Texas flood response faces scrutiny over response to catastrophic, deadly flooding

BEFORE heading to bed before the Fourth of July holiday, Christopher Flowers checked the weather while staying at a friend's house along the Guadalupe River. Nothing in the forecast alarmed him.

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Hours later, he was rushing to safety: He woke up in darkness to electrical sockets popping and ankle-deep water. Quickly, his family scrambled nine people into the attic. Phones buzzed with alerts; Flowers recalled Saturday, but he did not remember when in the chaos they started. "What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now," Flowers, 44, s