110 dead in Texas, 161 missing in Kerr County
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The Hunt Store was badly damaged by the Texas floods, but the owner vows to rebuild the landmark where Kinky Friedman and other music stars performed.
At a Wednesday morning press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha declined to answer a question about delayed emergency alerts, saying that an "after-action" would follow the search and rescue efforts. "Those questions are gonna be answered," he added.
Nearly a week after floodwaters swept away more than a hundred lives, Texas officials are facing heated questions over how much was – or was not – done in the early morning hours of Friday as a wall of water raced down the Guadalupe River.
Nearly a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.
Kerr County officials on Wednesday declined to discuss why a voluntary emergency system was not activated July 4 until more than an hour after a first responder requested an alert go out.
Residents say Kerr County’s use of CodeRED alerts was sporadic and inconsistent. Local officials have not answered questions about when and how they utilized the system, which has been in place since 2009.
Governor Greg Abbott shook the hands of locals and volunteers before addressing the cameras with the latest on flood recovery efforts. The road into the community of Hunt, along the Guadalupe River, told a story of how quickly lives were changed there. On the ground, Governor Greg Abbott addressed reporters after surveying the destruction.
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.