KERR COUNTY, Texas – Moments turned heated Thursday when Texas lawmakers began questioning Kerr County officials about their preparedness and response to the deadly July 4 floods that killed more than 100 people and left hundreds more displaced.
During the hearing, several Kerr County officials testified, including the county’s emergency management chief, the county judge, and the county sheriff.
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Kerrville County Judge Rob Kelly, who was away at his vacation home in Travis County on the morning of the flood, said residents had virtually no warning of the impending weather catastrophe until it was too late.
“We need stronger communications and better broadband so we can communicate better,” he said, adding that poor cell service did not help those along the river. “What we experienced on July 4 was sudden, violent and overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator said he was relieved to have the opportunity to address rumors that he was slow to respond.
William “Dub” Thomas, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator, told lawmakers he was sick the day before the flooding occurred and missed two calls with Texas Emergency Management officials, although he said those calls were routinely followed with written summaries sent to other county leaders, “ensuring that the flow of situational updates remained uninterrupted in my absence.”
Thomas said on the morning of July 4, he was first awakened by his wife around 5:30 a.m., more than an hour after emergency rescue operations were underway, and quickly drove to the sheriff’s office.
“There was no visible flooding on my drive into the office, but it quickly became clear that the situation was escalating,” he said.
During the hearing, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out Judge Kelly, saying he did not see him on July 4, the day of the deadly flood.
“Judge Kelly, I never saw you on day one. I came here from Austin. In this room, I talked to the sheriff multiple times, and I talked to the mayor multiple times. We had a meeting and everyone was here,” Patrick said to Judge Kelly.
“And I wasn’t,” Judge Kelly answered.
“And you were not, and I asked the question, ‘Where’s the county judge?” I have covered multiple emergencies in my 10 years as Lt. governor, and this is about as bad a day you can have, and I have had a lot of bad days... because we didn’t just lose people, we didn’t know where people were, and you weren’t here. I asked where you were for the press conference that night. You weren’t here," Patrick continued.
He then said he and Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha went through the list of all of the camps in the area on July 4 to see if everyone had been accounted for when they learned all of the camps had their people accounted for except for Camp Mystic. He added that Judge Kelly was not in attendance for that meeting either.
“I don’t know where you were on day one on July 4, but you should have been here. You should have been here directing that response. That’s your responsibility,” Patrick said. “I’m not pointing the finger, I’m not blaming you, I just want to set the record straight, everyone was here that day working their a** off, and you were nowhere to be found.
Earlier in the hearing, KPRC 2 also learned that another official was late to respond. Rep. Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat, said that “the three guys in Kerr County who were responsible for sounding the alarm were effectively unavailable” at the height of the emergency, before dawn on July 4.
The judge was away, she said, the sheriff didn’t wake up until 4:20 a.m., and the emergency management coordinator was sick.
According to the timeline of the flood, between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on July 4, the Guadalupe River rapidly surged. By 5:16 a.m., the Kerrville Police Department issued a warning urging those near the river to move to higher ground, followed shortly after by a post from Sheriff Leitha.
The hearing comes as lawmakers have had to address flood relief amid a busy 30-day legislative special session that has included a highly-partisan sprint by Republicans to redraw the state’s maps to pick up five more seats in the U.S. House.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott added flood relief and disaster preparedness to the agenda items shortly after calling a special session in June.
Lawmakers have filed bills to provide funding for early warning systems, improve emergency communications, and strengthen flood infrastructure in flood-prone areas.
Residents along the Guadalupe River have said they were caught off guard and had no warning when rainfall struck.
Kerr County does not have a warning system along the river after several missed opportunities by state and local agencies to finance one.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
