What Tragedy Can Teach Us About Climate Preparedness

There are at least 160 people, including several young girls who were at summer camp, still missing amid the devastating floods that took place in Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. At least 119 people, including 36 children, have been confirmed dead. This is a catastrophic loss.

As CBS reports, “survivors have described the floods as a ‘pitch black wall of death’ and said they received no emergency warnings.” Residents and summer camps along the Guadalupe River were not told to evacuate and only got an alert warning at 4 a.m., as the river had already begun to rise. Many have described the incident as “a 100-year flood”—meaning it was one of the worst and most powerful floods of the past century. According to the Austin American-Statesman, at the flood’s peak at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the river unleashed 111,000 cubic feet of water per second.

Kerr County officials say they had previously presented a proposal for an upgraded flood warning system, like other communities have for tornadoes, but, as CBS reports, “the public reeled at the cost.” That looks short-sighted and misguided now. From a climate perspective, we know extreme weather and disasters like this flood are getting worse and more frequent. And climate-smart emergency preparedness is one of the best defenses against that looming unknown. It is up to every one of us to make that clear to anyone (elected or otherwise) who is willing to listen.

I really appreciated this op-ed in the Texas Observer, from a survivor of another massive flood in 2002, also on Independence Day. Parts of Hill Country are known as “flash flood alley,” notes the author Chaney Hill, who found herself at a summer camp when the flood hit more than 20 years ago.

“Flash floods seem to come from nowhere—unexpected, sudden, terrifying. They seemingly manifest as sudden and inevitable events. This simply isn’t accurate, though. Weather events such as the one that led to the 2002 floods were exacerbated by a number of things: an ongoing drought, weather patterns leading up to the rain, as well as the implementation of policies and practices of the landowners near the headwaters,” Hill writes. “The flood did not come from nowhere: It was an effect of larger historical, structural, and environmental processes.”

Heavy words to reflect on, and I’m hoping that as officials, local leaders and survivors process this trauma, there are some lessons we can all learn. I am wishing for speed in finding those who are still missing, and peace for those who have been lost. Stay safe out there.

— Chloe Sorvino

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Featured Story

I Remember the 2002 Fourth of July Hill Country Floods. This Year, The Water Returned.

In an op-ed for the Texas Observer, Chaney Hill writes about memories from another instance of the Guadalupe River flooding more than 20 years ago, and the lessons that can be learned from climate disasters.

JBS Watch

I was thrilled to have my reporting on meat-packing giant JBS (and my book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat) featured in this mini-doc made by More Perfect Union. Give it a watch!

The Feed

Who’s Got That MAHA Feeling?: The New York Times reports on two of the biggest hold-outs against the Make America Healthy Again push to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic food dyes: M&Ms and Froot Loops. Candy and cereal are some of the worst offenders when it comes to using these dyes, and Mars-owned M&Ms, for example, isn’t yet swayed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s movement. While Mars recently removed the whitening agent titanium dioxide from Skittles, that’s just one ingredient among others that MAHA questions, and M&Ms and other iconic candies are not yet being reformulated. Mars attempted to go synthetic-dye-free in 2016, the NYT reports, but abandoned plans after consumer tests indicated that U.S. shoppers preferred the artificial versions. Mars is America’s fourth-largest privately held company, with $50 billion in 2024 revenue. Its six heirs share a fortune that tops $100 billion in all.

It’s Getting Hot In Here: Fossil fuels are embedded throughout the food system, writes Forbes contributor Errol Schweizer, and a study showing that the usage of fossil fuels is growing is cause for concern. But Schweizer puts forth another way forward where “fossil fuel dependence is not inevitable.”

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Mozzarella: Or maybe we should. In Centre County, Pennsylvania, a crash of three tractor-trailers left the contents of one truck—mozzarella cheese—spilling out onto Interstate 80. According to Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI, partially ripped boxes of mozzarella stretched the length of two football fields.

Field Notes

The grilled clams at The Place in Guilford, Connecticut—pictured here are the famous “house special” (read: cocktail sauce heavy, in a good way). This tented, open-fire institution has been dishing out grilled clams, lobsters, steaks and corn since 1971. It’s worth a detour to, as The Place’s T-shirts say, “put your rump on a stump” under its red and white striped big tent. And it’s a good recommendation to keep in mind, especially if you find yourself roadtripping along Interstate 95 this summer—The Place is roughly 30 minutes north of New Haven. Cash only (with an ATM on-site) and BYOB.

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