NPR has compiled a timeline of when local, state and federal officials posted warnings on social media as well as the timeline of events as presented by local officials.
In the early hours of Friday, floods swept across Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet within 45 minutes, according to state officials.
The flooding killed at least 14 children and 18 adults, officials said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon. Frantic search efforts continue for 27 girls from a local Christian summer campwho remain missing, as well as other missing individuals. Officials added that more than 850 people have been rescued, including over 100 airlifted from the region.
On Friday, when asked why the summer camps in the area were not evacuated, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official, said, « I can’t answer that. I don’t know. »
On Wednesday the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated state emergency response resources, saying there were « increased threats of flooding in parts of West and Central Texas. » Swift water rescue teams, along with other types of rescue equipment, were moved to the area because some modeling predicted high levels of rainfall.
« But listen, everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service….It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw », said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd on Friday.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who was in the area for the July 4th celebrations, asked for people to focus on the ongoing rescue work. « I’d just [ask] everybody like, pause, take a breath for the recriminations and the Monday morning quarterbacking », he said on Saturday. « Let’s focus on finding those who can be found, then we can always assess what we need to do later, going forward. »
Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, said on Saturday afternoon, « for decades, for years, everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict. »
« I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump and and we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that that may have felt like a failure to you and to your community members », she said, adding that Trump is « working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected. » Some have raised questions about whether cuts to the National Weather Service and other federal emergency management agencies impacted the ability to provide accurate weather warnings.
NPR has compiled a timeline of when local, state and federal officials posted warnings on social media as well as the timeline of events as presented by local officials.
Wednesday, July 2nd:
The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced that it was activating state emergency response resources because of the threat of flooding.
At 4:41 p.m., early hints of severe weather came in a post on X by the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio that said: « scattered moderate to heavy showers continue to develop and expand to the Hill Country.
