Here’s Why Texas Lacked A Flood Warning System When Everyone Knew It Needed

Topline

One week after deadly flash floods killed at least 120 people in central Texas, a raft of new reporting increasingly aims the blame at state and local officials for failing to build a suggested warning system—and taxpayers for refusing to pay for one.

A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris on July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Kerr County officials knew for a decade that a better flood warning system would serve the local community well, meeting minutes obtained by the Texas Tribune show, but one was not in place when last week’s floods hit the state for several reasons.

One reason: Texas state officials repeatedly rejected requests from Kerry County to pay for such a warning system, estimated to cost about $1 million, and turned away the county’s applications at least three times between 2017 and 2024 for various reasons, the New York Times reported.

Another: Local officials also failed to act when they were given $10 million under the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act money in 2021 and, instead of using it on storm-related infrastructure as the grant encouraged, allocated it to other public safety projects, county employee raises and a new walking path, according to the Texas Tribune.

Kerr County’s own voters are getting blamed, as well, by local officials who say there was little public support for a system: “Generally everybody’s for doing something until it gets down to the details of paying for it,” Harvey Hilderbran, the former state representative from Kerr County, told the Tribune.

Trump’s FEMA also blamed: Sources inside FEMA told CNN and the New York Times that new policies put in place by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delayed the deployment of search and rescue crews by 72 hours, delayed a request from the state for aerial imagery and have led to longer wait times at a federally staffed disaster call center.

Texas officials initially tried to put fault on the National Weather Service early on in the flood recovery efforts, claiming the agency did not properly convey the storm’s threat, but experts have since said the warnings issued were as timely and accurate as could have been expected.

However: Some former NWS officials told the Times that while the warnings may have been up to par, cuts to the NWS and early retirement incentives doled out under President Donald Trump led to staffing shortages in the central Texas office that may have impacted the NWS’ ability to communicate with local authorities in the hours after the warnings were issued.

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.

Crucial Quote

“Who’s to blame? Know this, that’s the word choice of losers,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday responded to a reporter’s question about who is at fault for the tragedy. “The way winners talk is not to point fingers. They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions.” Abbott has called for a special legislative session to start later this month to look at how to strengthen the state’s future response to flooding including items on flood warning systems and communications, natural disaster preparedness and relief funding.

Surprising Fact

Taking the American Rescue Plan Act money granted to Kerr County back in 2021 at all was a controversial move in the conservative area, which voted for Donald Trump in all three of the last elections. A survey sent to residents about the money showed that 42% of the 180 respondents wanted to reject the $10 million grant altogether, according to the Tribune. Local taxpayers didn’t want to be beholden to the Biden administration, with one resident telling Kerr County commissioners, “We don’t want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much. We’d like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money,” the Tribune reported. Another resident asked the commissioners to send all of the money “back to the Biden administration, which I consider to be the most criminal treasonous communist government ever to hold the White House.”

Key Background

Rapid rainfall hit central Texas on July 4, pushing Guadalupe River levels more than 32 feet and devastating nearby communities. The rising waters made for the deadliest inland flooding event in Texas in almost 50 years, and the death toll as of Friday accounted for at least 120 people with another 160 still missing. Among the victims are at least 35 children. At least 27 people, including children and counselors, died at a generations-old, all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic, where former First Lady Barbara Bush was once a counselor. It’s unclear how many people could have been saved if Kerr County had a flood warning system, but Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said there “should have been sirens here.” Officials in Kerr County have said they are “committed to a transparent and full review of past actions.”

What To Watch For

Changes to the NWS. Noem said that Trump wants to improve the agency’s warning system and “renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.”