"Deadly Choices: How Officials missteps contributed to the catastrophic Hill Country Flood"

Investigative CATEGORY — SHOWCASE gold winner

Houston Chronicle
Staff

07/08/2025

 
 

After catastrophic July 4th floods killed more than 130 people in Texas, the Houston Chronicle’s investigations team sprang into action, digging into the decisions, policies and oversights that contributed to the enormity of the disaster.

Recognizing the size of the accountability task in front of us – and our physical distance from the site of the floods – we partnered with our fellow Hearst publications, the San Antonio Express-News and the Austin American-Statesman, to begin our on-the-ground reporting from the hardest-hit areas, including Kerr County.

Meanwhile, back in Houston, our reporters dove into meeting minutes, annual budgets and public documents to understand the issues that contributed to the tragic death toll – the lack of a robust flood alert system on the Guadalupe River; the youth camps that were allowed to build in well-known flood zones; the inability of emergency responders to communicate via radio; and Kerr County’s on-again, off-again efforts to update its obsolete flood alert system, among other issues.

We quickly realized that to answer some of the major questions about which leaders had dropped the ball on disaster preparation, we’d need access to documents – documents that local leaders in Kerr County could only supply.

But Kerr County, with a population of about 50,000, was not accustomed to receiving record requests from us and dozens of other news outlets.

Of course, with so much destruction on the ground – and so many areas closed to emergency operations – our reporters faced the additional challenge of identifying sources at the local and state level who were also available and accessible in the middle of a rescue, and then recovery, operation.

Despite these information-gathering hurdles, the team revealed how Kerr County officials had refused to update an outdated flood alert system that could have saved lives. We reported on the tension between elected leaders who were pushed into the spotlight while the county’s top emergency official was missing in action – unreachable for several hours after the flood hit.

We were among the first to report on the shortcomings of Texas camp safety plans. And we broke the story of the 40 or so landowners who had received permission to build in dangerous floodways and floodplains along the Guadalupe River, including the camp where 27 people were carried away to their deaths.

Immediately after the flood and our first accountability stories published, state lawmakers called for two hearings – one in the state Capitol and one to be held in Kerr County.

During the first hearing, lawmakers cited from the Chronicle’s exclusive coverage of how the river authority charged with maintaining the flood alert system failed to do so. Instead of spending their reserves on necessary updates – arguably decades overdue – they chose to give area residents property tax cuts.

“This decision is just pathetic,” fumed state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. Shortly after, the river authority announced $1.5 million to go toward a new, more robust sensor system.

In the second hearing, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly – in charge of county emergency response – found himself in the hot seat. Our reporting prior to the hearing showed he was awakened to the news more than four hours after the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning.

His answers at the hearing proved insufficient to lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Kelly later announced he would not seek reelection as country judge.

After the hearings, state lawmakers convened for a special session to figure out how to avoid a Hill Country flood catastrophe 2.0. Our reporting provided a useful roadmap, highlighting key areas of concern:

  1. Officials at all levels of government had failed to ensure that Kerr County had a robust flood warning system.

  2. FEMA and county officials had approved camp cabins in floodplains and floodways.

  3. Camps did not have to provide robust emergency and evacuation plans in the event of disaster.

In a sweeping package of reforms, state lawmakers required that all cabins be relocated out of high-risk zones. They also passed a new law requiring all camps to submit detailed emergency plans to the Department of State Health Services, maintain a weatherproof radio capable of receiving weather alerts and install alarm systems across the camp.

MAIN LINK to content online

Additional links to content online:

Submitted by Yaffa Fredrick.

Headliners FoundationComment