Flooding is nothing new to the Hill Country region of Texas, where, in 1987, heavy rains caused the Guadalupe River to swell and spill over, stranding more than 30 people who needed to be rescued — and killing 10 teens from the Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp.
In the decades since, local officials have sought public and private grants to prevent future flooding tragedies, according to reports — raising questions about how Friday’s devastating storm surge along the Guadalupe took so many lives.
A $1 million grant approved in 2017 funded the upgrade of high-water detection systems along the Guadalupe River, and paid for the installation of 10 new gauges.
Three years ago, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay awarded a $1.2 million grant to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, or the GBRA, which strives to conserve and protect the water resources of the Guadalupe River Basin.
The flooding left devastation across the region. APThe GBRA was established by the Texas Legislature in 1933.
Two 60-year-old Goff Bayou radial gates, which regulated periodic flooding and high tides, were replaced with the grant.
“The structure’s resiliency to withstand extreme weather conditions and climate variability will be enhanced,” the companies boasted in a news release.
Officials have also been restoring area wetlands as a way to enhance natural flood management, and money has been spent on improved investments in drainage systems and other flood control infrastructure.
Camp equipment was found strewn everywhere. APBut the efforts apparently failed to prevent Friday’s deadly floods, in which 43 people, including 15 children, were killed when the Guadalupe again surged over its banks.
Texas officials pointed fingers at the National Weather Service, which they said issued forecasts earlier in the week downplaying the impending storm and its severity.
Follow The Post’s coverage on the deadly Texas flooding
- Camp Mystic survivors heard screams in the dark as floodwaters hit hours earlier than previously thought
- Camp Mystic co-owner waited 45 minutes to evacuate campers after getting urgent ‘life-threatening’ flash floods alert
- Texas flood volunteers ordered to evacuate as heavy rainfall expected to strike devastated region
- Texas family mourns 8-year-old daughter confirmed dead in Camp Mystic flood disaster
“The original forecast that we received Wednesday from the National Weather Service predicted 3 to 6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley and 4 to 8 inches in the Hill Country,” offered Texas Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd at a news conference Friday.
A wall was blown out of the mess hall. AP“The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts,” Kidd added.
But in a statement to NBC News, the NWS said it was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County,” and added it had issued flash flood warnings the night of July 3 and then again the morning of July 4.
Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said local NWS were adequately staffed and “issued timely forecasts and warnings leading up to the storm.”
