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Over 100 people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to "catastrophic" flooding, the sheriff said.
2don MSN
Kerr County, Texas, lacked a “last mile” warning mechanism that could have saved residents before the deadly floods devastated the area, including a children’s summer camp, killing more than 80 people.
As families and search crews sift through debris, mangled trees and toppled vehicles in Kerr County after the catastrophic Fourth of July flooding, authorities are facing growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued.
Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016.
When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites known to be in the floodplain.
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.
A "Basic Plan" for emergency response for three Texas counties, including Kerr County, labeled flash flooding as "highly likely" to occur, with a "major" impact on public health and safety, according to an ABC News review of a page on the Kerrville city website.
At least 120 people have died and some 173 people remain unaccounted for statewide, nearly a week after flash floods ravaged the Texas Hill Country.
Kerr County and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority have tried several times to get funding to upgrade flood alerts on the river, dating back to 2016.
The flash flood warning in Licking County is a result of thunderstorms with heavy rains, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.