July 6Jul 6 Just now, troph said: LT up 17+ Just bonkers. What really blows my mind is thinking back to the last time it filled (2015?) over the course of a week or so. I still remember heading out on Lake ATX about 10 days later and almost hitting a telephone pole floating about an inch below the surface. Watching this it's hard to fathom how much water there was that fell out of the clouds back then.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 30 minutes ago, Mantis Toboggan, MD said: It seems really tasteless to follow a grieving dad around with a camera. Even with his consent…he is broken and is in no place to push back against media overreaching. I completely understand your sentiment here. On the other hand, he has an important story to tell and if he’s willing to tell it, that’s his right to do it and in this case he was able to tell it without any voiceover from a reporter. I give him credit for being a brave father in the face of enormous tragedy.
July 6Jul 6 1 minute ago, Planet Houston said: Bullshit Dude, he’s a father that had a kid at La Junta. Let’s not attack a father that had a kid in the middle of this.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 3 hours ago, Lhorn said: I can’t think of many things more heartbreaking than dads wandering through rubble looking for their precious daughters that they know are dead. Thats what is taking place. Ive been out there twice now and my body is completely out of whack at this point. You just cant help but expect the worst. The search teams are working extremely hard but in my opinion the reason the officials arent being more forthcoming, is because they're trying to figure out when they have to tell everyone they cant even find most of the bodies. Its my expectation that we lost a lot of wonderful people and a lot of beautiful little girls. Its such an important place to so many people, for so many thats their happy spot. Especially talking to the Mystic people, something that brought them true joy has brought them devastation on a level that they just cant comprehend yet. Theyre just paralyzed. And the bad news just keeps coming in. Sorry if Im sounding dramatic, but I do think something dramatic has taken place that will leave a major scar.
July 6Jul 6 Just now, royiv said: Dude, he’s a father that had a kid at La Junta. Let’s not attack a father that had a kid in the middle of this. Its fine. Could be bullshit. I certainly hope everything is looked into. Thats kind of what Im getting at. I think theres a chance they couldve been more on top of it and slipped into some bad habits over time.
July 6Jul 6 1 minute ago, BlackCat said: Its fine. Could be bullshit. I certainly hope everything is looked into. Thats kind of what Im getting at. I think theres a chance they couldve been more on top of it and slipped into some bad habits over time. You’ve got all my respect. Hunt has a special place in my life having spent many summers at La Junta and way too many excruciating days at Waldemar for the closing ceremonies when my older sister was a camper.
July 6Jul 6 Just now, royiv said: You’ve got all my respect. Hunt has a special place in my life having spent many summers at La Junta and way too many excruciating days at Waldemar for the closing ceremonies when my older sister was a camper. I bet we have suffered Waldemar pickup in anonymity together. Finally being freed onto 1340 is cold beer after mowing the lawn level good.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 7 minutes ago, royiv said: Dude, he’s a father that had a kid at La Junta. Let’s not attack a father that had a kid in the middle of this. 3 minutes ago, BlackCat said: Its fine. Could be bullshit. I certainly hope everything is looked into. Thats kind of what Im getting at. I think theres a chance they couldve been more on top of it and slipped into some bad habits over time. I’m sorry. Obviously a lot of emotion among a lot of us affected (and frankly forgot who was posting - my sincere apologies @BlackCat). We were with a couple last night in Lakeway that were also blessed to pick up their son from La Junta and daughter from Mystic. I don’t mean to be callous and I really have stayed away from the blame game until this lash-out response. But my general feeling is there was much more the camps could have done to avoid this sort of tragedy. I’ll go back to avoiding the Monday morning QBing, I’m sorry
July 6Jul 6 7 minutes ago, troph said: 2018, over 20 feet in 24 hours. Wow, it was that recent? Man, my recall is fading fast.
July 6Jul 6 Just now, Planet Houston said: I’m sorry. Obviously a lot of emotion among a lot of us affected (and frankly forgot who was posting - my sincere apologies @BlackCat). We were with a couple last night in Lakeway that were also blessed to pick up their son from La Junta and daughter from Mystic. I don’t mean to be callous and I really have stayed away from the blame game until this lash-out response. But my general feeling is there was much more the camps could have done to avoid this sort of tragedy. I’ll go back to avoiding the Monday morning QBing, I’m sorry No worries at all man. I think its all gotta be looked into. Like someone mentioned before, the scoreboard says a whole bunch of dead kids. Glad your friends kids are ok.
July 6Jul 6 13 minutes ago, troph said: 2018, over 20 feet in 24 hours. I think I was thinking of this one. I was living in SA in 2018, so I know I couldn't have been on Lake ATX then. It was more like 7 to 10 days of heavy rain over LBJ/Marble Falls area thing. And right before that the lake was close to an all-time low... Edited July 6Jul 6 by Cajun
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post I've gotta say, I have probably spent too much time refreshing this thread the past two days. I had to turn off that interview with the dad searching through the Mystic campus for remnants from his daughter. Too much. As a father of two aged 20 and 18 that (to this point) have avoided catastrophes, I still can't wrap my brain aroudn what those parents are going through. Thoughts and prayers for all affected from Tennessee tonight. Hug your kids. Too much.
July 6Jul 6 1 hour ago, TOR said: Damn it all. The stuffed animals and little pink hairbrush on the floor are hard to see
July 6Jul 6 I completely understand your sentiment here. On the other hand, he has an important story to tell and if he’s willing to tell it, that’s his right to do it and in this case he was able to tell it without any voiceover from a reporter. I give him credit for being a brave father in the face of enormous tragedy.Absolutely this. As a former journalist, albeit in the frivolous realm of sportswriting, it’s important to tell these stories. Tastefully, of course.
July 6Jul 6 22 minutes ago, Planet Houston said: But my general feeling is there was much more the camps could have done to avoid this sort of tragedy. I’ll go back to avoiding the Monday morning QBing, I’m sorry I think it’s probable that much more could have been done while also acknowledging that this was an unpredictably incredible catastrophe. camp mystic has been there on the river for 100 years taking great care of little girls who loved to call it their summer home. I spent many summers at la junta and saw the river flood twice, and both times the water never got near the cabins. the guadalupe has flooded a million times since the camps have been there but I doubt it’s ever flooded quite like this. and it did happen incredibly fast and in the middle of the night. it’s an absolutely and unbelievably awful tragedy but I don’t understand the anger towards camp mystic. that’s a great place and they loved those girls.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post Yes, those poor little girls. It breaks my heart what they had to go through. I have an 8 year old little boy. And seeing the squish mellows like he has kills me. And understanding the mentality of a little kid. And them trying to figure out what to do, and these little girls getting washed down the river scared, lost, and wanting their family. It is fucking awful.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 3 hours ago, The Dog said: HEB on the way Fuck, I love HEB. Just logging back in. My wife and I had to get out of the house this afternoon to stop watching news and doomscrolling, then went to her brother's early birthday dinner. After that, we met a buddyfor drinks because we needed to not be home. Now I'm fucking crying again.
July 6Jul 6 8 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said: But you can bet that the plaintiff's bar has all of this teed up for some big time lawsuits. TJH's runners are probably working on holiday overtime. Not the place for this. Read the room.
July 6Jul 6 12 minutes ago, C-Man said: Fuck, I love HEB. Just logging back in. My wife and I had to get out of the house this afternoon to stop watching news and doomscrolling, then went to her brother's early birthday dinner. After that, we met a buddyfor drinks because we needed to not be home. Now I'm fucking crying again. It has been difficult not to spiral. Can’t even begin to imagine what this feels like for families with children that are missing.
July 6Jul 6 4 hours ago, Lhorn said: I can’t think of many things more heartbreaking than dads wandering through rubble looking for their precious daughters that they know are dead. Reading that article just wrecked me into a sobbing mess. Our son is 7 yo and I cannot imagine the grief of losing a child in such a tragic manner.
July 6Jul 6 11 minutes ago, royiv said: Not the place for this. Read the room. OK. Just a placeholder.
July 6Jul 6 3 minutes ago, royiv said: It has been difficult not to spiral. Can’t even begin to imagine what this feels like for families with children that are missing. I'm running out of adjectives -- unfathomable, shocking, tragic, etc. I've written so many texts in the last 24 hours, I'm almost numb. I didn't know them but former patients of my FIL (dentist) were washed away with their grandkids and all four are dead. Their son (and the kids' father) went to ESD with my wife. Could you imagine that -- your parents both gone. Oh, and here's a bonus, your kids are gone with them. Fucking nightmare fuel.
July 6Jul 6 Not sure if anyone posted about it but I just learned that Heart O The Hills director Jane Ragsdale was killed in the flooding. Neither HotH or Camp Stewart were in session but both got hit. I went to Stewart for 5 years and my grandparents were friends with the Ragsdales. I never met Jane but Si and Kathy were great people from what I remember. I'm fortunate not to know anyone who had kids camping this year down there.
July 6Jul 6 I should have searched before I posted, I see several people have posted about it. Oh well fuck me.
July 6Jul 6 6 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said: Not sure if anyone posted about it but I just learned that Heart O The Hills director Jane Ragsdale was killed in the flooding. Neither HotH or Camp Stewart were in session but both got hit. I went to Stewart for 5 years and my grandparents were friends with the Ragsdales. I never met Jane but Si and Kathy were great people from what I remember. I'm fortunate not to know anyone who had kids camping this year down there. I did 5 years there too from’87-‘91. Jeeper and Jane were around the whole time. Very sad indeed.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post I’m up in Colorado picking up my youngest, a teenager, from camp. The camp director of the Colorado camp broke down in tears at the closing ceremony today and they had a long moment of silence for all the kids and staff lost. This has absolutely gut punched me as it seems like a blink of an eye we were taking our daughter out to camps in the Hill Country when she was the age of these precious little girls. I’m sure we know someone affected as we lived in Austin for fourteen years and thirty in Texas overall but haven’t heard anything yet. Saying that, I’ve never had anything affect me the way this event has…physically ill with sadness.
July 6Jul 6 6 hours ago, BlackCat said: Thats what is taking place. Ive been out there twice now and my body is completely out of whack at this point. You just cant help but expect the worst. The search teams are working extremely hard but in my opinion the reason the officials arent being more forthcoming, is because they're trying to figure out when they have to tell everyone they cant even find most of the bodies. There were many very sad takeaways from Wimberley but one of the acutely worst ones was that the Charba and McComb families never found their 4 and 6-year-olds. The brutal and unbridled tragedy of losing a (very) young child is an unimaginable thing. Not finding them and at least getting a chance to say goodbye and lay them to rest is another level that is beyond comprehension. As you point out, this could be playing out on a scale that is beyond terrible and sad. Just a nightmare all around. Edited July 6Jul 6 by Wally Pryor
July 6Jul 6 On Saturday evening, Kerr County officials said they will provide additional updates at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
July 6Jul 6 18 hours ago, dcbc said: Yes. My sister-in-law knows their cousin. Her grandmother is picking her up from camp and has to bear that awful news. They were camping and their camper/vehicle was swept away in the floods. I’ve known he and his extended family for years. Absolutely gut wrenching. Also had one of my fraternity brothers’ daughters at Mystic. Thank God she made it. I’ve been sick to my stomach thinking about it.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post This morning my 4 year old was pissing me off being wild and I came to this thread and suddenly it don’t matter anymore.
July 6Jul 6 As of this morning - Edited July 6Jul 6 by Cajun It was 46.7% yesterday at this time. Still a lot of water coming in.
July 6Jul 6 https://www.kxan.com/investigations/federal-forecast-concerns-surface-in-texas-deadly-flooding-debate/ Quote NWS issued a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. Friday for a portion of Kerr County – where the majority of flood-related deaths have been reported. But it would be at least four hours before any county or city government entity posted directions to evacuate on social media. City and county officials have yet to fully explain the timing of their Facebook posts surrounding the height of the flood or other ways they might have notified people near the water. This strikes me as extremely fucked up in a multitude of ways. 4 hours later. Posting it on Facebook and pretending that's where people get their news.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 4 minutes ago, Chopper said: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/federal-forecast-concerns-surface-in-texas-deadly-flooding-debate/ This strikes me as extremely fucked up in a multitude of ways. 4 hours later. Posting it on Facebook and pretending that's where people get their news. I think it's because that's the only place they get their news.
July 6Jul 6 5 minutes ago, Chopper said: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/federal-forecast-concerns-surface-in-texas-deadly-flooding-debate/ This strikes me as extremely fucked up in a multitude of ways. 4 hours later. Posting it on Facebook and pretending that's where people get their news. Sadly, a fuck ton of people use Facebook and social media as their only “news” source, especially in rural areas. I’m not excusing these officials by any means. They probably get their news from facebook too. Which explains a lot of why we are where we are.
July 6Jul 6 7 minutes ago, Captainant said: I think it's because that's the only place they get their news. I don't think that's the case anymore. Either way many people have stopped using it over the years -- or if they're less than 50 years old they may never have used it -- and the site is antagonistic at best towards its users and real information, anyway. Edited July 6Jul 6 by Chopper sp
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 4 minutes ago, Chopper said: I don't think that's the case anymore. Either way many people have stopped using it over the years -- or if they're less than 50 years old they may never have used it -- and the site is antagonistic at best towards its users and real information, anyway. Real issue is that the state can and will spam text you awake at 4am bc a cop got shot 18 counties over, but not use the same system for catastrophic and deadly flooding overnight
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post 14 minutes ago, Chopper said: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/federal-forecast-concerns-surface-in-texas-deadly-flooding-debate/ This strikes me as extremely fucked up in a multitude of ways. 4 hours later. Posting it on Facebook and pretending that's where people get their news. I have worked in crisis comms before. There will need to be a whole post-mortem so take this for what it’s worth but: all the major work and structure has to be done and in place well before an event. Counties and local governments, depending on the size, are often not staffed and trained on this appropriately. They’ll do a training and prep, get everything in order, and then a few people retire or get new jobs and things just slide. The strong likelihood here is that it was the 4th, it was late. Someone was on leave, someone was sleeping off beers, maybe a couple someones. And they just didn’t get someone with the keys to accounts awake and in the game.
July 6Jul 6 Popular Post I understand, at least remotely, what these fathers are going through—how they try not to hope for the best for fear that the fall from hope will be even harder. Several years ago, I was with my son at Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch in the Davis Mountains. Near Balmorhea. One morning, we were set to hike up a trail that ran alongside a dry creek bed. It was several miles to a swimming hole. Before we left, the camp called the folks at the McDonald Observatory—since they were farther up the creek—to check conditions. Despite a little rain the day before, they reported no significant change in the creek bed. So we set out and reached the swimming hole without incident. After about an hour, the boys got out, dried off, and started dressing to continue the hike. A few scouts, including my son, wanted to return early to make their afternoon merit badge classes. A couple of adults left with them. The rest of us continued in the opposite direction. Within minutes, we were cut off. A wall of water had surged down the creek bed behind us. The swimming hole the boys had been in twenty minutes earlier was gone—buried under twenty feet of water. That began the longest six hours of my life.I had no idea what happened to my son. Every terrifying image imaginable raced through my head. I paced the banks like a caged animal, desperate and helpless. At one point, I even considered trying to float downstream—nothing seemed too irrational if it meant finding him. After a couple of hours, help arrived. Camp staff brought horses and heavy rope. We worked our way back toward camp, crossing the raging stream over and over. The horses would carry ropes across, the riders tie them off, and adults would brace themselves in the current while scouts passed from one adult to the next. We must’ve done it seven or eight times. Each time a scout crossed, all I could think was: Where is my kid? The riders hadn’t seen them. A few times, kids lost their footing and I grabbed them to keep them from being swept away. Still, my thoughts never left my son. When we finally reached camp, I saw him—safe, standing by the creek bed, having just made it out before the water rushed in behind him. There is no describing the sheer relief of hugging your child after believing you may never get to again. i’ve been sitting here for 48 hours hoping that every parent who’s facing the unthinkable just gets to feel that same overwhelming wave of gratitude. It’s heartbreaking.
July 6Jul 6 21 minutes ago, Chopper said: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/federal-forecast-concerns-surface-in-texas-deadly-flooding-debate/ This strikes me as extremely fucked up in a multitude of ways. 4 hours later. Posting it on Facebook and pretending that's where people get their news. Especially since Facebook's algorithm doesn't push "news" first - it pushes whatever it thinks will get the most engagement. A post about weather early in the morning? Nah, you probably want to see how Democrats are Satan.
July 6Jul 6 4 minutes ago, troph said: Can we split the tragedy from the ongoing weather thread now please? @immamacand @blacklab Considering we have a CR subject and the likely rescue and fallout that this matter will cause, I think we should have a July 4th Hill Country subject in the DT. But that’s totally IMO and this is y’all’s rodeo.
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