to answer your question from my POV through facebook, KRNH was pretty active through their facebook, i know they have actual in house DJ's through the daytime, but from what i see they can only do so much as far as how quick they can respond to a flood situation, like someone said after your comment in the thread, the option to get monitoring and alarm systems for the river but the county didnt see the reason to spend 50k on the research i hope they reconsider after this unfortunate event, nobody should have to lose their lives in order for safety equipment or procedures to be put in place...How did KRNH-92.3 and others cover this devastating flooding? Was there live coverage and evacuation info? Or was it autopilot?
82 people are dead now. RIP to all victims and may God comfort all of the families and friends who lost loved ones...especially their own children.
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EAS and Central Texas flooding
- Thread starter Theater of My Mind
- Start date
More reporting on how radio is covering the Texas floods:
radioink.com
Radio Steps Up During Texas Floods With Relief and Information - Radio Ink
After deadly Texas floods, AM/FM shifted from July 4th to crisis response. CMG's Mark Shecterle details how radio helped lead relief efforts.
radioink.com
There was more time than the local officials want you to believe. On CNN or ABC's news service they had an interview with a camper in the next town that said the volunteer fire department used their PA and sirens to wake them up . Their site was flooded but they were safe.
Most police cars have PA systems. A country of 50 k should have officers on patrol 24 / 7. Why weren't they "sounding the alarm"?
IMHO:
#1 The local 911 center should have a page in their emergency manual or computer screen with instructions who to contact where to send emergency assets for ANY disaster.
#2 If you are responsible for hundreds of lives, you have the moral responsibility to make your own "emergency plans". Apparently adjacent camps got their folks to higher ground. For some reason Camp Mystic didn't. As I said before how can you have hundreds of girls and not have some kind of security guard on duty at night?
#3 Tornados can be more "sudden" than a flood. Were / are these campsites ready for a tornado?
#4 Hopefully the local government will not allow anything housing people to be rebuilt in this flood zone.
Most police cars have PA systems. A country of 50 k should have officers on patrol 24 / 7. Why weren't they "sounding the alarm"?
IMHO:
#1 The local 911 center should have a page in their emergency manual or computer screen with instructions who to contact where to send emergency assets for ANY disaster.
#2 If you are responsible for hundreds of lives, you have the moral responsibility to make your own "emergency plans". Apparently adjacent camps got their folks to higher ground. For some reason Camp Mystic didn't. As I said before how can you have hundreds of girls and not have some kind of security guard on duty at night?
#3 Tornados can be more "sudden" than a flood. Were / are these campsites ready for a tornado?
#4 Hopefully the local government will not allow anything housing people to be rebuilt in this flood zone.
They have "code red" which I assume is the same as the Pickens County's (GA) reverse 911. It calls all of the landlines and registered cell phones. The NWS's tornado warnings can get on the cell systems.
If you are a "pretty remote place" you most likely have a landline if cell coverage doesn't work. If you are a campsite you most likely have a reliable phone or Internet service for reservations and financial transactions. I had a client that used Musk's satellite service and a VOIP phone. If you don't have a landline, working cell phone, or a reliable weather radio you are most likely "off the grid" and I can only guess you feel you are able to "fend for yourself" and know the chance you are taking.
Let's check the coverage maps. It looks pretty green along the river in those counties between these two signals:
Texas Stations Provide ‘Vital Personal Connection’ During Non-Stop Flood Coverage.
Coverage of the tragic flooding that hit six central Texas counties over the Independence Day weekend, causing widespread damage and loss of lives, again showed that when it comes to
iHeart typically does a good job covering large-scale, headline-grabbing disasters, and it does an equally good job at promoting itself once they have done so. Cox seems to have done a similar job here with both aspects.
One thing not mentioned in the linked articles though, is what time did they start? CMG's Mark Shecterle states that "texts started flying" after 11a, but he doesn't go on to describe how long it took to get coverage rolling after that. 11 a.m. was already several hours after the river reached major flood stage, so was it in time to help save lives or was it essentially all post-disaster response, talking about what happened, and fundraising for the Red Cross? Nothing wrong with that, but there's a distinction to be made.
For what it is worth the radio signal coverage in Hunt and some of the other nearby rural towns like Leakey is pretty poor. 1200 does has some signal, but I believe even it was weak when I was last out there.
Cell phone services are also notoriously terrible.
Cell phone services are also notoriously terrible.
When you are out towards Hunt and Ingram, you are in the cancellation zone at night for WOAI. The signal is ok during the day.
KTSA is more challenging out there at night. None of the other San Antonio AM’s make it out there at night.
The FM’s on the 1560/Galm Rd site will get out there. The Tower of the Americas stations and those out in Elmendorf are either inconsistent or nonexistent.
KTSA is more challenging out there at night. None of the other San Antonio AM’s make it out there at night.
The FM’s on the 1560/Galm Rd site will get out there. The Tower of the Americas stations and those out in Elmendorf are either inconsistent or nonexistent.
No camp responsible for the safety of hundreds of children should be so far "off the grid" and so poorly organized that they can't receive severe weather alerts and respond to them in a timely manner, at any time of day -- especially in an area with a history of previous flash floods that also claimed children's lives:
1987: When the Guadalupe River turned deadly
On July 17, 1987, the final bus and van carrying the kids across the river, trying to escape the ensuing flood, was hit by a wall of water.
At least that time they had chosen to evacuate, and almost entirely made it out in time, only for the last bus of kids to get caught in the flood.
I just saw on ABC that camp Mystic's emergency plan was reviewed the day before the flood.
I believe there is no solution to the loss of life as has played out. A certain percentage of the population will believe it will never happen to them. They will ignore warnings and say it's not going to happen or won't be so bad no matter how the National Weather Service and local officials warn. You see it in hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and winter storms. Some people will just not heed the warnings. No matter what the government does, some will ignore it and some that do will pay the price with their life.
The thing rarely mentioned is the camps that dismissed early because of the predicted bad weather nor the camps that moved kids to higher ground before the warning was issued thanks to the weather service harping on this for a couple of days prior. What happened at Camp Mystic is a mystery we may never solve. My point is not every camp lost campers.
Earlier in a post someone indicated the police and/or fire department should have driven the roads with loudspeaker on to warn people. First, this is a large county. The rural areas had few patrol cars and fire engines. Second roads in such hilly areas have low spots in every valley and mostly it's not a bridge but a low water crossing with a metal gauge so you can see the depth of the water (on highways not county roads). Once the warning was issued those low water crossings were impassible. All it takes is an inch or two in a short time to shut down a highway.
I lived in Del Rio, Texas. My wife and I especially liked Old Timer Cafe in Camp Wood, about 80 miles away. We drive the shorter backway that had a low water crossing for the Nueces River which was just pools of water with more dry land that that which was under water. That crossing was about 20 minutes from the restaurant. We enjoyed our meal and headed back. It had been about an hour and 45 minutes. When we get to the Nueces, water was gushing over the road at an incredible speed. Large tree branches were in the water. We took the long way home, and extra 80 miles. It was not rare for a storm upstream to cause runoff. After all, it was clear and hot where we were.
The thing rarely mentioned is the camps that dismissed early because of the predicted bad weather nor the camps that moved kids to higher ground before the warning was issued thanks to the weather service harping on this for a couple of days prior. What happened at Camp Mystic is a mystery we may never solve. My point is not every camp lost campers.
Earlier in a post someone indicated the police and/or fire department should have driven the roads with loudspeaker on to warn people. First, this is a large county. The rural areas had few patrol cars and fire engines. Second roads in such hilly areas have low spots in every valley and mostly it's not a bridge but a low water crossing with a metal gauge so you can see the depth of the water (on highways not county roads). Once the warning was issued those low water crossings were impassible. All it takes is an inch or two in a short time to shut down a highway.
I lived in Del Rio, Texas. My wife and I especially liked Old Timer Cafe in Camp Wood, about 80 miles away. We drive the shorter backway that had a low water crossing for the Nueces River which was just pools of water with more dry land that that which was under water. That crossing was about 20 minutes from the restaurant. We enjoyed our meal and headed back. It had been about an hour and 45 minutes. When we get to the Nueces, water was gushing over the road at an incredible speed. Large tree branches were in the water. We took the long way home, and extra 80 miles. It was not rare for a storm upstream to cause runoff. After all, it was clear and hot where we were.
The volunteer Fire Department did that in one of the areas (I forget the name) and the campers were saved. I get the low water crossings. There are a lot in West Texas too.
The advantage of being "local" is they should be aware of where the most likely spots to flood are and how to get around them safely.
The flooded area is generally within 2 or 3 miles of the river. You don't need to warm the whole county. The local authorities should know who needs warned.
Before COVID in Pickens County Georgia when the conditions were right for tornados volunteer storm spotters were "activated". I don't know if this was a NWS, state or county function but these brave souls would give accurate information for tornados in the west end of the county.
I would suggest if this area has volunteer "storm spotters" that they be asked to "watch the river" as far upstream nessasary to give at least an half hour warning when a flood watch has been issued too.
Another possibility would be for the flood gauges upstream to automatically "call" the local 911 centers if the water has risen to a critical level. I am not sure of the connectivity of these gauges but there should be real time monitoring by the (Army Corp of Engineers, NOAA or TVA: who ever owns the river level gauges) whenever a "flood watch" has been issued not just here but nationwide. This area might need extra flood and water gauges on the tributaries too. It might be necessary for the State of Texas to pay for these if the the Texas Congress and Senators can't get the US Government to do this. IMHO this would be good pork.
With some folks exercising their property rights to an extreme and the lack of building codes in rural areas, there should be a law that if your property has sleeping accommodations and is in the flood plain, you have to have a working alarm for high water* if you want electric power. The same way Georgia requires proper septic systems if you want electric power to your new home or trailer. Your insurance should give you a discount for flood / high water alarms (like smoke detectors) for property in the flood zones.
The volunteer flood watchers and high water /flood detector for buildings and camp sites with sleeping accommodations could be done quickly and cheaply.
*Amazon has several model under $100. My favorite is the Topvico with the 120 db alarm for under $25. Nine volt battery not included.
In this case, Camp Mystic is literally right on the river. The whole thing was built directly in the floodplain of the river and a nearby lake.
History of Camp Mystic, summer camp hit by deadly Central Texas floods
Rescue operations are ongoing in Central Texas after flash flooding along the Guadalupe River left 23 girls from Camp Mystic unaccounted for. Officials say dozens have died as catastrophic floods continue to ravage the Hill Country.
www.cbsnews.com
