Understanding flash flood risks in Texas and why residents were not prepared

THE deluge that killed nearly 80 people along fast-surging Texas rivers two Fridays ago struck a region that has grappled with deadly floods before.

- 

And yet, the magnitude of the disaster exposed gaps in its ability to warn people, including a delayed flood risk alert from Kerr County and stalled development of a flood monitoring system.

This swath of Central Texas is the most flash-flood prone region in the country, and officials know the Hill Country’s terrain can turn slow, shallow rivers into walls of water. But even as weather forecasts began to hint at the potential for heavy rain the day before, the response exposed a disconnect: Few, including local authorities, prepared for anything but their normal Fourth of July.

When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours of Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites and cabins that were known to be in the floodplain.

A review of wireless emergency data from a public database that pulls in Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System shows that the county did not send its first Amber Alert-style push until Sunday.