Texas floods live updates: Camp Mystic emergency plan approved 2 days before disaster

Russel Honoré, a retired Army general who helped manage relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, told The Wall Street Journal the deaths at Camp Mystic were the result of “a major failure in alert and evacuation.”

At least 27 young girls and staff members died at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp situated on the bank of the Guadalupe River.

Other public officials, like Senator Ted Cruz, have said the summer camps should have been evacuated ahead of the floods.

Texas officials warned the public of flash flooding for two days before the Guadalupe River swelled, the Journal reports. The Texas Division of Emergency Management had also prepared water rescue boats in Kerr County on Thursday.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz spoke about the floods during a confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, who has been nominated to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NBC News reports.

“Those little girls never heard the warning,” Cruz said, referring to the young girls attending Camp Mystic who died.

Cruz added: “What can be done to more effectively protect human lives?”

At least 119 people have been killed by the Texas floods as of Wednesday afternoon.

95 people have been killed in Kerr County, including 36 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Wednesday.

More than 160 people remain missing throughout central Texas.

Governor Greg Abbott ordered flags in Texas to be lowered to half-mast in honor of those who died in the catastrophic floods.

“Texas stands united in mourning and in our resolve to support those who strive to heal and recover,” Abbott said in a statement. “May God bring comfort to every family affected and strength to the thousands of first responders still working on the ground.”

At least 111 people have died in Texas, and another 173 are still missing.

The Department of Defense shared a video of a dramatic Coast Guard rescue of several people stranded in Kerville as flash flooding devastated the area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent fewer than 100 staffers to Texas in the wake of Friday’s devastating flooding.

By comparison, the state has deployed nearly 1,800 responders.

Kelly Rissman has the story:

President Donald Trump has proposed phasing out the federal emergency management agency

As the death toll continues to rise following the devastating flash floods in the Texas Hill Country, state lawmakers are expected to review the emergency alert system and consider additional measures to help prevent future tragedies.

State legislators are set to meet in a special session on July 21 to address potential shortcomings in the current system after reports emerged that not all people received warnings of the approaching floods.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who controls the special session agenda, told reporters Tuesday that the emergency alert system is “going to be one of the issues that we begin to address in less than two weeks in the state legislature.”

“We’re going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure that we’re going to have in place the systems that are needed to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future,” he said.

Lemos Bridge, which crosses the Guadalupe River on FM 394, has reopened after being littered with debris and battered by floodwaters.

The Texas Department of Transportation worked around the clock to clear the roadway with sweepers clearing the final debris on Tuesday evening.

“FRANCISCO LEMOS BRIDGE REOPENED BY TXDOT,” wrote the City of Kerrville Facebook account late Tuesday.

Ingram Volunteer Fire Department Chief Diana Baccus fought back tears as she described seeing people

The veteran firefighter, who worked the deadly Hill Country floods in 1978 and 1987, is leading a team of 700 responders sweeping a 70-mile area.

In five decades working in Central Texas, the Fourth of July flooding of the Guadalupe River was the worst she had ever seen.

“I’ve spent about 35 years trying to suppress a memory from 1987 and in about 30 seconds it came back in a rush, literally, with 30ft of water on top of my head,” she told KHOU 11 on Tuesday.

“I saw RVs being slammed up against trees and literally exploding. I saw children floating in the water begging for help that we could not reach,” she continued. “That takes it out of you. I can’t say I’m OK. But I’m going to do my job.”

What began as a routine flood watch quickly devolved into a deadly disaster.

The National Weather Service predicted between one and three inches of rain, with some isolated spots possibly getting five to seven inches. Instead, parts of Kerr County were slammed with 10 to 15 inches, and in some places, over 20 inches, within a few hours.

The storm is believed to be fueled by warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and leftovers from Tropical Storm Barry, according to San Antonio Express-News meteorologist Anthony Franze.

What began as a routine flood developed into a deadly disaster, with the death toll now in triple digits