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Lawmakers Expose Leadership Absences and Alert Delays at Kerrville Flood Hearing

Hearings uncovered a nearly 40-minute delay in CodeRED warnings alongside key officials being unavailable, prompting legislators to draft bills covering emergency alerts, communication upgrades and flood infrastructure improvements.

Crews work on the Cade Loop Bridge to clear debris after flooding along the Guadalupe River on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Ingram, Texas.
A chair stands amid the ruins of a house near the Guadalupe River, in Hunt, Texas, U.S., July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Overview

  • State lawmakers convened on July 31 in Kerrville to hear testimony that Judge Rob Kelly was out of town and senior emergency officials were asleep as catastrophic flash floods unfolded.
  • A CodeRED mobile alert requested at 4:22 a.m. on July 4 was not issued until 5:01 a.m., leaving residents without timely warning of the life-threatening floods.
  • Lawmaker scrutiny extended to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority for not spending budgeted funds on local flood monitoring and relying solely on National Weather Service data.
  • Survivors and community members recounted harrowing rescues, the absence of outdoor sirens since 1999 and broadband gaps that hindered timely communication.
  • The Legislature’s Select Committee is drafting legislation to fund outdoor warning sirens, expand broadband, enhance early-warning systems and strengthen flood infrastructure.