Audio Shows Texas Flood Warnings Came Late

Audio recordings have emerged indicating that a Texas firefighter requested emergency flood warnings be issued to residents in Kerr County nearly an hour before the first notifications were sent out.

In the audio clip, recorded at 4:22 a.m. on July 4, the responder asks whether a CodeRED alert can be dispatched. The reply from the dispatcher indicates that the request required approval from a supervisor.

Some residents reportedly got the warning about an hour later, while others didn’t receive it until several hours had passed. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha responded to questions about the delay by saying that officials were currently assembling a detailed timeline of events.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the Texas Hill Country region, where recent flash floods have claimed at least 120 lives and left over 160 individuals unaccounted for.

Ahead of the visit, the President voiced support for implementing flood alarm systems across Texas.

He said, “having seen this horrible event, I would imagine you’d put alarms up in some form, where alarms would go up if they see any large amounts of water or whatever it is.”

The President also praised emergency crews for their response efforts, noting that “everyone’s doing a great job” and that “local officials were hit by this just like everybody else.”

Over the July 4th weekend, an estimated 100 billion gallons of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to swell by several meters in just minutes.

Kerr County, which encompasses the city of Kerrville, was the most severely impacted by the flooding. Among the 96 confirmed fatalities in the area were 36 children, many of whom had been attending a Christian camp known as Camp Mystic.

In the dispatch audio, the firefighter says: “The Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39.

“Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?”

“Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor,” the dispatcher responded.

The Texas Newsroom was the first to report on the audio, and it indicated that some residents got their alerts about an hour after the call.

The earliest confirmed alert was sent at 5:34 a.m. Kerrville’s mayor shared that he didn’t receive the notice until 90 minutes after the initial request.

For some individuals, alerts didn’t arrive until after 10 a.m., according to various reports.

Speaking at a press briefing, Sheriff Leitha said he first heard about the flooding situation between 4 and 5 a.m. He added, “we’re in the process of trying to put a timeline”.

“That’s going to take a little bit of time,” he told reporters. “That is not my priority at this time.”

The sheriff emphasized that their immediate focus remains on finding missing individuals and identifying those who died in the disaster.

Officials confirmed that no additional survivors have been rescued since the day the floods occurred.

Prior to the storm, the National Weather Service had issued alerts regarding heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding, beginning Thursday afternoon. In response, the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency resources in anticipation.

Authorities cited several reasons why some people did not evacuate in time, including poor mobile connectivity, underestimation of the storm’s severity, and general alert fatigue in a region used to frequent flooding.

President Trump approved a federal disaster declaration at the request of Governor Greg Abbott, enabling FEMA to respond directly and establish a recovery centre in Kerr County.

The rescue operation includes over 2,100 personnel, supported by private aircraft, boats, drones, and cadaver dogs—all working to locate missing individuals and recover bodies beneath thick layers of mud and wreckage.

Lt. Colonel Ben Baker of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department stated on Wednesday, “These large piles (of debris) can be very obstructive, and to get deep into these piles is very hazardous.”

“It’s extremely treacherous, time consuming. It’s dirty work. It’s the water still there. So, we’re having to go layer by layer, peeling these off, to make those recoveries,” he explained.