News

No warning at all, eh? Well, the NWS did their jobs but if you have to count on podunk county officials to alert you, then I suggest you invest in a NOAA weather radio. They're not expensive and could save your life.

• Thursday, June 3. A Flood Watch for Central Texas was issued by the local National Weather Service Office in Austin/San Antonio. The watch was in effect through Friday morning and warned of the chance for rainfall totals upwards of 5 to 7 inches, which would lead to excessive runoff and flooding along rivers, creeks, and streams.

• Later Thursday evening, the Weather Prediction Center highlighted the same region with an increasing threat for slow-moving thunderstorms that could dump rainfall rates of 3 inches an hour.

• It was around midnight on Friday, June 4, when the first few thunderstorms began dumping heavy rainfall in central Texas. About an hour later, the first Flash Flood Warning was issued by the National Weather Service at around 1:14 a.m. This warning also included the "considerable" tag, which should have triggered wireless emergency alerts to go out to cell phones and NOAA Weather Radios.

• Then at 3:35 a.m., the original warning was upgraded and included the verbiage, "Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life." Less than 30 minutes later, the warning was upgraded again to a Flash Flood Emergency and would have triggered the wireless emergency alerts once again.

• Finally, at 5:34 a.m., a Flash Flood Warning for the Guadalupe River mentioned the "large and deadly flood wave" that was observed and moving down the river. Dozens of weather alerts were issued thereafter as the flood event unfolded across central Texas.

There was plenty of warning but the incompetent emergency managers in these communities dropped the ball. Every emergency vehicle in the flood area should have been running with lights and sirens ahead of he flood and giving warning over loudspeakers. They could have woke up everyone and given them a chance to flee to high ground. Instead, the managers mostly just counted on the cell phone alert system which works very poorly in the area because there are few cell towers.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said that it was unclear whether there was any communication between law enforcement and Camp Mystic after the initial flood watch alert went out but that the lack of proper cell service and limited communications towers in the Hill Country remain “very challenging.”

Oh, and the kids at Camp Mystic were not allowed to have cell phones.

And this is when the government is just starting to strip out everything it used to do for the benefit of the people.

SO MANY people are going to die needlessly in the coming years.

Have the death you voted for.

Texas keeps being surprised by weather.

I just read a headline about how accurately these floods were forecast. How did they not know? Is Facebook how people get flood warnings?

Every time the dumbass Texans get fucked by their representatives the question their leadership for about a month from what I've seen 😂 then back to business as usual. they love the free market so much I'll bet they still haven't winterized their infrastructure after that cold snap that destroyed a bunch of people's houses. They probably don't even think about it anymore, guess we will find out the next time that it happens

Remember when there was a natural disaster on the East Coast and when there were fires in California and Texans said it was God’s judgment?

I do.

It is almost like dumb shit Republicans are going to get you killed.

This area is prone to flooding, according to scientists. This is when floods happen, according to scientists. Forecasters sent flood warnings hours in advance, based on the data.

Officials did not pass the word along. Massively fucking stupid thing to do. Waiting 4 hours and then you post to social media?

Parents had their kids staying in camps "without technology." In flood lands, during flood season. Massively stupid thing to do. I mean how fucked in the head are these parents? They put their kids directly in harms way, took away their communication, and now many are dead.

We've known for decades that Texas has loose regulations allowing development to ignore flooding concerns. "Texas shoulders the most urban stormwater runoff of any state in the country ". After Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston in 2017, everyone was talking about the development issue, but alas, mostly just about Houston instead the state as a whole.

Post Harvey, The Atlantic had a big piece on how, "The combination of climate change and aggressive development made an event like this almost inevitable."

Also from that 2017 disaster, The Washington Post concluded:

Thus, to ensure acceptable stormwater-system performance, jurisdictional agencies and officials must ensure that the type, timing and amount of real estate development are in sync with the capacity and configuration of the jurisdiction’s storm system. Many communities are at risk because of overbuilding or for allowing building in areas with inadequate infrastructure.

Some argued that "Houston isn't flooded because of its land use planning" ... but while the author there is an expert in urban planning, he is not an expert in hydrology.

Of course the recent tragedy was no where near Houston. It was closer to Austin and San Antonio. On Austin: "Flash flooding is a pressing concern for Austin, so much so that it has been labeled the "Flash Flood Alley" of Texas." On San Santonio:

San Antonio is a populated area in one of the most flash-flood prone regions in North America. SARA manages a series of structural controls (dams and drainage systems) to help prevent and/or reduce flood problems. For example, the San Antonio River Tunnels (see illustration) proved invaluable as they diverted water safely underneath downtown during the 1998 and 2002 floods.

I don't want to hear "No warning at all." This was a risk known for decades where the state and municipalities decided they'd rather allow an eventual catastrophe than spend the money needed to prevent one.

/Leopards_Ate_My_Face has entered the chat

What do Republicans (fascists) actually want or even do? Besides raising taxes, expanding military budget, war, dismantling institutions and programs, and rounding up immigrants. Crazy people vote for them, they literally dismantle everything to line their pocketbooks. They have no actual policy.

Furthermore, they don't think there is anything you can do about weather/climate change, school and mass shootings, housing, education, healthcare, etc. Anytime some major event or catastrophe happens... "these things just happen, nothing you can do about it! Thoughts and prayers! Let's not make it political."

And then we just move on, with no actions being taken at all while everything around us just gets worse. Yes you CAN do things to help mitigate weather disasters and school shootings and all the rest. If they don't think there is a way why are they in leadership positions? That's the hypocrisy.

it's clear that no one can rely on help or warning from "officials" anymore. everyone needs to get themselves prepared for whatever weather disaster might happen in their area. supplies, bug out bags, escape plans--all of that

western NC is still trying to recover from the hurricane last september, with state legislature (all R) bickering and not passing the budget

This is what happens when vital weather data is kept from forecasters and the weather service gets its funding shredded

Good thing Texas Republicans killed the bill that would have expanded the warning systems.

Saw an interview of a guy whose house had like 5 feet of water...

He swam out a broken window, climbed on an electrical box but couldn't make it to the roof so he held on for 3 hours.

He said the phone alarm that there was a warning came thru while he was already outside clinging to the side of his house.