Catastrophic flooding is occurring in Central Texas this morning.

[BeyondKnowledge]

It's not California, you don't blame states like Texas for "those types" of failures during natural disasters, especially with such a high death toll and so many girls still missing. It's tragic and force majeure.

You are only allowed to jump to conclusions of systematic failure in CA, HI, OR, WA, CO, MN, IL, NY, NJ, MD, DE, CN, RI, MA, VT, NH, and ME.

I feel an obligatory statement of empathy is now needed to offset that my immediate response to that post was to politicize tragedy.

I honestly wonder how much vocal public response to these things are forced, and how much is an inroad to get in political jab like I just did.

So I'm not going to actually blame anything for a flash flood in the middle of night, even if the Captain Hindight in me says there should have been a better warning system or preparedness.

I am not blaming any state officials or any response. I am blaming the ones at the town, city and county level along with lack of planning on the groups running the camps. 

The storms were predicted the day before and failure to monitor the situation as it developed is what made this a tragity rather than an inconvenience.

[ReturnofBroccoli]

It rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, flash floods happen all the time and are nowhere near this magnitude

[ReturnofBroccoli]

Lets start with this timeline here: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/05/nx-s1-545...s-timeline During hurricane Katrina that hit the state of Louisiana, there were several people who chose not to evacuate and even some who couldn't. I was there shortly after, it was bad. Weather can be unpredictable and you can only prepare so much and do what you can. It could have hit anywhere. Read the timeline and give it some thought.

[David64]

The death toll is up to 52 and 27 missing from the girls camp.

Jesus Christ.

This is a parents worst nightmare. Your child is missing and you hope they are still alive, but knowing deep in your soul they are probably not.

[CriticalStinker]

It rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, flash floods happen all the time and are nowhere near this magnitude

Yea, this was like 1 in a hundred years flood. 

Reality is, a lot of us have seen flash flood watches or warnings and do very little to change our day other than being a little more alert.

I don’t think there’s any doubt the camp failed, and likely some local officials. But if we’re being pragmatic, we need to think of ways to prevent it.

In Texas, I think they could make a different noise for the tornado sirens to use for other types of emergencies. And I think a different classification for extreme flooding could be used for the whole country when it goes passed a little water in the basements and roadways.

I think it would serve well to have an extreme classification that people associate with the danger of a tornado. I know even if my phone is on silent, a tornado warning will still sound off loud. Maybe we do that with other extreme threats too.

[UltraBudgie]

The death toll is up to 52 and 27 missing from the girls camp.

Jesus Christ.

This is a parents worst nightmare. Your child is missing and you hope they are still alive, but knowing deep in your soul they are probably not.

i guess i'm going to go there.

this comment immediately made me think of the contrast in national empathy between the plight of american parents searching for their missing christian children in the floodwaters of texas and palestinian parents searching for their missing children in the rubble of gaza.

my heart is with them both.

and still i wonder, is reality painting an empathy-trap here? this situation is so loaded with synchronic signifiers and semiotic signposts, shadow-realm symbolism. no conspiracy, reality abases to simple brutal tragedy.

will we be asked, beyond this veil, "why did you not weep so deeply for all the world? what made you choose what was worth your compassion?"

and still we build the bombs that make the rubble.

[putnam6]

The best i can find Kerr County Texas, has had 3 of this type of flood in approximately 110 years.

The last one being 1987 38 years ago...

People forget 

Basically said the same this when Missouri flooded a few years back...

The thing is, this is pure American states' rights. It's not as if Central Texas didn't deal with flooding with the hurricane a couple of years ago. The politicians and the people of central Texas found other priorities, I bet it will be talked about this election season 

If it were important enough, Texas would come up with a more robust warning system. Hell, one person monitoring weather bulletins all night long would have done wonders 

Just tragic as hell; they had about 3 hours of lead time, the best I can piece together. Camp Mystic had over 750 kids could they get them all to higher ground in 3 hours?

[Sky727]

Swept 20 miles down River and rescued from a tree

[IDELB2006]

The blame game is well underway.

NYT

Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected, given the enormous levels of rainfall and the storm’s unusually abrupt escalation.

and

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents Weather Service workers.
The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, Mr. Fahy said. Staff members in those positions are meant to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.
 
That office’s warning coordination meteorologist left on April 30, after taking the early retirement package the Trump administration used to reduce the number of federal employees, according to a person with knowledge of his departure.
 

[CriticalStinker]

[Image: https://denyignorance.com/uploader/image...AKtVy.jpeg]

It's unfortunate that almost every natural disaster gets politicized.

Being critical is fine, if there are things we can improve, we should. But dancing on people's misfortune is just sick.