Flash Flood warning systems. If you don’t have one, the odds are this could happen:
This was no way to celebrate July 4th, 2025
Catastrophic Flooding Along Guadalupe River Kills Multiple
Devastating July 4 flood in Texas Hill Country causes deaths, missing children, and widespread damage as emergency efforts intensify
On the morning of July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding devastated communities along the Guadalupe River in Texas’ Hill Country, leading to multiple fatalities and widespread destruction. Heavy overnight rains unleashed a torrent that overwhelmed the river, pushing it to its second-highest level on record near Hunt, surpassing historic floods from 1987. The floodwaters swept through Kerr County and surrounding areas, forcing urgent evacuations, stranding residents, and causing severe damage to homes, roads, and local businesses.
https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/catastrophic-flooding-along-guadalupe-river-kills-multiple-354639
Read live news from Louis Amestoy:
https://kerrcountylead.com/author/the-kerr-county-lead/
Kerr County had applied for warning siren systems back in 2016, but was rejected.
In the UK we have this system:
In Texas they have this:
https://www.flashfloodwarn.com/texas
But Kerr County was taken by surprise.
However, watching CNN, I saw a family who had rescued 2 people and their dogs. They said the nature of the event was such that no warning of the severity could have been possible.
I think we have seen that people, who have for centuries, happily lived along a riverside, totally safely, now may have to relocate. This particular location is known as ‘flash flood valley’ according to meteorologist on the CNN programme of ‘breaking news’.
This catastrophe is being discussed widely, for example at:
What makes Hill Country so prone to flooding?
Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, and by a wide margin. A colleague and I analyzed data from 1959 to 2019 and found 1,069 people had died in flooding in Texas over those six decades. The next highest total was in Louisiana, with 693.
Many of those flood deaths have been in Hill County. It’s part of an area known as Flash Flood Alley, a crescent of land that curves from near Dallas down to San Antonio and then westward.
The hills are steep, and the water moves quickly when it floods. This is a semi-arid area with soils that don’t soak up much water, so the water sheets off quickly and the shallow creeks can rise fast.
The warnings of an increase in such catastrophic flooding have been around for years:
The latest U.N. report on climate change documented researchers’ efforts that have shown some measures of global warming are now unavoidable, and current research efforts are focusing on mitigation and adaptation strategies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration describes this as a global problem, felt on local scales. Likewise, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers are providing the data, tools and information to better understand and prepare for climate change. One of the effects being impacted by the warming climate is a change in the frequency of flash flooding events, as well as the locations in which they most often occur.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/feed/flash-flooding-likely-increase-across-most-united-states
The life saving research, such as NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) supplies need to be continually funded:
The National Weather Service did warn of the threat to South Kerr County. That was an opportunity for people to consider their safety, before the predicted storms arrived. It was too late when people had fallen asleep by the time the flash floods happened.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/floods/forecasting/
There is poor cell connection in this rural area. If a ‘watch’ is issued you should prepare and avoid river areas in the vicinity. Treat it the same as a hurricane watch. If you have TV, radio or some way of picking up weather warnings, you should have a resilience plan and know you should avoid driving through water as most lives are lost when people think they can drive to safety.
Here are a few safety tips to follow:
- Move to higher ground
- Do not attempt to drive through a flooded road
- Do not drive around a barricade
- Turn around and find another route
The weather warnings were on CNN before July 4th, aimed at holiday travellers in particular. I live in the UK, and I saw them. If I had lived in Dallas, for example, and had been planning to go to this location, if I had seen those warnings I would have changed my plans. It is a well known path of flash floods due to the geological makeup of the area. Dangerous levels of rain were forecast lasting for days.
See Texas flooding geology and other factors at:
In 2019 funds to support research and find solutions to resilience questions for Texas began.
https://www.twdb.texas.gov/flood/planning/faq.asp
Globally, we are all feeling the impact of these threatening weather patterns and need all the help we can get from these technologically advanced warning systems and knowledge base which has accumulated over decades.
July 2025
Astonishingly, in US, a ‘stop work’ notice has been issued to not further install, and actually remove, flood alert systems:
borderslynn 
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