The number of people still missing in the July 4 Kerr County flood dropped to two after another body was recovered last week, the Austin American- Statesman reported. The two still missing are a child and an adult who were at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 campers and counselors died. The death toll in Kerr County now totals 108. Statewide, the death toll has reached at least 136. Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered disaster declarations for 30 Texas counties, making them eligible for both state and federal assistance. “Texas remains relentless in our efforts to help impacted Texans and communities rebuild,” Abbott said. The counties included in Abbott’s state-level declaration include Bandera, Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Edwards, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch, Menard, Real, Reeves, San Saba, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, Travis, Uvalde and Williamson.
Lawmakers Blast River Authority For Not Upgrading
Lawmakers from both parties ripped into Kerr County’s river authority for choosing to cut property taxes rather than modernizing a flood warning system, the Statesman reported. The hearing last week before 18 Texas Senate and House members came during the first week of the special session. Tara Bushnoe, general manager of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, testified before the panel. State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, called the decision “extremely disturbing.” A report published last week by the Houston Chronicle found the river authority was only willing to spend about $100,000 to upgrade its flood warning system after a 2016 engineering study found a $1 million overhaul was needed. The authority also turned down an interest-free loan from the Texas Water Development Board spanning 30 years for the upgrade. “You had the resources to deploy this system absent any FEMA grant, absent any water development loan, and I guess that’s troubling because you had the money but not the will,” state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said. Bushnoe said the authority has funded other critical projects, including gauges used by the National Weather Service to predict floods. However, she said, “I agree there’s much room for improvement and we are working towards that.”
