Andy1

It looks like Texas is allergic to disaster preparation. At all levels of government, the approach to preparing for future severe weather events is “hear nothing, see nothing, speak nothing”. To spend money on climate preparedness would be to admit climate change is real. They would rather do “thoughts and prayers”, and take the “we can’t believe this happened, there is nothing we could have done” approach to planning. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-us

Here is a good article addressing the role of government in Texas flood management. Texas is well behind other states in how they manage flood risk. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/texas-floods-growth-kerr-county-camp-mystic/

A lot of it is people not understanding the danger of building in certain areas. Or if you are going to live in these high hazard places, responsible government needs to spend extra on mitigation/safety. This applies to those people living in the fire prone hills of CA, tsunami areas, flash flood zones etc. This isn’t the 1800s or some third world country where the government is clueless. Tornados are very local and unpredictable where they will hit. Aside from building a bunker for personal safety, there is not much one can do. Dangerous flash flood areas are known based upon local climate and the geography/geology of the area. This river is known for dangerous flash floods. “Oh well… thoughts and prayers” is not a recipe to prevent future loss of life. If engineers took this approach, bridges would be collapsing all over the place.

But rain isn’t like a tornado that you can’t see. Rain takes time before it impacts areas with flooding. You can see it on radar. If you see it dumping on the hills, you know downstream areas are under threat.

A bit further left than I’d prefer but I don’t give a crap how he sits in a chair. Probably not electable to national office, but who knows? Politics in this country seems to swing wildly…with each presidential election, people choosing the opposite of the last guy.

Trump is the least masculine president of my lifetime. He wears heels, a face covered with makeup and spends hours obsessing over his fake hair each morning. MAGA thinks he is some marvel of Superman strength but he is just a fat old guy wearing diapers with a lot of money who tries to project a tough guy, macho, mob boss image.

So are the inept actions of all the officials in Kerr County who are white guys with cowboy hats also because of DEI? Just asking.

Hey, I’m not here to argue and fight. The reality is that a lot of people are repelled by science and would rather get their information from other sources these days. That’s all. I’m out.

For those who believe in science, here is an article explaining why this part of Texas is prone to these disasters. Government planners and emergency managers need to prepare for the environment they live in since this is not an unexpected event in that region. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-texas-flash-flood-alley-is-so-deadly-explained-by-geology/

This is an example of why zoning and building codes are important. The freedom lovers hate them, so you end up with innocent people dying. Texas and every other state needs to review where it allows people to build homes. Flash flood prone areas are especially dangerous as seen here, and in NC last year.

Sounds like more of a failure of local emergency management officials. They are all in a CYA mode now trying to deflect blame to National Weather Service. The lawsuits will be coming. Having the sleeping quarters of a kids camp located in a flash flood zone is so stupid.

So DOGE didn’t touch the NWS?

Leh-nerd this is a lame response distracting from the issue. It’s like Dems replying with the atrocities of J6 for every topic. The relevant topic is how much power should the president have. Look beyond Trump to when a Bernie type president gets elected. Would you want them to have increased powers? Or would you rather the courts to be able to mitigate their decisions, until the issue at that time is decided by the SC? Maybe it’s all irrelevant since when that time comes, this court will probably reverse itself and decide the states have rights and the executive power is limited.

During the Obama and Biden times, conservatives repeatedly used lower court rulings to constrain their orders. That is a good thing and in keeping with conservative principles in that it forces slower societal change through laws developed in the legislative branch. Through this process, the 49% of Americans who supported the losing side of the presidential election felt that they still had some say, through the courts, in the future of the nation. Now we have a SC which is repeatedly increasing the power of the presidency through their decisions. Trump will use these powers to the max. And these new powers will be used by all who come after him, including those with liberal views. This is not a good thing for society in that it allows for more radical change in either direction, depending on the whims of one individual. The other 49% will feel powerless and become increasingly hateful, all of which is bad for America, making us more divided and less United.

Well it looks like there is some reason for hope and peace moving forward and I guess that is a good thing. Only caution is that in the Middle East, hope never seems to last for long. Hope is usually what comes before the next explosion.