As heavy rains flooded parts of Central Texas on Friday morning, key jobs at the National Weather Service’s local offices remained vacant, leading some experts to wonder if the forecasting agency’s inability to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose was a result of staffing shortages.
Officials in Texas seemed to point the finger at the Weather Service for predicting too little rain on Wednesday. However, given the massive amounts of rainfall and the storm’s extremely sudden intensification, former Weather Service officials acknowledged the projections were as good as could be expected.
According to those former officials, the lack of experienced personnel who would have normally assisted in communicating with local authorities in the hours following the nighttime issuance of flash flood warnings was the reason behind the staffing shortages, which pointed to a different issue.
As the number of flood-related deaths rises, the shortages are one of the elements that will probably be closely examined. The apparent absence of a local flood warning system in Kerr County is one of the distinct concerns that have surfaced regarding the readiness of nearby municipalities. Many of the killings took place in the county, which is about 50 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Rob Kelly, Kerr County’s judge and top elected official, stated in an interview that the county lacked a warning system since the cost of such systems is high and the people in the county are opposed to additional spending.
Mr. Kelly stated that taxpayers would not foot the bill. He responded, “I don’t know,” when asked if people might change their minds in light of the tragedy.
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