After killed more than 100 people in Texas’ Hill Country last July, officials vowed major changes in hopes of preventing the failures that contributed to the high death toll. They promised better flood warning systems, tighter safety rules for children’s camps and improvements to the state’s water infrastructure.
That work was far from done when a new round of storms began pummeling the state this week, triggering in some of the same areas devastated in 2025. At least two people died. Hundreds needed rescue.
But residents in some hard-hit areas said a year of preparation did make a difference. Newly installed flood sirens sounded in the darkness, warning people to get out. Phones buzzed with alerts that weren’t sent out in last year’s disaster.
Still, stories of people surprised to find their homes inundated by rising rivers illustrate the challenges of trying to bolster early warning systems in a vast, rural area known as Flash Flood Alley.
Some agencies were more proactive about sending wireless alerts
Over the last decade, a variety of Texas state and local agencies to implement flood warning systems along the Guadalupe River, the AP reported after last summer鈥檚 floods killed 136 people, including 28 at a sleepaway camp for girls.
That changed after the tragedy as by government agencies and riverside camps.
Unlike last summer, when local officials in Kerr County said and , Kerr County issued four alerts and the city of Kerrville issued one early on Thursday as the risk for flooding became apparent, according to an Associated Press review of available data.
They warned residents along Quinlan Creek to evacuate to higher ground, and of 鈥渆xtremely dangerous鈥� flash flooding. Those alerts came alongside flood watches, warnings and emergencies sent to broadcast outlets, weather radios and mobile phones by the National Weather Service. People who signed up for the CodeRED notification emergency system in Kerr County also received text message warnings.
鈥淟ast year, we got no alarms. We had no idea what was going on,鈥� said Suzanne Sutphin Gschwind, of Kerrville.
鈥淭his year, very different,鈥� she said, with multiple texts and calls coming in from local authorities, a weather channel and her doorbell camera. One night the warnings arrived 鈥渁bout every two hours.鈥�
鈥淚 think we would all like to err on the side of too much,鈥� she said.
The warnings didn’t reach everyone
Between the early morning hours of Tuesday and about 9 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service sent 38 alerts to people in certain southwest Texas communities, including 14 tornado warnings and 24 warnings that flooding was occurring or imminent and could be 鈥渓ife threatening.鈥�
Those Weather Service notifications, though, often don鈥檛 contain the highly localized information put in alerts sometimes sent by municipal and county emergency agencies 鈥� and people in some places may not have gotten any of those local alerts, which can be more decisive for people considering whether to seek high ground.
An Associated Press review of wireless emergency alert data did not find any listed as sent by agencies in Uvalde County, which was hit hard by flooding, though agencies in that county might have used other means to alert the public.
Jaclyn Gonzales was awakened at 2 a.m. Wednesday by a friend who called to warn that a tornado might be headed toward her Uvalde-area home. When she jumped out of bed, the floor was wet.
鈥淚t was the shock of the water to my feet that made me really wake up,鈥� she said.
Kat Sprawls only learned floodwaters were nearing her Batesville home when a friend called her at 3:30 a.m. Friday. It took five or six calls before she woke up, because she had her phone on do-not-disturb mode.
鈥淭here’s no warning system at all. It’s just like the flood in Kerrville last year 鈥� we had no warnings,鈥� Sprawls said. 鈥淥ver half of Batesville is under water now.”
Zavala County Sheriff’s Department secretary Jessica Belmarez said the department is updating its Facebook page with evacuation information and that law enforcement officers were going door-to-door in affected areas, including Batesville.
The network of flood sirens is expanding
Newly installed sirens in Ingram and in Kerr and Kendall counties were used this week to warn residents, said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who authored legislation in 2025 to help fund the sirens. Twenty-eight additional counties are also eligible for flood warning funding. Most are in the process of putting together implementation plans for review by the Texas Water Development Board.
鈥淏etween the outdoor sirens, and the cellphone alerts, the response was very positive in getting people out of the way and to higher ground,鈥� Bettencourt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an enormous improvement over a year ago.鈥�
Three of six new sirens installed in Kerr County were used to warn people to seek high ground, said Tara Bushnoe, manager of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority. The other three were in areas with only minor flooding, Bushnoe said.
The small town of Comfort had one warning siren for years. The volunteer fire department .
鈥淪ome people just don鈥檛 want to leave 鈥� that鈥檚 our problem here,鈥� said Danny Morales, the assistant fire chief. 鈥淏ut we did set them off twice, probably an hour from one to another, just because we had people just lingering, and not wanting to move.”
Private companies are working to fill the gaps
Ian Cunningham founded River Sentry after the 2025 floods, building flood siren towers for privately owned sites like RV parks, camps and hotels. The sirens are triggered by rising water levels.
So far, the company has installed 104 sirens along the Guadalupe River, Cunningham said, including several near the site of an RV park where more than three dozen people died in 2025.
鈥淲e installed them about three months ago and did not expect them to be used so soon,鈥� Cunningham said.
Hononu, which has developed water-level sensor technology and a real-time data network, received a state contract that will make it easier for agencies to purchase its flood warning technology.
Watch Duty, a fire-tracking app used by millions, expanded earlier this year to help .
Officials say the changes saved lives
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the lessons of 2025 led to a better emergency response this time.
鈥淓verybody in Texas has been far more prepared to deal with what has happened this year,鈥� Abbott said during a news conference in Uvalde. 鈥淟ives have been saved.鈥�
___ Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Jesse Bedayn in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
