As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings. Full Story
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![A July 5 aerial view of toppled trees near Hunt reveal the scope of the devastating July 4th flood in Kerr Co. Texts and emails show local officials were slow to grasp the severity of the disaster.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Feds move to eliminate petrochemical watchdog, putting Texans and others at risk
Amid increasingly intense weather, the Chemical Safety Board is the lone independent agency watching over the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical corridor. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston, on March 18, 2019.]()
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East Texans condemn Dallas millionaire’s plan to pump 16 billion gallons of their groundwater to other parts of the state — every year
Texas law largely allows landowners to do what they want with the groundwater beneath them, potentially protecting the latest plan to ship water out of East Texas. Full Story
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![Kyle Bass speaks during the Reuters Global Investment 2019 Outlook Summit in New York on Nov. 14, 2018.]()
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Texas buys land for new state parks that will be developed using $1 billion voter-approved fund
The fund opens a new era of public land acquisition and park development for Texas, which ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita. Full Story
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![Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists and staff use an anode, an electrical rod that temporarily stun fish during electrofishing for netting, during an aquatic sampling search at Yancey Creek in what will become Post Oak Ridge State Park, a newly acquired park near Lampasas, Texas, on Thursday, June 5, 2025. The park’s acquisition marks the first since $1 billion dollars were allocated to buy more land for the state parks system as part of the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, approved by the state legislature in 2023. Before development can begin, survey teams collect samples and information regarding the environment and wildlife at the newly acquired land.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from "silent extinction"
Students and naturalists have been sneaking onto private land to extricate threatened native plants: “This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle.” Full Story
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In Kerr County, some summer camps are reopening after the devastating July 4 flood
At least two summer camps in the Texas Hill Country have invited campers back after sustaining little to no damage from the flood. Other camps are still combing through the rubble. Full Story
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![Brandon Briery, COO of Camp CAMP, gives a thumbs up to a camper, Adam, during breakfast on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Center Point.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texans will pay higher power bills as clean energy development slows because of tax credit cuts, economists say
The One Big Beautiful Bill drastically shortens the timeline for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. This will impact even Texas, where wind and solar power have boomed and power demand is rising. Full Story
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![A solar project on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Ector County.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Struggling Texas cotton industry emphasizing the hazards of fast fashion
A group representing High Plains region farmers has launched a campaign to make buyers aware of synthetic fibers’ impact on the environment and health. Full Story
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![Walt Hagood leans on his truck on his cotton farm in Wolfforth on May 12, 2025. .]()
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Plans for flood warning system floundered before Hill Country floods, witnesses tell legislative flood committee
Lawmakers serving on special committees investigating deadly floods blasted a river authority for failing to build a flood warning system on the Guadalupe River. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Senate and House hold a joint Disaster Preparedness and Flooding committee meeting Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Austin. The joint committee was formed in the aftermath of recent devastating flooding in the Hill Country.]()
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Texas startups make products from the carbon in fossil fuels
As consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise, technologies developed by companies in Texas could help change the view of carbon as a hard-to-manage waste product. Full Story
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![Patrick Hanks, chief technology officer of Graphitic Energy, pats the carbon formation vessel on the company’s San Antonio pilot project, which pulls solid carbon graphite out of methane gas.]()
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Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for flooding
Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said. Full Story
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![Photos and flowers hang on a fence as a memorial to flood victims.]()
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“You can’t replace memories”: Volunteers seek to return personal items after Texas floods
Volunteers are hoping to find the owners of stuffed animals, photographs and other keepsakes salvaged from the debris. Full Story
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![Michael Guyer holds photos and patches from the Heart of the Hills camp that he has found while volunteering in search efforts in the aftermath of the flood in Kerr County.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
How a small East Texas town turned a devastating tornado into funding for sirens
As the public scrutinizes parts of the Hill Country for a lack of sirens during the July 4 floods, Crockett turned its own tragedy into preparedness. Full Story
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![A siren alert system in Comfort on Thursday July 10, 2025. Across the state in East Texas, the city of Crockett has secured the funding and has embarked on installing its own auditory alarm system.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Number missing from Hill Country floods down to 3
Officials removed nearly 100 from the list of the missing Saturday, saying many had been found safe. There was no update on the death toll, which was most recently 135 statewide. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officials and volunteers clear up mountains of debris deposited by the flood in Center Point on Tuesday July 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Newly formed Texas disaster preparedness and flooding committee will visit Kerr County
The joint House and Senate committee will first meet in Austin next week, then in Kerrville on July 31 to hear from Hill Country residents about their concerns. Full Story
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![An excavator picks up items damaged in the flood to be discarded in Hunt on Friday July 11, 2025.]()
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Recovering from the floods will be a massive task. One Hill Country restaurant is focusing on the smaller picture.
As residents recover and rebuild, Grape Juice in downtown Kerrville is serving as a hub for people needing meals, supplies and other necessities. Full Story
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![People look towards the Guadalupe River at the Dallas Daughtry Memorial Pavilion in Kerrville on Friday, July 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Kerr County search and rescue operations paused again on Monday due to rain
Although a new round of floods elsewhere prompted emergency rescues Sunday, no injuries or deaths were reported. Full Story
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![Crosses honoring the victims of the flood were erected by artist Roberto Marquez next to the Guadalupe River in Guadalupe Park, seen on Friday July 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show
The July Fourth flood moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system. Full Story
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![Campers’ belongings are seen at the Camp Mystic camp grounds on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 in Hunt, Texas.]()
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In flood-ravaged Hill Country towns, friends, families and strangers rush in to help with cleanup
For the past week, Clemente Sánchez and his tree-trimming crew have volunteered to help people remove trees and flood debris. It’s a scene being repeated all over the flood zone. Full Story
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![Clemente Sánchez rakes leaves and other debris in a property that was affected by the flood in Hunt on Friday July 11, 2025.]()
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Can sirens help save lives in the next flood? Yes, but there’s more to it.
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency. Full Story
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![Water from the flood stained the walls in a residential apartment in Ingram on July 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune