In an emotional hearing, Texas lawmakers hear from flood survivors, local officials

KERRVILLE, Texas — Texas lawmakers and flood survivors criticized local officials for disorganization and bureaucratic holdups during a public hearing in the area that saw the most fatalities in the July 4 floods in central Texas.

The flood was sudden, and officials have agreed it was unpredicted. Kerr County emergency coordinator William Thomas told a select committee of the Texas Legislature that he was ill and asleep as the flood waters were building in the pre-dawn hours. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said he was asleep until he was woken by deputies on duty before dawn. Judge Rob Kelly, the top county official with oversight of emergency management, said he was out of town.

While acknowledging the surprising volume of rain, some lawmakers questioned what appeared to be confusion at the local level. “The three guys in Kerr County who were responsible for sounding the alarm were effectively unavailable,” said Democratic State Rep. Ann Johnson, who said she was told about “little girls with water around their feet” at 2 a.m. that night.

“We have a lot of folks who have titles but when the time came to act they did not take action,” Republican State Rep. Drew Darby said.

For their part, local officials noted the rescues by first responders and cited problems with communications from poor cell service and broadband coverage in the remote areas near the river. Leitha said deputies trying to reach survivors encountered swamped crossings and lost their vehicles to the rising water. He said one deputy reported hearing children screaming from the river and that when a rescue boat was en route to arrive in 10 minutes, a deputy reported, “the kids don’t have 10 minutes.”

The flooding in the early hours of July 4 killed more than 130 people and devastated areas along the Guadalupe River. Many who died were in vacation camps or youth camps, raising questions about whether they were provided early enough warning and were supplied with clear evacuation plans and routes.

A couple hundred people lined up outside the youth center where the hearing was held awaiting for the doors to open. The legislature is meeting in a special session this month to work on disaster preparedness and a number of other unrelated issues.

Alicia Jeffrey Baker spoke to the committee about losing her parents and her 11-year-old daughter in the flood, fighting through her tears. “The river that we loved so much killed them,” she said. She said they were in a home on stilts near the water and asked officials for better warning systems.

Mike Richards arrived at the hearing 30 minutes early to make sure he was able to testify. He told The Texas Newsroom that after the flood he found 10 bodies on land he owns in Center Point, an unincorporated area in Kerr County.

“I didn’t get no help from the state or the government,” he said. “FEMA’s a joke and it needs to be abolished. The state is broken.” A former police officer, Richards said he’s still receiving calls from family and volunteers who are in tears over the devastation.