The head of the emergency services of Kerr County, Texas, admitted to being absent during the flood

• Thomas was absent and asleep when the flood began.
• After his absence, the situation quickly worsened.
• He did not issue a warning through the alert system, relying on the National Weather Service instead.

This was reported by ABC News, NBC News.

The director of the emergency services of Kerr County, Texas, William "Dub" Thomas, admitted for the first time since the catastrophic flood that claimed the lives of over 130 people, that he was absent and asleep when the water reached record levels on the Guadalupe River.

On a call that took place on July 31, 2025, he explained that after the regular workday on July 2, he went home to rest. During this time, there were no reports of worsening weather conditions. Thomas remained at home sick on July 3 and did not participate in two meetings related to emergency coordination in Texas.

He was awakened around 2:00 PM on July 3, but did not see the alerts and did not realize that something dangerous was happening. It was only at 5:30 AM on July 4 that his friend woke him up after receiving a call from the emergency services coordinator of Kerr County, Jeremy Hughes, asking him to mobilize.

Thomas confirmed that from the moment of his absence, he began coordinating the response to the emergency, although by that time summer camps had already been flooded. According to him, the water rose within 12 hours to less than six feet, which led to a rapid rise in water of more than 20 feet per hour.

He also explained why he did not issue a warning through the alert system. Thomas stated that the National Weather Service had already sent out more than a dozen warnings about the flood, so he believed it was unnecessary to issue additional alerts. However, the first warning that the county issued through the system was only on July 6.

Thomas expressed thoughts on the need for improving the alert system, including real-time monitoring of rainfall and river levels, but noted that the county itself cannot allow such updates.

Tags: USA/Weather