Less than 5% of homes in the county's FEMA floodplain had flood coverage, well below the national average. Uptake was even worse in other areas that flooded.

The groups also want lawmakers to examine land-use practices and consider ways to protect natural resources, which they say will in turn help protect lives.

Catastrophic flooding struck central Texas on Friday as the Guadalupe River surged by more than 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes, causing widespread devastation and forcing mass evacuations in Texas Hill Country. At least 80 people have been killed in the floods while others remain missing or displaced and more than 850 people required rescuing.

Infrastructure related to flooding and other disasters must be treated as the top priority during the Texas Legislature’s special session that starts

It is not unheard of to have multiple “100-year floods” or "1,000-year floods” in the same year, says John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas state climatologist.

We are seeing an increase in flooding caused by these isolated thunderstorms that are dumping ... six, seven, sometimes 12 inches of rain."

Lawmakers should be holding public hearings now, demanding testimony from local officials, emergency managers and state agencies about what went wrong and how to fix it.

Many Texas flood victims are now facing the harsh reality of insurance uncertainty, as questions mount over what damages will be covered.

Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives before last week’s devastating flood.The Washington Post revealed that despite having the technology to turn every mobile phone in the river valley into a loud alarm,

Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to add flood response to the agenda for the July 21 special session, with an expected focus on alert systems and local recovery.

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