CARE County, KXAN – Local officials in CARE County continue to face public audit days after questions appear about their willingness and response to the sudden flood on July 4, which left dozens. Attention comes, as the records reviewed by KXan reveal the leaders who in 2024 decided that the boycott “is likely to” test a flood event next year. “
On Wednesday, during a morning press conference, they updated the number of deaths to 95 with 161 people who were still missing. While avoiding answers about the procedures specified in the hours between the weather warnings and the 30 -foot Guadalobi River, Sherif Larry La Betha said there would be a review “after the movement” after his “priority” to notify the families of the victims.
“We will answer these questions,” Letha told reporters. “I hope you all carry me, well, carry with me. We’ll get it. I can’t tell you when – within a week or two, well?
Sharif also confirmed answers to “the people who put me in this office” regarding concerns about the provincial alerts – which allow subscribers to receive emergency notifications for their mobile devices. The effectiveness of alerts appeared during press events, along with the revelation that CARE province does not have a system of warning devices – such as sirens – to alert the public, despite a decade of failed attempts to finance and install such a system.
Officials, such as provincial judge, Rob Kelly, confirmed that they “do not know that this flood is coming”, although the national weather service issued a flooding hour on Thursday – the day before the catastrophe. It also issued a warning against floods at 1:14 am on Friday, still hours before The river hit its length.
The boycott did not fully explain the time of evacuation. At 5:31 am, I made a preliminary post on Facebook: “Be safe and move to a higher land. Don’t lead to water. Take – don’t drown!” After a minute, Sharif’s office republished NWS information on his Facebook page, adding: “If you are near the water, move to a land above immediately. Stay on low water crossings – turn away, don’t sink!”
The ruler Dan Patrick also said that the Texas Emergency Department is communicating directly with the provincial judges and mayors about the weather forecast on the day before the flood. At the press conference on Wednesday, the mayor of Kerrville Joe Herring, JR. He “did not receive a phone call” and did not know the resources that existed. He did not confirm whether Kelly was part of any call.
“I did not call for the call,” Hering said. “Maybe I am not a local mayor. I can’t say.”
In response to these claims, KXan requested a record of communication between local leaders, NWS, TDEM and other state officials – along with any emergency notifications – to better understand decisions regarding communication and their general warnings.
“This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods regularly – when it rains, we get the water,” Kelly said on Friday. “We had no reason to believe that this would be like what happened here, nothing at all.”
But KXAN’s review of the latest risk mitigating plan shows that officials who have known for years were a big threat in the region – and was getting worse.
Risk Reducing Plan
Under the 2000 federal disaster mitigation law, the boycott must have a local risk reduction plan from the approved emergency agency in order to be eligible to obtain some mitigation boxes before and after disasters. The latest 220 -page plan was officially adopted by Kelly Commissioners and County, then they came to Fema in April.
The stakeholders included in the boycott plan, the cities of Ingram and Kurville, the Kurville Independent School area, the Kurville Council for Public Utilities and the Supreme Guadalubi River. The actors who collected the plan included Kiir County and the Emergency Administration Coordinator in Kurville, Kurville, the firefighter leader and the general manager of UGRA.
The group met twice, starting in March 2024, and conducted public communication in May and October of that year. Their research included historical weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the previous mitigation plan for the province from 2018 and the flood damage ceremonies in the province, Kurville and Anmangram – which have identified construction requirements and restrictions on the structures of the flood plains.
Emergency Management Coordinator in CARE Province, William B. At this stage, the planning team is supposed to re -evaluate and update the document, giving members an opportunity to “determine modern losses due to natural risks and consider whether any of these losses can be avoided.” Thomas did not respond to KXan inquiries.
The plan is observed under the “possibility of future events”, and the group “I decided that Kiir and the participating judicial states will witness a flood event next year, which means a possible event in the next three years.”
Goals and goals
The plan has in detail at least 106 “flood accidents” dating back to 1960, including the two recently included in 2018 – both of them flooded without injuries, death or property damage. The recent flood events throughout the province indicated up to 10 inches of flood water and that “the worst flood events” in the future can exceed those depths.
A section on “Effect” could include:
- The population temporarily loses energy due to the drop -off power lines;
- Motors and residents who were cut off and rescue.
- The structures that are flooded by water, damaged, or even washing completely;
- The methods that are washed;
- Emergency care centers have limited access.
Although it is unlikely that the danger of a 500-year-old flood-which has a 0.2 % opportunity in any certain year-has been described as “not” in the plan. It is also mentioned that climate change can make the river flood more frequent.
Among the main goals of the plan is to reduce the loss of lives and injury, with specific goals, including:
- Improving delivery and effectiveness of warning messages;
- Reducing obstacles to evacuation in time and safe for flood risk areas.
Regarding the previous mitigation plan for the boycott from 2018, the updated plan has defined the procedures that have not yet been implemented – or under progress – but are still necessary, including:
- Create a program to educate the public about the mitigation procedures specified for all risks (Under progress; medium priority; estimated cost – less than $ 10,000 per risk)
- A local warning system proposal to reduce the potential effects of future flooding events (Developing planning for modernization; medium priority; estimated cost – less than a million dollars)
KXan is awaiting a response from the boycott about the implementation of the plan and whether it has been followed during a flood last week.