Texas flooding update from Kerr County Jul. 10, 10 a.m.
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Using Fredericksburg as a proxy for the region, the average July rainfall over the last about 40 years is 2.2 inches. But most of the time, July seems to be closer to either extreme, whether it’s less than an inch or more than four.
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.
Over 35,000 signed a petition urging Kerr County to install flood warning sirens after flash flooding killed at least 100 people on July 4.
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The Texas Tribune on MSNWeather warnings gave officials a 3 hour, 21 minute window to save lives in Kerr County. What happened then remains unclear.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.
Kerr County applied for federal grants to build a warning system to protect residents from flash floods. Under the Trump administration, that kind of funding is drying up.
UPDATE: Kerr County Sherrif Larry Leitha reports that as of 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, there are 95 deceased. Among the deceased are 59 adults, 14 who are unidentified, 36 children and 13 unidentified children. There are still five children from Camp Mystic who are missing, as well as one counselor.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told CBS News Monday that the state of Texas could pay for storm sirens along the Guadalupe River.
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.
More than 100 people have died across six counties after flash flooding from heavy rain began affecting the state last week.