Timeline raises questions over how Texas officials handled warnings before the deadly July 4 flood

Bureaucrats in Texas are facing mounting questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed more than people including children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp More than people are still supposed to be missing in Texas days after flash floods killed over people during the July Fourth weekend the state s governor commented Tuesday In the days since the devastation state federal and Kerr County personnel have deflected pointed questions about preparations and warnings The Associated Press has assembled an approximate timeline of the hours before during and after the deadly flash flood beginning with the activation of the state s exigency response tools on July the same day Texas signed off on the camp s exigency plan for disasters By daybreak on July Fourth it was clear that certain children from Camp Mystic were swept away by floodwaters even as others were able to escape to safety in their pajamas Wednesday July The Texas Division of Crisis Management activated state crisis response tools anticipating the threat of flooding in parts of West and Central Texas On the same day Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic s exigency planning records obtained by the AP show Thursday July a m Lt Gov Dan Patrick stated Friday that county judges and city mayors were invited to be on a daily call Thursday to discuss weather forecasts Patrick also explained a regional coordinator personally reached out to authorities in the area The message was sent Patrick commented It is up to the local counties and mayors under the law to evacuate if they feel the need p m The National Weather Organization s Austin San Antonio office issued a flood watch estimating rainfall amounts of one to three inches with isolated amounts of five to seven inches for parts of south central Texas including Kerr County Excessive runoff may upshot in flooding of rivers the alert read Friday July a m Citing radar the National Weather Institution issued a flash flood warning for central Kerr County until a m warning that it was life threatening Around a m Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice reported he was running on the river trail around or a m Friday and everything was fine Four o clock when I left there was no signs of it rising at that point Rice revealed during a news conference later This happened very hurriedly over a very short amount of time Rice announced the isolated location and the heavy rain in a short period of time made a dangerous event that was not predictable even with radar and National Weather Function warnings This is not like a tornado where you can have a siren This is not like a hurricane where you re planning weeks in advance Rice announced It hit It hit hard Between and a m Floodwaters begin to inundate Camp Mystic Young campers counselors and staff are roused from sleep and begin a desperate rush to higher ground according to social media accounts The accounts detail how chosen young girls had to climb through cabin windows One staffer explained she was on the roof with water rising toward her at a m a m Erin Burgess woke up to thunder at around a m Friday in her home in Bumble Bee Hills a housing enhancement about halfway between Hunt and Ingram Within a half hour or so she stated the AP that the water was rushing into her house Burgess and her -year-old son clung onto a tree outside for an hour before the water receded a m The National Weather Operation extended its flash flood warning for central Kerr County until a m based on radar and automated gauges a m A U S Geological Survey gauge along the Guadalupe River about five miles north of Camp Mystic and about a mile east of Hunt shows the river had reached nearly feet The river at that location is subject to minor flooding at feet Between and a m Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported he was first notified about the situation from one of his sergeants a m The National Weather Amenity named a flash flood emergency for south-central Kerr County saying in all caps that it was a particularly dangerous situation Seek higher ground now Citing radar and automated rain gauges the bulletin explained low water crossings and the Guadalupe River at Hunt were flooding a m A U S Geological Survey gauge along the Guadalupe River about five miles north of Camp Mystic and about a mile east of Hunt stops sending material The last recorded river level from the instrumentation was feet a m Police knocked on Matthew Stone s door in a Kerrville riverfront neighborhood urging residents to evacuate Stone declared he had received no crisis warning on his phone We got no crisis alert There was nothing Stone stated Then a pitch black wall of death a m The National Weather Institution bulletin broadcasted a flash flood emergency from Hunt through Kerrville and Center Point saying automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River a m In a comment on a Facebook post from the Kerr County Sheriff s Office one woman begged for someone to help her mother-in-law who was trapped in a trailer between Hunt and Ingram a m Minutes later another woman commented on the same Facebook post that Bumble Bee Hills was flooded and needed help a m The National Weather Facility extended the flash flood warning until a m The bulletin also commented local law enforcement revealed major flooding and water rescues along the Guadalupe River a m Another Facebook commenter on the Kerr County Sheriff s page noted a friend and her family are on their rooftop in Hunt waiting for rescue a m A U S Geological Survey gauge in Kerrville shows the Guadalupe River peaks at feet a figure that is preliminary and subject to change It is the third-highest river level at that location according to the facts The record of feet was set on July a m Erin Burgess was surveying damage in her flooded home after the river water receded The line of muck reached halfway up her kitchen cabinets a m The National Weather Facility advises that the flash flood crisis extends to Sisterdale a m Camp Mystic parents receive an email noting the grounds have sustained catastrophic level floods and that they are without power water and internet Parents with a daughter not accounted for were directly contacted the camp revealed a m Local bureaucrats held the first press conference to describe the situation and response Sought what kind of warning system went out to make sure county residents got out safely Judge Rob Kelly the county s chief elected official noted We do not have a warning system When a reporter followed up to ask why camps weren t evacuated when the camps were in harm s way Kelly disclosed they didn t know this flood was coming We had no reason to believe that this was going to be any anything like what s happened here Kelly announced None whatsoever p m Two news conferences on Friday afternoon were the first to offer an initial death toll Lt Gov Dan Patrick noted six to bodies had been located so far Around the same time Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha published that people had died in the flooding Patrick also revealed that the whereabouts of about girls attending Camp Mystic were not known p m A state agency responsible for search and rescue operations the Texas Championship Wardens post on Facebook that they made entry into Camp Mystic and are evacuating the campers to safety Roughly two dozen campers were still missing p m Texas Gov Greg Abbott signed a mishap declaration at a news conference Leitha shared about fatalities Source