What happened to the warning system in Texas flood disaster?

[Pototan]

I currently live in the Philippines. I'm in a rural section of the Central Philippines, just outside of Iloilo City.

I get alerts constantly on my phone. The alarm goes off two or three times a month, mostly for severe thunderstorms. I did get a couple of flood warnings a year or two ago. I mention this because I live in what Trump would call a "shithole country". An average, middle class income here is about $10,000 USD a year. Having said that, I think the Philippines is a great country with friendly people and well run. They have a sophisticated warning system and a great weather forecasting system. Yet, back in the richest, most powerful country in the world, little girls camping by a river with adult supervision were left helpless against a raging river, when an hour notice could have saved all their lives.

I hope all those MAGATs who shout "USA, USA" realize this at the next rally when they hear their hero explain how he's making America Great Again.

[speak easy]

1. They don't have one. Or Sirens either.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/kerrville-didnt-have-weather-sirens-used-by-other-cities/

[Irish_Dem]

2. Texans voted for brown people getting killed. That is what they wanted.

Didn't think little white girls would be murdered.
Negligent homicide.

[Paladin]

4. Well, it sure as shit wasn't something I wanted.

Yet again I will say it: I am one of 4.8 million Texans who voted for Kamala Harris. I have a granddaughter that came home safe from a Hill Country summer camp a couple of weeks ago; she had a blast. One of my daughters knows a couple with a daughter who wasn't as fortunate---they're still searching for her, and it doesn't appear that a happy ending is in the offing.

Honestly, I expect better from the likes of you, Irish_Dem. You've been here at DU for years, you've logged over 70,000 posts. Leave the ugly Texas-bashing to the hot-headed newcomers who don't know any better and will soon enough be gone. We've got a nation to save from police state status, and we may be out of time, already.

[Gimpyknee]

9. Well said.

[kkmarie]

3. I hope they figure it out

How this could have been avoided. But I'm confident in their stupidity and hatred, that they will blame Biden/ Democrats.

[Paladin]

5. Note to Irish_Dem: This is what I'm talking about. (nt)

[mgardener]

6. I wonder if Greg Abbott

Will be held accountable?

[joshdawg]

7. I just spit out my coffee!

abbott being held accountable?!?!

Seriously??

Only when pigs fly and fish whistle,

[Farmer-Rick]

8. Huh, no warning system?

Even here in the middle of red neck idiot rural TN, we have a warning system. When hurricane Helene floods came for the Nolichucky dam, the sirens were constantly going off. It's just a loud noise. But it warns you to look at weather problems.

My land line phone went down during the flooding. So, not sure what good a phone warning will do. When Comcast, err Xfinity, finally came back on line after the flooding was done, I pulled up my account to listen to messages. The Sheriff's department had left me a message telling me to evacuate. Yeah, that would have been good to know before the flooding. I was lucky.

[RobertDevereaux]

10. Today, an excerpt from MeidasTouch's Substack...

The facts are the following:

Trump has fired or forced out a huge number of employees at the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the NWS (National Weather Service), and FEMA.

Trump and his Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, have repeatedly called for FEMA to be eliminated.

The Trump regime fired the interim head of FEMA—an ultra-MAGA guy—because he testified before Congress that he personally did not want to see FEMA eliminated.

Kristi Noem has bragged about diverting (aka stealing) $450 million in FEMA funds to fund the Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp in Florida.

Numerous top meteorologists have said weather forecasting is now severely degraded because of the Trump and DOGE cuts.

The Trump regime is now only sending a small fraction of the weather balloons needed for accurate forecasting.

A significant amount of resources within NOAA, NWS, and FEMA have been removed, dismantled, or defunded.

In April, Paul Yura—the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS Austin/San Antonio office, with over 32 years of experience—was forced out by DOGE and took early retirement.

These are the undisputed facts that predated the flash floods in Texas.

[Pototan]

11. I love Meidas Touch