About STORM TRACKING AND RESPONSE

Commentary on the Texas flash foods by DOUG TERRY, Editor of ERN News and executive directror of the Emergency Response Network non-profit. This commnetary was published in the Washington Post editorial page 7.10.25

How could this happen? How could so many people be swept away to their deaths when everyone, especially local officials, knew they were living in and visiting a flash flood zone? Having lived in Texas Hill Country for a time, the overwhelming sadness of seeing fathers searching for their lost daughters is compounded by the certain knowledge that at least some of these deaths, perhaps many, could have been prevented.

The rivers in the Hill Country are like shallow creeks most of the time. Because they are lined with limestone, the channels act more like concrete conveyors than Eastern rivers: water rushes down them at high speed, rising and flowing across the land and taking along everything in its path. In this recent storm, rushing water scrubbed off the thin soil in many places, exposing the limestone beneath, and not just in the wild parts of the Hill Country, but north of Austin and in the area around the state capital.

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The Washington Post and other outlets have reported that Kerr County officials presented proposals for a more robust warning system, but believed area residents wouldn’t pay for the installation. The Texas legislature failed to pass a proposal to improve statewide emergency planning and provide grants for local communities to equip themselves. But asking whether it’s worthwhile to spend millions of dollars for a system that might not reach everyone at risk is the wrong question. Instead, we need to consider whether we can use newer technologies that will reach more people without breaking the bank or having high maintenance costs.

Sirens and cellphones can't fully meet the need but there are other tools available, ones that exist now and those that can be created for the future.Though many people have access to small, powerful computer systems and are connected to sophisticated satellite networks, we shouldn’t forget options such as old-fashioned radio. Residents could be notified when it might be wise to have radios tuned to stations that blast warning inside houses, stores and businesses. Creating automated systems to give key officials access could alleviate the burden on stations themselves. On the higher end, river monitoring systems could capture more data than just rainfall or water level.

The great danger in any emergency system is the “cry wolf” response where the public becomes inured to alerts. This can be changed, too, by educating people in the most threatened zones about risk factors and what different warnings mean. 

Local officials need to know how to word the alerts they send to convey the urgency of action. The exact doing, like "get out now!" can make all the difference. There is a huge gap between the excellent work done by the National Hurricane Center and the Weather Service and what reaches local officials — and what they in turn are able to communicate to citizens. We can use more volunteers, trained local residents to participate in the warnijng process, it doesn't all have to be done by paid responders and higher officials. 

The Hill Country itself is a place of raw, stark beauty that invites lingering in the cool morning breezes or evenings. The common creosote smell in the air from the trees, the native plants and lush sunsets over the hills make it, in most times, a calm place apart. It is  in my soul even though I only lived there for a matter of months. 

We can design better, dynamic alert systems using available technology and cooperative, community efforts. The rain and river monitors can be smart monitors that actually help process information and assist in making judgements.  None of this has to cost millions.

Doug Terry, EDITOR, ERN News