FEMA hasn't approved funding for individuals after the Hill Country floods, and philanthropies say they've had a hard time raising money to help the area recover again. The local foundation today said it's repurposing $18 million largely donated last year to help www.texastribune.org/2026/07/29/t...

Kerr County faces worse flood damage with fewer resources

The Federal Emergency Management Agency hasn’t started helping local governments or individuals, while philanthropic response lags compared to last year’s flood.

texastribune.org

I'm thinking today about the people I've met and the stories they've shared since the July 4 floods. What happened that day -- and the grief and loss and rebuilding and resilience -- will certainly stay with me. Here are some of their stories:

Disasters are a policy choice. Incredible investigation by @texastribune.org @propublica.org @emfoxhall.bsky.social about the many failed attempts to improve land-use planning in Texas, in the leadup to the Camp Mystic floods: www.texastribune.org/2026/05/06/t...

Texas lawmakers repeatedly failed to pass flood protections - The Texas Tribune

Dozens of bills were rejected over nearly 60 years, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. Some measures would have prohibited youth camps and new construction in high-risk flood areas.

texastribune.org

A lot of blame following last year's TX Hill Country floods focused on the camps where many victims died. But TX lawmakers for decades rejected laws that could have saved lives. Read more from Lexi Churchill, @emfoxhall.bsky.social & @pratheekrebala.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/texa...

Texas Lawmakers Repeatedly Failed to Pass Legislation That Could Have Protected Residents From Deadly Floods

Dozens of bills were rejected over nearly 60 years, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. The most consequential measures could have saved lives by prohibiting youth camps and new construction in ar...

propublica.org

This morning in front of Texas legislators, Edward Eastland apologized to families of the campers and counselors who died last year at Camp Mystic. “We tried our hardest that night and it wasn’t enough to save your daughters," Eastland said. www.texastribune.org/2026/04/28/t...

Camp Mystic apologizes to parents of flood victims

“I think about the night of the flood every moment of every day,” Edward Eastland said at a committee hearing Tuesday. “We tried our hardest that night and it wasn’t enough to save your daughters.”

texastribune.org

In a Capitol hearing yesterday, an investigator gave a detailed account of what happened at Camp Mystic on July 4. She described a chaotic evacuation without a plan, with campers passed through windows and going under water to get out a door. My dispatch: www.texastribune.org/2026/04/27/t...

Camp Mystic counselors lacked training, Texas lawmakers told

The summer camp hadn’t prepared counselors and staff with adequate emergency training, an evacuation plan or flood preparedness supplies, the investigator concluded.

texastribune.org

Warning: These texts discuss the missing and dead. If you see something important in these records that we did not highlight, please DM me or my co-author @emfoxhall.bsky.social We focused on Camp Mystic but there’s a lot more here. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

Texts among officials show confusion about missing campers during July 4 floods

Hundreds of newly published text messages add more detail to the devastating timeline of the deadly July 4 Texas floods.

kut.org

We spent months — and hundreds of dollars — fighting to get these records from the county. We decided to publish both excerpts of what the texts showed us and the full batch of text messages we received. Read them all here. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

Texts among officials show confusion about missing campers during July 4 floods

Hundreds of newly published text messages add more detail to the devastating timeline of the deadly July 4 Texas floods.

kut.org

NEW: We got hundreds of never-before-released text messages between county leaders sent during deadly July 4 Texas floods. They show confusion among those in charge with how to respond to the devastating event. We published with @texastribune.org. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

Texts among officials show confusion about missing campers during July 4 floods

Hundreds of newly published text messages add more detail to the devastating timeline of the deadly July 4 Texas floods.

kut.org

Great accountability reporting from the Texas Tribune and Texas Newsroom. Confusion and conflicting information among officials in the July 4 flood. @emfoxhall.bsky.social @lmcgaughy.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2026/01/14/t...

They couldn’t save their daughters’ lives in the July 4 floods. Now they’re dealing with the grief and the guilt. I hope you'll read my latest story for @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

Texas couple grieves children, parents lost in July 4 flood

RJ and Annie Harber have leaned on faith, their community and each other to move through each day after losing their daughters and RJ’s parents. But memories of that night still haunt them.

texastribune.org

They couldn't save their daughters' lives in the July 4 floods. Now they're dealing with the grief and the guilt. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

Texas couple grieves children, parents lost in July 4 flood

RJ and Annie Harber have leaned on faith, their community and each other to move through each day after losing their daughters and RJ’s parents. But memories of that night still haunt them.

texastribune.org

🧵 Today we published the story of RJ and Annie Harber, who suffered an unimaginable loss July 4 when the Guadalupe River flood killed their daughters and RJ's parents. The parents awoke that night to crashing thunder. They stepped out of bed into water... www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

Texas couple grieves children, parents lost in July 4 flood

RJ and Annie Harber have leaned on faith, their community and each other to move through each day after losing their daughters and RJ’s parents. But memories of that night still haunt them.

texastribune.org

This beautiful, heart-breaking story about loss and grief and grace by the amazing journalist @emfoxhall.bsky.social: They couldn't save their daughters' lives in the July 4 floods. Now they're dealing with the grief and the guilt. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

Texas couple grieves children, parents lost in July 4 flood

RJ and Annie Harber have leaned on faith, their community and each other to move through each day after losing their daughters and RJ’s parents. But memories of that night still haunt them.

texastribune.org

It's been more than 3 months since the Central Texas floods, and the application window for FEMA aid has closed. So @carla-astudi.bsky.social and I looked at where things stand. We found about one-fifth of FEMA applications from Kerr County have been approved so far.

FEMA denied or didn’t advance most Kerr County flood requests

Advocates are questioning why so many applicants from the flood-ravaged county have not received federal disaster help. Nonprofits are trying to fill in the gaps.

texastribune.org

The @texastribune.org is trying to reach 500 new members during our Fall member drive. You can support me and our newsroom's important work covering this state by donating: trib.it/friend

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Members make our journalism possible. Support The Texas Tribune with a donation today.

trib.it

It's been amazing to see how this story is connecting with readers. I hope you all will keep sharing the piece, about two dads moving through unimaginable grief in the days and weeks after their daughters died at Camp Mystic and fighting for positive change. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

Heartbreak, 17 kisses and a new law: brilliant reporting from @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

texastribune.org

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents successfully pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But too late to save their own children. Beautifully told story by former @ksjatmit.bsky.social fellow @emfoxhall.bsky.social via @texastribune.org

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

texastribune.org

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to push for new camp laws in Texas. For one, staying busy kept him from dark places in his mind. The other couldn't stop asking why his daughter died. The laws passed, but the dads couldn't get their kids back. My latest: www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

texastribune.org

After a tearful hearing with testimony from the Camp Mystic parents, Texas senators on the special committee appointed after the July 4 floods voted 8-0 to pass Senate Bill 1 which makes changes to how camps would operate. It will be considered by the full chamber tomorrow night.

Emily Foxhall@emfoxhall.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd vows to legislators that the search for the last missing Camp Mystic girl will continue: “We are not stopping the search for Cile." Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.

The parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”

Houston people: I'm excited to say I'm teaching again at Inprint this fall. We'll be practicing writing using each of the five senses. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable to writing weekly in a supportive group. Registration and more info here: inprinthouston.org/event/non-fi...

The state legislative hearing on the floods is now onto the meteorology panel. Texas Water Development Board's Carla Guthrie said at one point during the storm *half an inch* of rain was falling *every ten minutes*.

We got answers at a state hearing this morning about what the Kerr County Judge, who is in charge of emergency management, and Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator were doing in the early morning of July 4 as floods rose. They were asleep. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...

Top two Kerr County emergency officials say they were asleep as July 4 floods struck

Their statements to state legislators marked the first time county officials have spoken publicly about what they were doing the morning of the disaster that killed more than 100 people in the county.

texastribune.org

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is at the hearing on the floods in Kerr County now. He says Gov. Greg Abbott was out of state that day, July 4, so Patrick was serving as acting governor. "That day will haunt me for the rest of my life," Patrick said.

The work of investigating how a disaster happened and why a response unfolded in the way it did is not the work, as Greg Abbott says, of “losers”, it’s the work of accountability and prevention of future disasters. @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

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.

texastribune.org

The second state hearing about the floods is now underway in Kerr County. County and city officials are on the schedule to speak. We're going into this with new information about how Kerrville responded. Lots of questions remain about the county's role. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

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.

texastribune.org

The city of Kerrville released copies of texts and emails that officials sent Friday as the flood waters raged. A big thing stood out: Some of the officials didn't seem to know the magnitude of the flash flooding killing people upriver and heading toward them. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

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.

texastribune.org