Posted on 07/09/2025 9:57:08 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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 of youth campers and others in Kerr County, Texas.
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.
The agencies repeatedly failed to secure roughly $1 million for a project to better protect the county’s 50,000 residents and thousands of youth campers and tourists who spend time along the Guadalupe River in an area known as “flash-flood alley.” The plan, which would have installed flood monitoring equipment near Camp Mystic, cost about as much as the county spends on courthouse security every two years, or 1.5% of its annual budget.
Meanwhile, other communities had moved ahead with sirens and warning systems of their own. In nearby Comfort, a long, flat-three minute warning sound signifying flood danger helped evacuate the town of 2,000 people as practiced.
Previous floods provided warnings
A deadly 2015 Memorial Day flood in Kerr County rekindled debate over whether to install a flood monitoring system and sirens to alert the public to evacuate when the river rose to dangerous levels. Some officials, cognizant of a 1987 flood that killed eight people on a church camp bus, thought it was finally time.
But the idea soon ran into opposition. Some residents and elected officials opposed the installation of sirens, citing the cost and noise that they feared would result from repeated alarms.
County commissioners sought compromise. They moved forward with a plan for a...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
I read the Kerrville city council voted against enacting a siren system because the community didn’t want it. Apparently they have a lot of false alarms, so I can hardly blame them.
No, they don’t have a lot of false alarms. It was tied to river flood sensors, not to NWS weather warnings. The siren should not go off except for an occasional test or when floodwater trips the sensor in the river upstream.
The other city Comfort Texas had sirens. They report that this was the first time they have EVER gone off.
interesting, someone dug up a meeting minutes where they talked about it.
https://legacy.co.kerr.tx.us/commcrt/minutes/2021/110821%28CC%29.txt
I went to girls’ summer camps for years on nice safe lakes in Wisconsin.
Death of all those precious little girls hits me very hard. Prayers for their families and for the repose of their souls. I hope that Heaven is fun.
I lived on Kauai and Oahu. We had weekly tsunami sirens going on. Occasionally they would go off without any reason. No one paid attention. Where I grew up in California there were still nuclear air raid sirens that went off. No one paid attention.
That being said, given the frequency of this river flooding they did rob the ball on better warning systems. Especially with so many camps along the river.
THAT being said, the democrat party response is absolutely vile, disgusting, and downright evil. A pox on them.
Why does it take so many to write a simple article?
Shouldn’t the camps be blamed for not funding it? They need a weather alert radio and they’d be ok.
When out in the “woods” you are responsible for your
safety. A large part of “outdoorsmanship” is being responsible.
I used to own a 45 foot sailboat and I can tell you there were times I was scared, but who had to perform on their own skill set, me. The silly little radio would not save the boat. Just me and my judgement.
External help is great, but bottom line is you put yourself
in the situation, you better be able to deal with it.
We can take a little solace in the fact that they are singing with the Lord right now, enjoying their new life the way God intended for man in the first place. Still hard to accept though.
Been reading ecclesiastese where the author was pining over the after life while lamenting his current life because of all the evil that was present in the world. Those girls will never have to worry about evil again. Though this fact doesn’t help the grieving family much, it can help a bit. Hopefully.
bttt
I suggest to people, that they practice changing tires on their car. Almost all peope reply: “Why? No flat tires.”
The camps and town will likely be sued, although if all the parents were Christians, they may not sue, but likely some parents were not saved perhaps, and might sue. The camp and towns are likely,quite nervous at this point. Lots of failures all the way around. If any good can come out of this, perhaps camps along rivers, on flood plains, in low spots etc will improve their safety protocols so this doesn’t happen again.
Not at the speed this flood was.
Too many illegals soaking up the tax dollars. Need to deport more illegals so we can afford more and better infrastructure.
That’s what I have AAA for. I’m 78. I’m not changing any tires.
AP: “A Decade of Possessing the Inability to Craft an Article Without At Least Four Authors”
“ which would have installed flood monitoring equipment near Camp Mystic,”
If the monitors were there, then they would have been of little use in saving the campers there. The monitors would have to have been placed well upstream, given how fast the water rose.
Texas has been running in the black for years, so there is no excuse. Since the mass shooting in Uvalde, the state has been spending million for school safety.
‘Act of God’ is what insurance companies call these tragedies. Not that I agree with that, but sometimes things happen that’s hard to accept.
How fast will they approve these projects now?
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