Some Texas flood alerts delayed as officials waited for authorization, ex-official says
- - - Some Texas flood alerts delayed as officials waited for authorization, ex-official says
Jason AllenJuly 11, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Ashley Landis / AP
As floodwaters rose rapidly on the Guadalupe River in Texas early on July 4, there was no outdoor siren or warning alarm to alert people to the danger.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, a top local government official, said in the wake of the flooding that the area does "not have a warning system."
The county does have an emergency alert system, though, called CodeRED. The web-based system sends recorded messages and text alerts to residential and business phones, warning of a flood, fire or any emergency where a fast notification could save lives.
Recordings of radio traffic reviewed by CBS News reveal a firefighter, about an hour into the flood response at 4:22 a.m., asked a dispatcher if the CodeRED system could be activated.
"Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents asking them to find higher ground or stay home?" one firefighter is heard asking.
"Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor," the dispatcher responds.
John David Trolinger was awake, listening to and recording that radio traffic in Kerrville that morning. It's a hobby he took up as a kid, developed during his time serving on Navy submarines, and kept up while he worked as the IT director for Kerr County.
Trolinger said he helped install the CodeRED when the county purchased it in 2009. Often during major weather events, while employed, he was used to staying late to handle web posts or technical issues, and still finds himself keeping tabs on them in retirement.
When he woke up on Friday around 1 a.m., Trolinger said he immediately tuned into emergency radio transmissions. Watching radar and keeping an eye on alerts from the National Weather Service, he saw heavy rain falling over the north and south forks or the Guadalupe, a sign that the situation could be bad.
At 3:26 a.m., a firefighter warned a dispatcher that a road along the river was impassable, blocking off the city of Hunt from emergency responders coming from the east.
"That's an emergency," Trolinger told CBS News.
The river continued to rise, and Trolinger's recordings show emergency responders calling in flooded houses, reporting children being trapped, and asking for swift water rescue teams. The recordings were first reported by Texas Public Radio.
By 5:11 a.m., as first responders were carrying out rescue operations in the floodwaters, the CodeRED alert hadn't been sent.
"I didn't know who was in dispatch," Trolinger said, recalling the morning of July Fourth. "It's been an hour. Someone should have been standing — someone should have gotten up and been there to say, 'OK, send the code red.'"
Trolinger has been retired for six years, and told CBS News he doesn't know who is responsible for approving the emergency alerts anymore. But when he was working, he said it was the sheriff's responsibility. The sheriff's office did not respond to CBS News' request for comment.
Trolinger told CBS News he even thought about calling the dispatchers himself, but said he knew the phone lines were jammed and he figured it might make things worse.
"I thought, 'Man, someone could die because I'm there arguing with a dispatcher that doesn't know who I am or remember my name,'" he said. "And there was no way I was gonna interrupt their process because it's, you know, it's five o'clock, someone's gotta be in dispatch besides just the night, the overnight people."
Although there were no alerts sent by local government officials in Kerr County or neighboring Bandera County, CBS News analysis shows there were 22 warnings sent by the National Weather Service for Kerr County and the Kerrville area.
Among those was a 4:03 a.m. alert sent to Bandera and Kerr counties that said, in part, "This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!" and "Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order."
When pressed about emergency alerts at news conferences, several officials refused to answer directly and instead said they were focused right now on finding the victims.
But many people in the area say they never received any warnings. Among them, the Roberson family, who told CBS News they're lucky to be alive after floodwaters forced them out of their home in the middle of the night.
The family became separated, and Phil Roberson said he rode out the storm on the roof of their house.
"It's just cars floating at the house, and there's cars bouncing off the house, and I had no idea where they were," he said.
Jack Roberson, 15, and his mother, Lindsey Roberson, tried to drive away, but the water rose too fast. They got out of their truck, and the current immediately swept them off their feet.
Hitting fences and being slammed by debris, Jack was able to grab onto a tree before he floated past it.
He still had his phone, and started recording video showing his legs underwater as trees and other debris engulfed him.
Lindsey was also able to get up into a tree. It was dead, partially held up by a board, but held her weight until the water receded.
The Roberson's daughters were at Camp Mystic with their cousins. Helicopters had to evacuate them from the camp, but the family was reunited.
As dozens of people helped tear out debris from their flooded house Wednesday, Phil Roberson said he was struck by the generosity of people, coming together to help them.
"I think we're going to get a preparedness plan together as a family and talk about, you know, what we do and what we don't do, and where we rally together," Phil Roberson said. "And because, I mean, you know, it could happen again tomorrow, but we're not going anywhere."
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