State Capital Highlights
A joint hearing of Senate and House select committees convened in Kerrville and heard from anguished flood survivors who described losing children, going days without contact from emergency management, and calling for more adequate flood warning systems, The Tribune reported.
A local contractor who lives downstream from the RV parks on the Ingram-Kerrville border testified he saw more than 100 RVs swept downstream, some still with families inside.
The panel also heard from survivors of the Sandy Creek flood in Travis County, saying county officials didn’t deploy emergency resources for days after the early July floods.
“Nobody came, nobody came, nobody came for us,” said Auburn Gallagher, a 25-year resident of Sandy Creek.
Survivors from both Travis and Kerr counties said human remains are still unrecovered and faulted the methods used by emergency management teams to identify missing persons.
“I found a hip and a leg on my property,” testified Ashlee Willis, who lives near Sandy Creek in Travis County.
In response, state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said cadaver dogs should be used.
At the hearing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly for being absent as flood waters swept his county on July 4, killing more than 100 people.
“I don’t know where you were on Day One, on July 4, but you should have been here. You should have been here directing that response. That is your responsibility,” Patrick told Kelly at the hearing.
A Note from the Editor:
San Saba County Judge Jody Fauley spoke at the above mentioned Senate Hearing. His report was in our News Alerts from last week. It can also be found on our website www. sansabanews.com. Search for: Judge Fauley speaks at the Texas Special Congressional Hearing on Disaster Preparedness. We will publish a summary of his recorded testimony/report in next week’s printed edition of the San Saba News & Star.