‘I suppose the worst’: internal electronic texts and emails show confusion, concern among the officials of the Kerr County River authority during floods

by jessy
'I suppose the worst': internal electronic texts and emails show confusion, concern among the officials of the Kerr County River authority during floods

While the Guadalupe River overflowed in Kerr County on July 4, the officials of a local agency in charge of “managing water quality and the amount of water” in the Texas hills country seemed perplexed by the degree of the drop -down crisis and its role in addressing it, according to emails and text messages obtained by ABC News.

“Wow! It’s somewhat beautiful!” Initially, an official wrote to a group chat of the authority of the Guadalupe River (UGRA) at 7:09 am, including a screenshot of a graph that shows a massive increase in current flow levels along the river in Kerville, after the drought conditions that Kerr’s county had faced before floods.

Like others in the group chat they shared the increasingly worrying reports they were listening to, it was quickly clear that there were alarm reasons.

“So I know I said it was something beautiful before,” the official wrote at 7:38 am “he had just woke up and had not yet looked at the stockings. It’s terrible.”

At that time, Kerr County parts had already been flooded with flood waters for several hours, flood alerts and the Kerville police department had been issued for multiple rescue of water.

“When everything is resolved, it will be a totally different river,” wrote an individual as Kevin Molenaar maintenance technician.

‘Any word in the mystic camp?’

The amazing flood cost would not become evident for days. Ultimately, more than 130 deaths were reported throughout the region, with many of the deaths in Camp Mystic.

On July 4, an official sent a text message to Dick Eastland, the president of the camp, “you are in my prayers.”

There was no answer.

Eastland, who also served as a treasurer of the Board of Directors of UGRA, died during the storm along with multiple young campers and counselors.

“Poor children in the camps and their parents,” an official wrote in a group chat. “And so many people here in RVS for 4th.”

The waters of the flood left debris, including vehicles and equipment scattered in Louise Hays Park, on July 5, 2025, in Kerville, Texas.

Eric Vryn/Getty Images

Communications were published in response to a request submitted by ABC News under the Texas Law.

They paint an image of confusion and concern throughout independence, with some text messages that indicate that water meters in Hunt and Kerville had stopped reading. In other messages, UGRA representatives published what they had learned from the media or social networks.

“There are missing people and possibly missing children of Mystic, but that is not confirmed,” published an official at 9:47 am

Less than two hours later, the written officer: “Now they say that the entire camp that Mystic explained. Praise the Lord.”

An individual identified as Natural Resources Manager, Shelby Taber, replied: “I’m glad to hear that Camp Mystic is safe!”

But in the afternoon, the main leadership of the UGRA seemed to realize that the situation in Camp Mystic was more serious, although they did not know specific details.

“Any word in the Mystic Camp?” The president of the Junta de Ugra, William Rector, sent an email to General Manager Tara Bushnoe at 2:41 pm “I bet we can find some financial assistance to establish our floor warning system!”

Bushnoe responded at 3:12 pm that he only knew what he had seen on a local news website indicating that “some girls are missing” and that the camp had issued a statement that was issued in a local news.

“I don’t know if a flood warning system would have made enough difference,” Bushnoe wrote. “I think some would have done, but this happened very fast. We will have to be careful with our messages to be respectful of devastation.”

“Very sure”. Rector responded. “I think that working behind the scene will be the most appropriate action at this time. However, we must worry that the county does not try Siez. [sic] control.”

Contacted by ABC News on the messages, the UGRA officials did not respond to a request for comments.

‘Vulnerable to sudden floods’

ABC News previously requested the UGRA to any flood report after the action that could have created in the last 25 years after other storms along the Guadalupe River, but a law firm that represents the authority said that “they do not have receptive information.”

The documents published during the last month show that the concerns about the risks raised by the Guadalupe River in Kerr County were widely known before the floods of July 4, and the UGRA was particularly aware.

As ABC News previously reported, the authority submitted a request last year to state officials seeking a subsidy of $ 1 million of the Texas flood infrastructure fund for a project called “Kerr County Flood Warning System” that would have included “high water detection systems in 10 low water crosses.”

“Since 1932, approximately 35 lives have been lost in floods in Kerr County. Many of the lost were in vehicles trying to cross flooded roads,” the application said along with a death timeline between 1987 and 2016.

However, in October 2024, the UGRA refused to continue requesting funds from the Infrastructure Fund, with Bushnoe writing in a letter at the time when, although Kerr County was “vulnerable to Flash food”, the project would have been “only eligible for a 5%subsidy.”

“We will continue to explore the options to implement a Kerr county flood warning system and financial assistance opportunities,” Bushnoe’s letter said.

The letter did not observe who decided that the project would only have been eligible for a 5%subsidy.

The UGRA then reached an agreement with a company called Kisters to develop a different flood warning system that would have consisted of a “centralized board to support local flood monitoring and emergency response.”

The agreement, which was signed exactly one month before the floods of July 4, indicated that the project was expected to cost more than $ 70,000.

A starting meeting was scheduled for mid -July, but the plans were suspended after floods. It is not clear what happened with the plan created in 2024 for the flood warning system of $ 1 million.

Kisters did not respond to the request for comments from ABC News after flooding.

‘We will receive many calls’

It was supposed that on July 4 it was a day of celebration in Kerr County, with an important fireworks event of Independence Day “Room in the river“Scheduled to take place just a stone shot from the Guadalupe River.

Instead, it became one of the most tragic days in the history of the center of Texas, with dozens of people not counted after sunset.

In the authority of the Alto Guadalupe River, some staff members discussed the importance of the catastrophe with each other.

“I hope that they find more survivors tonight, but I suppose the worst for the missing ones,” Natural Resources Specialist Traviscomb sent a text message to another staff member at 11:48 pm

“Hopefully this pushes the issue of early flooding warning to the avant -garde and this time we do more,” Linscomb added. “Unfortunately, it seems that a great loss of lives is needed so that the ball really becomes white 2015”, an apparent reference to another flood a decade ago.

As the calendar became July 5, the Ugra team faced how to explain its role as consultations, according to communications.

“I have the feeling that we will receive many calls from very angry people asking why we let this happen because they want someone to blame and I will have no idea what to say,” an official wrote at 7:21 am

The lack of an effective flood warning system in Kerr County would become the mind in the hours, days and weeks after Guadalupe banks overflow. A Texas legislators committee is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the floods of July 4.

“Some of the comments I am seeing are saying things in the line of ‘How are there now [sic] Flood warning system in 2025? “” An employee wrote early on the morning of July 5. “I want you to tell you so much that there is much more than simply snapping your fingers and making it happen.” Bureaucracy, money, equipment that does not even survive a flood (as we saw today), etc. “

“I can’t imagine just being asleep and then woke up with your RV floating with you and your family in it and there is absolutely nothing you can do,” said the employee. “The fear and impotence that people must have felt is to bend down.”

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