Turns out we need NOAA, FEMA, etc. : Texas tragedy

[Lemon Drop2]

As this horrible flash flood tragedy on the Guadelupe River in Central Texas plays out, hard not to see how federal budget cuts to the weather service and emergency services may have played a role.

Not to mention that Kerr county has no warning system!?!  Texas spends billions on "border security," maybe some investment elsewhere is warranted. 

How agonizing for the entire area impacted, especially the parents of the 2 dozen girl campers still missing. I'm astonished how that could happen, as someone who spent decades with youth camping organizations.  I pray the girls are safe somehow awaiting rescue,  but it seems unlikely at this late stage.

[ThePosterFormallyKnownasbfd]

As this horrible flash flood tragedy on the Guadelupe River in Central Texas plays out, hard not to see how federal budget cuts to the weather service and emergency services may have played a role.

Not to mention that Kerr county has no warning system!?!  Texas spends billions on "border security," maybe some investment elsewhere is warranted. 

How agonizing for the entire area impacted, especially the parents of the 2 dozen girl campers still missing. I'm astonished how that could happen, as someone who spent decades with youth camping organizations.  I pray the girls are safe somehow awaiting rescue,  but it seems unlikely at this late stage.

Horrible situation, but only Donald can fix it. No need for FEMA, NOAA, et al. 

“Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday. “Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy.”

What's unspoken here is that he'll determine which disasters merit fixing.

[RAMd®d]

What's unspoken here is that he'll determine which disasters merit fixing.


I've often thought he sits on his golden throne, deigning to give a thumbs up or thumbs down when deciding the fate of  any response to any situation from his Government.

Then I remembered what his idea of a golden throne was, and perished the thoughts.

Naturally, my first thought of who should respond to assess the degree of aid needed, would be CFDT's sock puppet, Noem.

/s

[RonT (aka Ombligo)]

Forecasters in the Austin-New Braunfels National Weather Service office issued a flash flood watch at 1:18 p.m. Thursday - the Flash flood hit the area 2+ hours later.

Seems like the NWS did its job, and the issue rests with the camp not getting warned by local authorities. There should have been time to evacuate; often, it is just a matter of moving a short distance to higher ground.

[Lemon Drop2]

Forecasters in the Austin-New Braunfels National Weather Service office issued a flash flood watch at 1:18 p.m. Thursday - the Flash flood hit the area 2+ hours later.

Seems like the NWS did its job, and the issue rests with the camp not getting warned by local authorities. There should have been time to evacuate; often, it is just a matter of moving a short distance to higher ground.



As I'm understanding it, those first alerts were pretty mild, not enough to lead to evacuations.  The amount of rain was underestimated. 
The "life threatening emergency" alerts didn't go out until 4 am Friday morning. With no county alert system, the people at the camp slept through that, until the river overtook them. 

[RAMd®d]

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters that it is up to local mayors and counties to evacuate if they feel the need and many were unsure where the storm would land.

At a news conference Friday, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the county does not have a warning system on the river.

Kelly was pressed by a reporter as to why evacuations didn't take place Thursday, but the judge said, "We didn't know this flood was coming."

"We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here, none whatsoever," he said. 


So the State and County disavow all knowledge to make a clean getaway.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/night-texas-of...=123499929

32 dead at the time of the link.


Now, could a portable radio, at the campsite(s) tuned to the NWS have been able to provide a warning? 

Radio reception can be spotty in hilly terrain and in valleys.

Or a sat phone to receive notifications from someone in the organization monitoring the NWS?


This isn't a criticism of the campers, but a question of how they might be more self-reliant and make their own decisions when the county doesn't deem an NWS advisory as seeing it coming.

[Lemon Drop2]

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters that it is up to local mayors and counties to evacuate if they feel the need and many were unsure where the storm would land.

At a news conference Friday, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the county does not have a warning system on the river.

Kelly was pressed by a reporter as to why evacuations didn't take place Thursday, but the judge said, "We didn't know this flood was coming."

"We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what's happened here, none whatsoever," he said. 


So the State and County disavow all knowledge to make a clean getaway.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/night-texas-of...=123499929

32 dead at the time of the link.


Now, could a portable radio, at the campsite(s) tuned to the NWS have been able to provide a warning? 

Radio reception can be spotty in hilly terrain and in valleys.

Or a sat phone to receive notifications from someone in the organization monitoring the NWS?


This isn't a criticism of the campers, but a question of how they might be more self-reliant and make their own decisions when the county doesn't deem an NWS advisory as seeing it coming.