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My Problem with Texas [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-07
I grew up in Texas. They love the fact that there is no income tax. They love to give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations. They don’t like to help the poor.
The tragedy in South Texas is just that—a tragedy. As a trauma surgeon, I’m taught to look for ways to prevent tragedy. If you see a car crash, how can you prevent it? Was the driver distracted? Were they driving too fast? Were they wearing their seat belts?
There are some details about this disaster that we still don’t know. There seems to have been a disconnect between the National Weather Service and local officials. Warnings did go out. The warnings grew increasingly dire.
From CNN: The National Weather Service issued a series of early morning alerts warning of “life-threatening flooding” along the river. However, questions remain about how many people received those warnings, whether critical vacancies at forecast offices affected the dissemination of alerts, and whether warning fatigue had been growing among residents in a region described as one of the most dangerous in the country for flash flooding.
This is an area that is known for catastrophic flooding.
The Guadalupe River in Central Texas has experienced numerous significant floods over the past 75 years (since July 1950). While it's difficult to give an exact number for every minor flood event, here are some of the most notable and devastating floods mentioned in the search results:
October 1998: Described as the "flood of record" and the "largest flood of the century" for the upper Guadalupe River Basin. It exceeded 500-year flood projections in some areas.
July 2025 (recent): A major flash flood event that caused widespread devastation and numerous fatalities. The river rose an astonishing 26 feet in just 45 minutes in some areas.
July 1987: A deadly flash flood where 15 inches of rain fell in the upper basin, resulting in the loss of 10 teenagers from a summer camp.
August 1978: Caused by Tropical Storm Amelia, this flood resulted from over 30 inches of rain in some areas and had a recurrence interval in excess of 100 years.
July 2002: Kerrville recorded 19 inches of rain, making it the city's wettest month since August 1978, leading to significant flooding.
Other major floods noted by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA): The GBRA specifically mentions major floods in 1972, 1973, 1991, and 1997, in addition to the ones detailed above.
The "Flash Flood Alley" region of Texas, where the Guadalupe River is located, is particularly prone to sudden and severe flooding due to its unique geography (steep slopes and thin soil that doesn't absorb rain well). Therefore, while a precise tally is elusive, the river has certainly flooded many times, with several instances being catastrophic.
Now, we learn that officials decided 8 years ago that a warning system was “too expensive.” This is the kind of short-sighted nonsense that drives me nuts. What are the chances that there is going to be another terrible flood in this area in the next 10 — 20 years? 100% chance. We don’t have to be meteorologists to figure this one out. So if we want to save lives, we can either move people a “safe” distance from the river basin or install a warning system.
Update: It seems that the Texas Department of Emergency Management refused a request for $1 million grant for a warning system.
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