Some residents surprised by rising floodwaters
A year after deadly floods killed more than 100 people in Texas’ Hill Country, newly installed flood sirens and mobile phone alerts warned residents before waters rose as fresh storms this week killed at least two people and forced hundreds to evacuate, according to the Associated Press.
The back-to-back disasters show both the progress made in early warnings and the difficulty of protecting a vast rural area known as Flash Flood Alley, where even improved alerts cannot prevent every death.
Officials had promised better flood warning systems, tighter safety rules for children’s camps, and improvements to the state’s water infrastructure after last July’s disaster, the AP reported. That work was far from done when a new round of storms began pummeling the state this week, triggering catastrophic flash floods in some of the same areas devastated in 2025.
Newly installed flood sirens sounded in the darkness, warning people to get out, according to the AP. Phones buzzed with alerts that were not sent out during last year’s disaster. Residents in some hard-hit areas said a year of preparation did make a difference.
Still, the AP reported stories of people surprised to find their homes inundated by rising rivers, illustrating the challenges of trying to bolster early warning systems in a vast, rural area known as Flash Flood Alley.