The number of people who have died from the flooding in Texas continues to rise, with at least 119 dead throughout the state, officials said on Wednesday morning.
Search crews continue to look for people, as residents and news organizations question the government’s alarm and warning systems.
In Kerr county, the area that was worst affected by last Friday’s flood, officials said on Wednesday morning that 95 people had died. The other 24 people who have died are from surrounding areas. The Kerr county sheriff said 59 adults and 36 children had died, with 27 bodies still unidentified.
People are slowly returning to their properties to survey the damage from the devastating flash flood, as local officials continue with rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts.
There are 161 people believed to be missing in Kerr county due to the flash floods, making up the majority of the 173 missing in the entire state. Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp that was gravely affected by the flood, still has five campers and one counselor missing.
As cleanup efforts continue, more and more people are scrutinizing the government’s alert system to warn people before the flood. Journalistic investigations have revealed that first responders asked that a mass-alert system in Kerr county be triggered on Friday morning. The alert system sends text messages and “delivers pre-recorded emergency telephone messages” to some people in the area.
Dispatchers delayed a 4.22am request from volunteer firefighters for an alert to be sent, saying they needed special authorization, according to reporting from Texas Public Radio (TPR) based on emergency radio transmissions they reviewed. Some residents received flood warnings within an hour. Others told TPR they did not receive an alert until 10am – nearly six hours after first responders’ request. A separate story from KSAT confirms TPR’s reporting.
There are inconsistencies regarding local officials’ response. In his first press conference on 4 July after the flood, the Kerr county judge said the area did not have an emergency alert system.
“I believe those questions need to be answered, to the families of the missed loved ones, to the public, you know, to the people who put me in this office. And I want that answer and we’re going to get that answer,” the Kerr county sheriff, Larry Leitha, said.
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“We’re not running, we’re not going to hide. That’s going to be checked into at a later time.”
There are no outdoor weather sirens to blast alerts in some communities in the area. Since 2015, Kerr county officials have applied for grants for a flood warning system, the New York Times reported. For years, officials have also warned the series of summer camps in the area of incoming floods by word-of-mouth. A Change.org petition was launched after the flood for an early warning siren system and has more than 35,000 signatures.
Rescue and recovery efforts are continuing. The Kerr county sheriff’s department is working on rescue and recovery efforts, the sheriff said, adding that it was an “all hands on deck” situation.
During Wednesday’s press conference, local officials asked people to be careful and give search crews space during their efforts. “We are using very heavy equipment” to search and clear up fallen trees and debris, a sheriff official said.
On Sunday, the Trump administration declared the flooding a “major disaster” and deployed federal resources to assist the state.