‘This came at night’: Texas officials say they were caught off guard by deadly rainstorms, flooding
The unexpected and deadly floods that hit Texas on the 4th of July took local officials by surprise as the Guadalupe River rose to near-historic levels in a matter of minutes due to heavy rains, officials revealed at a press conference on Saturday.
The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for parts of New Mexico and western Texas on Thursday afternoon as slow-moving thunderstorms with heavy rain moved through the area. By Thursday evening, parts of western Texas, including Midland and Odessa, had already received five inches of rain.
A flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River is located, around 1:14 a.m. on Friday. The river rose a staggering 26 feet in just 45 minutes that morning, according to Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring.
The river reached its second-highest height on record, surpassing levels from a devastating flood in 1987. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick emphasized that it was the responsibility of local mayors and counties to order evacuations if necessary, as the exact path of the storm was uncertain.
At a news conference, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly admitted that the county lacked a warning system for the river. When questioned about the lack of evacuations on Thursday, Kelly responded, “We didn’t know this flood was coming.”
The region continued to face heavy rainfall on Saturday, leading to flash flood emergency warnings in Burnet County and parts of Williamson County and Travis County.
The devastating floods serve as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of weather events and the importance of having robust warning systems in place to protect communities from such disasters.
