Trump travels to Texas after floods kill 120 and leave 160 missing

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

A Texas firefighter located upstream of the deadly floods in Kerr County asked if emergency flood alerts could be sent to residents about an hour before the first warnings were received, audio reveals.

In the recording, obtained by US outlets, the firefighter asks at 04:22 on 4 July if a CodeRED alert can be issued. The dispatcher replies that a supervisor needs to approve the request.

Residents didn’t begin receiving the alert until an hour later – for some it took up to six hours, according to reports.

In the recording of the firefighter’s dispatch call, the emergency responder can be heard saying: “The Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39.

“Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?”

“Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor,” the dispatcher replied.

Local officials are now facing mounting questions over when Kerrville’s residents were notified about deadly flash floods that killed 96 in Kerr County alone, with over 160 others still missing.

Asked about a possible police radio failure at a press conference on Thursday – almost a week after 4 July flooding – Kerrville Police community services officer Jonathan Lamb said, “I don’t have any information to that point.”

The questioning followed a tense exchange the day before when reporters asked officials repeatedly about a possible lag in emergency communications.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha earlier this week declined to offer specifics about timing, saying that officials were instead focused on rescue and recovery efforts.

Leitha said he was first notified around the “four to five area”, and told local media, “we’re in the process of trying to put a timeline” about what exactly happened in the pre-dawn hours.

“That’s going to take a little bit of time,” he told them. “That is not my priority this time.”