & suffering in the Texas flood disaster (and other disasters).



Stepford wife (DHS secretary) Krist Noem also GASLIT & LIED ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THE FEDERAL RESPONSE TO THE TEXAS FLOOD DISASTER due to recent policy changes under DonOld’s administration and her "leadership" at DHS. (“All the best people”2.0.)



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Rotadom]

Big if true.

 

[Lazaran]

Big if true.


View attachment 2553411

That ^ goes to a point I made in another thread, about karma being connected to a guilty conscience:

The owner of that camp “died trying to save the girls".

That ^ POS’s guilty conscience (sociopathic self-interest) related to the damning information / revelations in your post likely drove that POS to try to be a "hero"; which directly contributed to that POS’s death.

Karma / a guilty conscience (sociopathic self-interest) “got” that POS.

“Instant Karma’s gonna get you”

That ^ goes for ALL sociopathic MAGAts.

We. Told. Them. So.

 

[butters]

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice is defending turning off his weather alerts ahead of the catastrophic July 4 flooding

"Whether my stuff is on or not is really a moot point because we have teams of experts that can navigate these," Rice said when pressed as to how a city manager could have his weather alerts off.

Notably, city agencies did not issue alerts through local channels, such as the City of Kerrville Police Department, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office, and Kerrville City Hall's social media channels, until later that morning.

Last week, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. claimed he never received an individual warning before floodwaters surged, and was only notified about the river's conditions when Dalton called him around 5:30.