this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

Nope, the warning system wasn't installed because the citizens of the community thought it was too expensive

During a news conference early Friday morning, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said he didn't know why the camps hadn't been evacuated, but that the county did not have an early warning system or outdoor sirens to alert people to flooding conditions.

“We’ve looked into it before … The public reeled at the cost,” Kelly said.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/national-weather-service-alert-timeline-texas-flooding/3879084/

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 children)

That refers to the audible sirens. Sirens are outdated technology. The emergency alert system has relied primarily on cell phones for over a decade now.

The relevant criticism in the article is not the lack of sirens, but this:

NWS alerts triggered Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) on enabled mobile devices, but many summer camps do not allow campers to bring mobile devices to camp.

These no-devices policies dont make sense in a world where emergency alerts are delivered via mobile devices.

[–] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Considering the expense and the way they enable spying on users, I don't think people should be required to own a cell phone or die. Especially children. Sirens or a weather radio make a lot more sense in some situations.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago

Fortunately, weather radio continues to issue EAS alerts throughout their broadcast area. Weather radios in the cabins would have alerted them.

Of course, WEA alerts are much more narrowly targeted. WEA alerts are for your own specific area, not the ~50 mile radius around the weather radio transmitter. An EAS alert might be for a tornado a hundred miles out and moving away, while you sit under clear, sunny skies.

Regardless, the speed and degree of flooding far exceeded expectations for dangerous storms. There is no evidence they lacked or ignored the warnings that were sent out. Their preparations were simply inadequate, because the flooding so greatly exceeded their expectations.

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