First Texas flood hearing reveals gap in disaster training
First hearing on July 4th flooding
The first of several legislative hearings into the Fourth of July flooding took place at the Texas Capitol.
AUSTIN, Texas - The first of several legislative hearings into the Fourth of July flooding took place on Wednesday.
The hearing involved a rare joint meeting of House and Senate committees that are trying to determine how to improve disaster planning and response.
Disaster Preparedness and Flooding hearing
Members of the House and Senate Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding met together in order to fast track the review process.
It was clear the committee wanted more than quick assessments regarding the response.
"This select committee was formed because 137 people are dead, including a number of eight-year-old little girls out of a camp. And while I don't think anybody wants to point fingers, I do think we want the most honest assessment of what went wrong," said State Rep. Ann Johnson (D) Houston.
The storm that triggered flash flooding in the Texas Hill Country and Central Texas dropped more rain than initially expected. Two days before it hit, state resources were deployed across a wide threat zone. The committee was told the area was 35,000 square miles, about the size of the state of Indiana.
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TDEM Chief Nim Kidd testified that proactive steps were taken, which included contacting local authorities. But he reminded the committee that his agency, by law, is not in control of the local response.
"Under Chapter 418, elected mayors and county judges are the emergency management directors for their communities," said Chief Kidd.
The committee was shown how a flash flood watch for the Texas Hill Country came on July 3. That brought questions about what was and wasn’t done to prepare, and how much protection a warning siren can provide.
"We have to find a way to give the locals more tools and more confidence so that if they believe they need to make the call and if it's 12 hours out, they make it or, preferably in an event like this, after looking at where the camp was specifically, shelter in place and get on the roof. Some of the kids were actually able to climb up the wall of the canyon because they had enough notice, so that's probably the best case scenario until technology proves different. That at some point higher ground is the only option you've got, but it can't be, it cannot be when you see the river cresting," said Sen. Charles Perry (R) Lubbock.
Advisories from the NWS escalated shortly after midnight on July 4. And at 1:15 a.m. a flood warning was issued for Ingram and Hunt.
Houston Republican Paul Bettencourt asked Chief Kidd when he got his first call that people were on rooftops, and did they need help?
"4.56 a.m.," said Chief Kidd.
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At the state operations center in Austin, the alerts were seen by the overnight staff.
That brought an exchange between Chief Kidd and State Sen. Jose Menendez (D) San Antonio.
SEN. MENENDEZ: "At that point, do they make a concerted effort to communicate that, to make sure that the people in that area, where that flooding is occurring, do they know this is happening? Do they communicate that and do they receive, are they acknowledged that they receive that information?"
CHIEF NIM KIDD: "There is no system in place today to ensure that County Judge X or Mayor Y or Emergency Manager Z is getting the same information that we are getting from the National Weather Service.
SEN. MENENDEZ: "You do see the problem with that, right?"
CHIEF NIM KIDD: "Senator, I do."
That communication problem revealed a training gap. There is no uniform state certification process for local emergency managers.
The committee was reminded by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R) Brenham that a study group already recommended changing that in a report that was issued five years ago.
"I'm not sure what happened after that report was issued. It was issued during the pandemic. And I think that it's something that we probably need to look into," said Kolkhorst.
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That local emergency training issue is expected to come next week. State lawmakers will hold a hearing in Kerrville and local officials are expected to testify.
There was also a clarification about a past request for a warning system in Kerr County, which became a hot political issue. The state did approve a $50,000 grant and a $950,000 0% loan for the Upper Guadalupe River Authority to install warning devices. There were media reports that the state had rejected a request for funding.
The Source: Information from a Texas Special Session hearing