I cannot imagine a scenario where deputies/fire/etc could not have notified people outside of cell service in the year 2025. For fires in California, Tornadoes in Texas and OK, we manage to get people to safety (even though that structure may fail) but in this case it appears there is a failure to notify based on the preliminary reports and history of the region with flooding and reports from the NWS stating there was flood potential July 1, 2 and 3.
Tragic, tragic, tragic. If we can alert people to tornadoes across the Midwest, we can alert people to flash flooding unless something is broken.
When there are kids involved, there are other totally unpredictable risks having nothing to do with weather that warrant having at least one adult awake and keeping an eye out. Someone should have been able to raise an alarm; although having seen how fast a flash flood can hit, even someone watching might have been caught unaware of how dangerous the situation was until too late.
They had a night watchman. There was responses. the water rose 27 feet in less than 1 hourâŚwe hear âflood warningâ and âflash flood warningâ all the time. At some point, you just donât take it that serious anymore. For the mystic camp, the water came down over the hill, that increased speed and powerâŚout of over 700 kids there, most that were lost were from 2 cabins that were taken out completely. This was my back yard a few years ago. You just donât ever think water will go that farâŚthatâs a heavy metal box crossing the yardâŚ
Thereâs a reason why most any edition of Aesopâs Fables typically includes âThe Boy Who Cried Wolfâ - in SPECIFIC regard to raising unfounded alarm having for so long produced the oft-deleterious effect of dulling our senses to ACTUAL threats.
Complacency is no substitute for observance, to be sure - yet it is quite-demonstrably elsewise true that even a singular instance of false-flagging, especially if a general consensus is likely to be formed that such even could be the case, in any-given community of observers, can indeed slant the opinions of said observers towards the former (complacency) far more than the latter (observance) in our modern technologically-dominated Mortal Coil.
Ahead of the flash flood that shocked my little town last summer, I admit I got 3 Flash Flood Warning alerts on my flip phone, which I confess I was annoyed by. Me: âThis warning is for those ânear a river or whateverâ, and Iâm notâ. But the wall of water raced down the whole valley; it wasnât a case of a creek or river near me rising up.
And since arriving back in this area this spring, weâve had two more, separate, times when our phones have alerted us again with flash flood warnings â and nothing happened. The first time I tensed up because of what happened last August, but by the second time I pretty much just shrugged! So hard to know what to do.
Itâs so tragic, there is SO much to do down in Texas just to try to get lives back together. I hope and pray the focus will be on helping the victims. RATIONAL instead of frantic, on-the-spot blame-apportioning, and hopefully, fixing what systems can be fixed, needs to come next, not first.
And this is why, despite complaining about every time it goes off, I have a Midland NOAA weather radio by my bed. Iâm not in a flood zone, so I have those turned off (as far as I can), but night time weather is deadlier because people will not get the warnings/canât see the threat.
I also keep my phone on DND past 10PM, so, panic attack weather radio wakenings are the only way Iâm going to get the alert.
And unless youâre in range, you canât hear them, much less inside, much less asleep. I could hear the tornado siren at my childhood home on test days, but only barely inside, and if the TV was on, it was not happening - and we were fairly close.
Please donât remind me that itâs hurricane season and I live in the SE during current weather funding. Iâm trying to disassociate about it.
I get the flash flood warnings via AlexaâŚfound one when I woke up today to the thunder outsideâŚopened my front doorâŚit would have been too late and it certainly didnât wake me upâŚ
Agree ⌠we are 3 blocks away from the townâs siren and can barely hear it during the day when we are inside. June 5th when it went off for the tornado, it was muffled even outside because of the wind, heavy rain and hail.
As far as phone alerts, we have ours on at night but, if the cell signal is lost or the electricity goes out, those may or may not come through.
We live in the corner of 4 counties so we have ours set to receive alerts for all 4 counties. On the nights that we have severe thunderstorms, it can go off every 5 to 15 minutes for a couple of hours. Definitely effects the sleep for that night. Since the Midland weather alert radios have a 9 volt battery backup, we know it will work even if we loose power.
Growing up in Wyoming, we have seen how fast and powerful flash floods can come out of the mountains ⌠even when there is no creek or river in the area. Same thing happens in the high deserts in California.
Most of these systems didnât exist when we were growing up. One of the first things we were taught was to always watch the skies because weather can change very quickly.
Sorry, but I have had to listen to an announcement system for over 23 years, they can be plentiful, loud, and awakening because I had to hear them while enjoying an Ambien induced bikini party in my dreams. They only need a power source and a pole every few miles and even come with battery options.
I can see perhaps 5-10 people died because they were non ambulatory, but nearly 100 people?? No, not in 2025 in the United States in a location or region where it happened before.
I am heartbroken for the campers. And for everyone affected. I saw an interview with a man at an RV campground telling about a family of 6 whose RV got pulled into the flow, and he could hear the children screaming as they sped downriver but there was nothing he could do. He was clearly traumatized.
I have a lot of thoughts about how this event was handled, but right now not the energy to think through them clearly. Even in an unforeseeable situation, mistakes were made, and they cost lives. Could every life have been saved? No. But certainly fewer.
Also, to be fair, there has been 150% or more development along the Guadalupe River since my motherâs childhood in the near century since her childhood in the early Depression years. In her view, it was a paradise-a view she retained for the rest of a long-life.
Now a commercial/Capitalist paradise, if you will. Hardly a city block goes by on the ruver banks without hotels/motels, river cabins, camps, public parks, restaurants, dammed numerous places for kayakers and water-sports. An acre of undeveloped land runs 40-50k, that w/ utilities installed, double that.
Many lakes in the area get their water from the Guadalupe, the Comal, the San Antonio River and were enlarged from a dozen creeks/crossings. I wonder how all this development run rampant affected/increased the floods?,
Unfortunately, thatâs the Texas Way, if youâve been to Dallas/Houston or even San Antonio and the counties that surround it, some of the the fastest growing in the nation. Zoning isnât welcomed in many cities. If one has the money, one builds-and one only has to see the commercial development practically up to the door of THE ALAMO-Texasâ most sacred spot- to see Texans take profit very seriously.
Perhaps of lack of flood control systems is a fair assessment. Looking at the central valley of California throughout history, we can see the damaging affects of flooding that have been mitigated since the 50âs thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers using dams and levees.
If Texas is poised to be the next great state for American manufacturing, perhaps some infrastructure work is needed. I mean we canât have factories washed away or people dying of cold when the power goes out, outside of hurricanes of course.
Iâve been seeing some before/after pictures of the flooding, and from what I saw, it did look like a paradise.
I honestly didnât realize that there was that much rich, verdant lushness in TXâmost of what we outsiders see are dry river beds and flat grassy fields, and then my personal experience (recounted elsewhere) of the longest desert fence ever.
Thereâs a reason why Arizona & New Mexico were the last two of the âContinental 48â (âcontiguousâ) territories to be granted statehood.
Just as thereâs a reason why Mr. Carrierâs game-changing invention has produced such a population explosion, w/in their boundaries, over the last 113 yearsâŚand especially-so over the last ½-century.
No, Iâm sure I would have heard. She and her mom told entertaining stories of every facet of their lives. As a child, I lived through flooding caused by hurricanes in the late 50âs, early 60âs. Hurricanes Audrey, Carla, Cindy -our wooden porch floated away like a Viking ship in the latter though on none of these occasions, thank the Lord, did the water come into our house(s).
Due to her panicked reaction to the flooding of Carla, I would say no. Had my unflappable grandmother (around 60 at the time) drive their Rambler station wagon approx.100 miles each way up I-10 through the storm to evacuate us( a baby of 6 months plus 3 older children, 3-9 years). Dressed in galoshes and raincoats, we thought it was a great adventure as we sloshed to Yenyeeâs vehicle w/ our suitcases and baby gear-and mama didnât even let her get out of the car!!
Our dad was left at home, putting all furniture on 4-inch wooden blocks in case the water, then at the front door, swept in. I would definitely state she never had seen such high water in her life!!
