Kerr County Officials' Response to Central Texas Flooding

Flood Warning and Evacuation Orders

• 🚨 Cell phone alerts, similar to Amber Alerts, were sent out to Texas flood zone residents starting at 1:14 a.m.
• ⚠️ These messages described the flash flood warning as dangerous and life-threatening and advised against travel unless fleeing or under an evacuation order.
• ❓ However, no evacuation order was ever issued by Kerr County officials.

Communication Systems and Response Time

• 💬 Identical cell phone alerts were sent at 3:35 a.m., 4:03 a.m. (just before roads began flooding), and 6:06 a.m.
• 📉 By 6:06 a.m., the river gauge in Hunt had already surpassed its previous record.
• 📞 Questions are being raised about the Code Red alert system, a less powerful text message system requested by first responders, with the county not disclosing when its first message was sent.

Official Response and Future Examination

• 📋 The Kerr County Emergency Plan designates evacuation responsibilities to the Kurville police chief and county sheriff.
• 🔍 The county sheriff stated that the entire event will be examined in an after-action report to answer public questions.
• 🙏 The sheriff acknowledged the need to provide answers to the families of those who lost loved ones and to the public.