Kerr County officials failed to follow certain aspects of disaster pl…
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Here’s Why Texas Lacked A Flood Warning System Everyone Knew It Needed
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has fired back against reports that her recent policy changes at FEMA hamstrung search and rescue teams. Noem called the reports, which sourced unnamed former and current FEMA employees, false and “inappropriate” Noem said the agency’s response to the Texas floods was “the best response we’ve seen out of the federal government in many, many years” Texas state officials repeatedly rejected requests from Kerry County to pay for a flood warning system, estimated to cost about $1 million. Local officials also failed to act when they were given $10 million under the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act money in 2021 and, instead of using it on storm-related infrastructure, allocated it to other public safety projects, county employee raises and a new walking path. A survey sent to residents about the money showed that 42% of respondents wanted to reject the grant altogether. One resident told commissioners, “We don’t want to be bought by federal government, which I consider to be criminal treason”
Key Facts
Noem on Sunday railed against reporting by the New York Times that found “nearly two-thirds” of all distress calls to FEMA from flood victims went unanswered due to staff cuts and a CNN report that found policies she’d implemented, namely a change that required her personal sign-off on any spending over $100,000, delayed the deployment of search and rescue crews to the area. Noem called the reports, which sourced unnamed former and current FEMA employees, false and “inappropriate,” and said the agency’s response to the Texas floods was “the best response we’ve seen out of the federal government in many, many years.” “The individuals who are giving you information out of FEMA, I’d love to have them put their names behind it because anonymous attacks to politicize the situation is completely wrong,” Noem said on “Meet The Press.” Sources inside FEMA also told CNN the new policies delayed a request from Texas first responders the state for aerial imagery to help in search and rescue. Claims FEMA failed Texas in the days after the flood are part of a partisan blame game that has cast fault on everyone from local taxpayers to federal agencies, including FEMA, the National Weather Service and President Donald Trump himself. State officials initially tried to put fault on the NWS early on in the flood recovery efforts, claiming the agency did not properly convey the storm’s threat, but experts have since said the warnings issued were as timely and accurate as could have been expected. Some former NWS officials told the Times, however, that while the warnings may have been up to par, cuts to the NWS and early retirement incentives doled out under Trump led to staffing shortages in the central Texas office that may have impacted the agency’s ability to communicate with local authorities in the hours after the warnings were issued.
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Local, State Government Stood In The Way Of Flood Alert System
Kerr County officials knew for a decade that a better flood warning system would serve the local community well, meeting minutes obtained by the Texas Tribune show, but one was not in place when last week’s floods hit the state for several reasons. One reason: Texas state officials repeatedly rejected requests from Kerry County to pay for such a warning system, estimated to cost about $1 million, and turned away the county’s applications at least three times between 2017 and 2024 for various reasons, the New York Times reported. Another: Local officials also failed to act when they were given $10 million under the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act money in 2021 and, instead of using it on storm-related infrastructure as the grant encouraged, allocated it to other public safety projects, county employee raises and a new walking path, according to the Texas Tribune. Kerr County’s own voters are getting blamed, as well, by local officials who say there was little public support for a system: “Generally everybody’s for doing something until it gets down to the details of paying for it,” Harvey Hilderbran, the former state representative from Kerr County, told the Tribune. It’s unclear how many people could have been saved if Kerr County had a flood warning system, but Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said there “should have been sirens here.” Officials in Kerr County have said they are “committed to a transparent and full review of past actions.”
Surprising Fact
Taking the American Rescue Plan Act money granted to Kerr County back in 2021 at all was a controversial move in the conservative area, which voted for Donald Trump in all three of the last elections. A survey sent to residents about the money showed that 42% of the 180 respondents wanted to reject the $10 million grant altogether, according to the Tribune. Local taxpayers didn’t want to be beholden to the Biden administration, with one resident telling Kerr County commissioners, “We don’t want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much. We’d like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money,” the Tribune reported. Another resident asked the commissioners to send all of the money “back to the Biden administration, which I consider to be the most criminal treasonous communist government ever to hold the White House.”
Crucial Quote
“Who’s to blame? Know this, that’s the word choice of losers,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday responded to a reporter’s question about who is at fault for the tragedy. “The way winners talk is not to point fingers. They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions.” Abbott has called for a special legislative session to start later this month to look at how to strengthen the state’s future response to flooding including items on flood warning systems and communications, natural disaster preparedness and relief funding.
Key Background
Rapid rainfall hit central Texas on July 4, pushing Guadalupe River levels more than 32 feet and devastating nearby communities. The rising waters made for the deadliest inland flooding event in Texas in almost 50 years, and the death toll as of Friday accounted for at least 130 people with another 160 still missing. Among the victims are at least 35 children. At least 27 people, including children and counselors, died at a generations-old, all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic, where former First Lady Barbara Bush was once a counselor. A report by the Washington Post found that Camp Mystic Executive Director Richard “Dick” Eastland did not begin evacuating the camp until more than an hour after he received the NWS’ severe flood warning around 1 a.m. on the morning of July 4. The alert, which did not include an evacuation order, prompted Eastland to “assess the situation” with family members and ultimately begin evacuations. He died trying to rescue campers.
What To Watch For
Changes to the NWS. Noem said that Trump wants to improve the agency’s warning system and “renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.”
Further Reading
Forbes Was Texas Warned Of Flooding Properly? Here’s What We Know
Forbes Texas Officials Deflect Questions On Flood Response Efforts As Death Toll Rises
Forbes Why Kristi Noem Is Under Fire For Delayed FEMA Response To Texas Floods
As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas
Some experts question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose. The shortages are among the factors likely to be scrutinized as the death toll climbs from the floods. Separate questions have emerged about the preparedness of local communities.
Crucial positions at the local offices of the National Weather Service were unfilled as severe rainfall inundated parts of Central Texas on Friday morning, prompting some experts to question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose.
Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected, given the enormous levels of rainfall and the storm’s unusually abrupt escalation.
The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said — the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.
The shortages are among the factors likely to be scrutinized as the death toll climbs from the floods. Separate questions have emerged about the preparedness of local communities, including Kerr County’s apparent lack of a local flood warning system. The county, roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, is where many of the deaths occurred.
Investigating claims Kerr County rejected Biden admin’s $10M offer to improve flood warning systems
Kerr County, Texas, was one of the hardest-hit areas in July 2025 flash floods. Social media users circulated a rumor that Kerr County rejected $10 million offered by former U.S. President Joe Biden to update its flood warning system. While the Biden administration did grant Kerr County $10.2 million in 2021, the federal government did not earmark the money for that purpose. The funds originated from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which Congress passed to support local governments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money could be used for natural disaster-related infrastructure, such as updates to flood warning systems, but it did not have to be spent that way. It remained unclear, as of this writing, why Kerr County did not use any of the federal funds to improve flood infrastructure, but the county says it used it for a new emergency response radio system for the sheriff’s department.. A commissioner from 2021, Harley Belew, said the radio system the county bought with ARPA funds was used “to full effect” during the flooding.
Biden’s administration did offer Kerr County about $10 million in pandemic relief funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021 . However, while local governments could use those funds for flood infrastructure, the federal government did not specifically earmark the money for that purpose. It could be used for various purposes, such as pandemic-related government services and pay for essential workers.
2021 . However, while local governments could use those funds for flood infrastructure, the federal government did not earmark the money for that purpose. It could be used for various purposes, such as pandemic-related government services and pay for essential workers. Kerr County residents had mixed reactions to the offered funds. While the county’s commissioners faced pressure to reject the federal money, they eventually accepted it and used most of it to build a new first responder emergency radio system for the sheriff’s department.
Although reputable reports indicate county officials, for years, discussed and attempted to upgrade their flood warning system, it remained unclear, as of this writing, why Kerr County did not use any of the federal funds to improve flood infrastructure. Harley Belew, a commissioner at the time, said via email that the radio system the county bought with ARPA funds was used “to full effect” during the flooding.
As rescuers searched for missing people after flash floods surged through central Texas in July 2025, killing at least 131 people, social media users searched for someone to blame for the destruction.
One rumor pointed fingers at officials from the conservative Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas along the Guadalupe River, for allegedly rejecting or diverting money sent by former U.S. President Joe Biden meant to update the county’s flood warning systems. The allegation spread on Instagram, Facebook , X, Threads and Bluesky.
“Kerr County was literally given $10 million by the Biden administration to help upgrade their flood warning system, and they said no,” an Instagram user claimed in one popular video. “Instead, you know what Kerr County did? They called it a ‘communist agenda’ and rerouted the money to the sheriff’s department.”
But this claim needs context. While the Biden administration did grant Kerr County $10.2 million in 2021, the federal government outlined various purposes for the money, such as pay for essential workers and assistance for businesses affected by the pandemic. The money could be used for natural disaster-related infrastructure, such as updates to flood warning systems, but it did not have to be spent that way. The funds originated from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which Congress passed to support local governments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been getting death threats, can you imagine? And cursing us for decisions we didn’t get a chance to make,” one Kerr County commissioner, Rich Paces, said at a July 14, 2025, meeting (see 24:03). “Joe Biden didn’t give us $10 million for a flood warning system. Now, that’s just false information. We did get 10 million in ARPA funds, OK, and we used it for a radio system to help with emergency response.”
While Kerr County residents were split on whether to accept the ARPA money, the county did eventually accept the funds and spent most of it on building a new emergency response radio system for the sheriff’s department.
In other words, officials did not spend ARPA dollars on upgrading the county’s outdated flood warning system. While current Kerr County commissioners did not immediately respond to an inquiry asking about this, a commissioner from 2021, Harley Belew, said replacing the “antiquated” system “provided better coverage between Kerr County officers and dispatch.”
“The new system also enabled Kerr County Deputies to communicate with other state and local law enforcement agencies during emergencies,” Belew wrote in an email. “Those radios have been used to full effect during this disaster.”
How Kerr County could have spent ARPA funds
The ARPA gave local governments loose guidelines for what to use the funds on. Those guidelines, taken directly from the legislation, can be seen below (emphasis ours):
(Sec. 9901) This section provides funding to states, territories, and tribal governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the COVID-19 public health emergency. A state, territory, or tribal government shall use the funds to cover costs incurred by December 31, 2024, to respond to the COVID-19 emergency or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality;
provide premium pay to essential workers or provide grants to employers of essential workers during the COVID-19 emergency;
provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such state, territory, or tribal government due to the COVID-19 emergency; or
make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure. The section prohibits (1) the use of funds to reduce or delay the imposition of a tax or tax increase, or (2) deposit of the funds into a pension fund.
Page 59 of this Treasury Department document showed the federal government did, in fact, offer Kerr County $10.2 million in ARPA funds.
Other local governments used ARPA funds for storm-related infrastructure. Corpus Christi, Texas, for example, used $15 million in ARPA money to “rehabilitate and/or replace aging storm water infrastructure” (Page 8).
But Kerr County did not spend any of its ARPA dollars on storm or water-related infrastructure, except for about $116,000 used for an “ice storm closure,” according to a Kerr County budget workshop in July 2024. It’s unclear how, exactly, those funds were used (see 2:28:34).
Local residents had mixed reaction to ARPA offer
When the Biden administration offered the ARPA money to the county, some people urged officials to reject it entirely. In a survey of 181 residents, about 41% of respondents said they wanted to “send the money back.” In a Nov. 22, 2021, meeting, residents cited fears of federal overreach and possible “strings attached” — such as potential vaccine mandates — as reasons to reject the $10.2 million. At least one resident referred to “these people” — presumably the Biden administration — as “communist,” as referenced in the above-mentioned Instagram post. (For the record, nothing in ARPA mandates COVID-19 vaccines.)
The county’s commissioners eventually voted to accept the funds, despite “heavy pressure, sometimes bordering threatening behavior, from ultra-conservative activists,” according to a local newspaper, Kerr County Lead.
Of the $10.2 million, Kerr County spent $7 million on a new first responder emergency radio for the sheriff’s department and another $1.1 million on hiring emergency responders. The county also spent funds on a new walkway, other hires and administrative needs like updated software (see a detailed breakdown at 2:27:34).
Why didn’t Kerr County use ARPA dollars to upgrade flood alert system?
Multiple reputable news outlets, including NBC News, reported that before 2021, Kerr County officials repeatedly discussed upgrading its flood warning systems and sought funding from the state, only to be rebuffed. One rejected proposal reportedly asked Texas for just under $1 million to update the flood warning system.
According to Kerr County’s adopted 2024-25 budget, officials spent $9,500 on its flood warning system from budget year 2020 to 2024 (Page 98).
However, as of this writing, Kerr County has not provided an explanation as to why it did not use ARPA money to fund its much-needed alert system.
The Texas Tribune reported on July 10 that “it’s not clear if residents or the commissioners understood at the time they could have applied the [ARPA] funds to a warning system,” given that the Kerr County commissioners in charge at the time did not respond to the paper’s requests for interviews. The co mmissioners, except for Belew, also did not immediately respond to Snopes. Belew’s aforementioned response did not directly address whether commissioners knew they could use the funds for a warning system, despite being asked.
A Nov. 4, 2021, workshop presentation on ARPA funds by Kerr County’s grant administrator at the time, Rosa Lavender, noted the money could be used on “necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet” (Slide 9). At least a dozen residents attended the workshop, based on minutes from a commissioner meeting on Nov. 22, 2021. Therefore, at least some residents and officials knew the money could be used on stormwater infrastructure.
To summarize: Kerr County did not reject $10 million from the Biden administration to update its flood warning system, specifically. Rather, the former presidential administration issued the money, pandemic relief funding, to use on various things, including, but not limited to, stormwater infrastructure. So, while the county could have used the federal dollars to upgrade the flood warning system, it spent most of it on an emergency responder radio system for the sheriff’s department. It remained unclear as of this writing why Kerr County did not use the funds specifically for its flood warning system.
In the spotlight after floods, Texas lawmakers eye disaster plans amid FEMA uncertainty
Texas lawmakers start a special legislative session today with the aim of funding recovery and protecting from future disasters. They’ll be working while there’s uncertainty at the national level about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) The federal government’s ability to help the state – or not – will factor into the session. The state’s most urgent flood prevention needs would cost over $54 billion altogether, according to the Texas Water Development Board. The Texas Hill Country is the most flood-prone areas in the U.S., with more than 130 people killed in the flooding there in the past two weeks.. Texas lawmakers are traveling to Kerrville, Texas, along the devastated banks of the Guadalupe River, for a public hearing July 31. The session can last up to 30 days and is expected to last until August 1, when it’s expected to end at 10 p.m. (9 a.m., ET) in Austin. For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Just over two weeks since floods in the Texas Hill Country killed more than 130 people, Texas lawmakers start a special legislative session today with the aim of funding recovery and protecting from future disasters.
This spring they failed to pass a bill that could have led to increased spending for emergency warning systems. Now special committees of the House and Senate plan to go to Kerrville, the area with the most flood fatalities, to hear about the life-saving help local governments need.
They’ll be working while there’s uncertainty at the national level about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency in doubt after calls from members of the Trump administration that it be cut back or eliminated.
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There were already plans for a special session this month on the totally different topic of laws to regulate sales of hemp products. But Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, in his proclamation calling the session, led with flood-related matters.
And disaster relief wasn’t all he added to the session, which can last up to 30 days. He’s also including a list of controversial GOP priorities. They include redrawing congressional voting districts in ways that would impact the 2026 midterm elections and tightening laws against medication abortion. Here are some of the issues at stake.
Flood proposals range from new alerts to rebuilding
Abbott is asking that lawmakers improve early warning systems, strengthen communications infrastructure and provide relief money for areas impacted by the recent flood or future floods.
One of the first ideas for what exactly lawmakers should do came from Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the leader of the Texas Senate, when he spoke to Fox News after the storm .
“Had we had sirens along this area up and down, the same type of sirens that they have in Israel when there’s an attack coming that would have blown very loudly, it’s possible that that would’ve saved some of these lives.” Patrick said.
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He wants those in place by next summer, when youth camps like the ones destroyed in the flooding will be operating again.
Bills already filed include proposals to tighten flood safety standards at youth camps and to create a flood disaster guide for volunteer organizations.
To hear from flood victims themselves, lawmakers are traveling to Kerrville, Texas, along the devastated banks of the Guadalupe River, for a public hearing July 31.
Texas leaders have Trump’s backing but FEMA’s future is unclear
toggle caption Eric Gay/AP
The federal government’s ability to help the state – or not – will factor into the session. President Trump and Gov. Abbott are Republican allies and the state’s counting on federal help. In Abbott’s call for the session, he proposed using state money to match disaster relief grants from FEMA.
But Trump, and others in the administration, have proposed eliminating FEMA. Abbott himself has been critical of the agency and is on a council formed to change it.
In June, Trump said the agency should, “give out less money.” But Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, said recently President Trump told him, “anything Texas needs, the answer is yes.”
If Texas lawmakers end up relying on FEMA help, it could increase pressure to preserve the agency. But there’s also the possibility that the close Trump-Abbott alliance could lead to workarounds that send federal money to Texas while FEMA itself and its ability to help other states is scaled down.
Texas and the U.S. can do more on flood management
Experts say that when lawmakers get together to explore options, they shouldn’t limit themselves to North America to find solutions. For the best examples, Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University in New York, says lawmakers should look overseas.
“China is installing sensors for rainfall, sensors for depth of water in the street, sensors for the depth of the water in sewer system, and in the rivers,” Lall said. He says those sensors can send back data to give emergency officials a real time picture of what’s taking place.
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With the state focused on the floods in the Hill Country, there could be competition from other flood-prone areas where officials have been requesting funds for years. The Texas Water Development Board published The State Flood Plan in December. It ranks the state’s most urgent flood prevention needs, which would altogether cost over $54 billion .
Houston Democratic state Rep. Ann Johnson is on the House committee tasked with finding solutions for the impacted areas. She says the focus can’t just be on addressing this one disaster.
“I think Kerrville is a reminder that there’s a reason we need to get this stuff done and passed in preparation for the next event,” she said. “Because it’s no longer a question of whether or not Texans are going to suffer an extreme weather event, it’s just when,”
During a press conference Abbott said, “We’re going to work on every single solution to make sure things like this don’t happen again, not just in this community, but in other river basins across the state also.”
But those solutions will have to fit within a large but still limited budget.
Redistricting, abortion medicine and local issues could push the deadline
There are few hotter political issues than the maps that outline districts for members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Abbott has added that to the session’s to-do list. It comes at the urging of Trump. On Tuesday, he told reporters at the White House he believes redistricting could help Republicans pick up as many as five seats in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections.
Democratic State Rep. Johnson thinks the attempt to redistrict outside the usual 10-year census cycle is illegal. “That should concern all Texans. We are not in a redistricting cycle,” she said. Usually, redistricting is done after census figures are released early in the decade.
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Abbott has also asked lawmakers to tighten state laws against abortion rights or, as the proclamation says, “further protecting unborn children.” This appears to include proposals to make it easier to sue people or companies that send abortion medication to the state.
The governor’s call also opens the door to legislation limiting access for transgender people to some “sex-segregated spaces,” like bathrooms or locker rooms.
And then there’s the original reason the session was considered before the flood. That was to pass a ban on sales of THC products to people under 21, among other regulations for the state’s booming hemp industry. Abbott vetoed a bill that would have banned hemp products outright.
Blaise Gainey covers politics for KUT and The Texas Newsroom.
When nearby counties installed flood sirens, Kerr County did not. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick now says state could do it.
Kerr County, Texas, has no outdoor sirens to warn residents of flash floods. The absence is drawing scrutiny from residents, emergency preparedness advocates and state officials. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Monday that it’s possible outdoor siren could have saved lives. Texas House Bill 13, introduced in the most recent legislative session, would have created a statewide strategic plan for Outdoor sirens. The bill failed to pass amid criticism over its price tag, and efforts to address the issue at the state level have also stalled.”Five minutes makes a difference,” said Nicole Wilson, who grew up relying on tornado sirens in Kentucky.
“We do not have a warning system,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly during Friday’s news conference.
That absence is now drawing scrutiny from residents, emergency preparedness advocates and state officials.
In an interview Monday afternoon with CBS News’ Jason Allen, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that while he is not placing blame, it’s possible outdoor sirens could have saved lives.
“If the city can’t afford to do it, then let us do it,” Patrick said in the interview. “We have a special session starting two weeks from today, and I think we can take that up and do some other things of funding these sirens. If there had been a siren, maybe that would have sparked people to say, ‘Oh, we have a massive disaster, like, five minutes away.'”
Nearly a decade ago, neighboring counties, Guadalupe and Comal, installed flood sirens. Nearby New Braunfels regularly tests its outdoor warning system, which is designed to alert residents to flash floods that are common in the area.
But in Kerr County, officials admitted over the weekend that no such system exists. County commissioner records show that in 2017, Kerr County officials considered installing a warning system but ultimately rejected the idea. Cost was a major concern.
In an August 2016 commissioners court meeting, then Commissioner Buster Baldwin voted against a $50,000 flood engineering study, saying, “I think this whole thing is a little extravagant for Kerr County and I see the word sirens and all that stuff in here.”
Efforts to address the issue at the state level have also stalled.
Texas House Bill 13, introduced in the most recent legislative session, would have created a statewide strategic plan for outdoor sirens and help fund sirens in rural areas. The bill failed to pass amid criticism over its price tag.
For San Antonio resident Nicole Wilson, who grew up relying on tornado sirens to keep her safe in Kentucky, the lack of sirens was unacceptable.
“They know they need it. They’ve now admitted they need it. They’ve just never accomplished it.” Wilson said.
Wilson started a Change.org petition on Saturday, calling on officials to install a modern outdoor early warning siren system.
“Five minutes makes a difference,” she said. “I fully believe, in my heart and in my head, that sirens would have made a difference.”
Major Texas cities — including Austin, San Antonio and Houston — also lack outdoor siren systems, instead relying on digital alerts sent to mobile devices. But for rural areas with limited cell service, advocates argue that sirens may be a more reliable warning option.
Source: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/kerr-county-emergency-plan/