At a joint hearing of special legislative committees probing the deadly Hill Country floods, the state’s emergency management chief said there are no guarantees that local officials are awake when a disaster strikes. He called for improvements to communication and warning systems.By Martha PskowskiTexas lawmakers heard nearly three hours of testimony Wednesday from the state’s emergency management chief about a system reliant on local emergency managers who may not have even received warnings in the hours before devastating floods ravaged Central and West Texas earlier this month.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: August 18, 2025 06:15 PM
Atmospheric CO₂
425.4 ppm
+18.4
ppm/year
Atmospheric CH₄
1934.91 ppb
+9.11
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year