A Texas firefighter asked if emergency flood alerts could be sent to Kerr County residents about an hour before the first warnings were received, audio reveals.
In the recording, obtained by US outlets, the firefighter asks at 04:22 on 4 July if a CodeRED alert can be issued. The dispatcher says a supervisor needs to approve the request.
Some residents received the alert an hour later – for others it took up to six hours, according to reports. Asked about the delays, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said officials were putting together a timeline.
Later, Donald Trump is due to visit Texas Hill Country where the floods have killed at least 120 people and more than 160 others remain missing.
Ahead of his visit, the US president expressed support for flood alarms to be installed in Texas.
He told NBC News that “having seen this horrible event, I would imagine you’d put alarms up in some form, where alarms would go up if they see any large amounts of water or whatever it is”.
Trump also commended the emergency services, saying “everyone’s doing a great job”, and pointed to the fact “local officials were hit by this just like everybody else”.
An estimated 100bn gallons of rain caused the Guadalupe River to rise several metres in a matter of minutes over the 4 July holiday weekend.
Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, absorbed the brunt of the subsequent flash flooding, with 96 confirmed deaths – including 36 children – many of whom were attending a nearby Christian camp called Camp Mystic.
In the recording of the firefighter’s dispatch call, the emergency responder can be heard saying: “The Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39.
“Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?”
“Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor,” the dispatcher replied.
The Texas Newsroom, which first reported on the audio, said some residents received a CodeRED alert around an hour after that.
The earliest alert ABC News’ affiliate could confirm was 05:34. Kerrville’s mayor did not receive an alert for 90 minutes, he told the Texas Tribune.
Some messages did not arrive until after 10:00, multiple news outlets reported.
Asked on Wednesday about possible delays to emergency communications, Sheriff Leitha said he was first notified around the “four to five area” – and that “we’re in the process of trying to put a timeline”.
“That’s going to take a little bit of time,” he told reporters at a news conference. “That is not my priority at this time.”
He said he was instead focused on locating those missing and identifying victims.
Kerr County officials say they have not rescued anyone alive since the day of the floods.
Weather alerts preceded the storm. The National Weather Service sent several about rain and possible flooding starting on Thursday afternoon, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated state resources because of flooding concerns.
Officials have cited lack of mobile phone service, no sense of the storm’s intensity and public desensitisation to such alerts in the flood-prone area as reasons some did not evacuate.
Trump signed a federal disaster declaration at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. This enabled the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy to Central Texas and open a disaster recovery centre in Kerr County.
Rescue efforts included more than 2,100 responders on the ground, private helicopters, drones, boats and cadaver-detecting dogs. They are searching for the missing and the dead buried beneath mounds of mud-soaked debris.
“These large piles (of debris) can be very obstructive, and to get deep into these piles is very hazardous,” Lt Colonel Ben Baker of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said on Wednesday.
“It’s extremely treacherous, time consuming. It’s dirty work. It’s the water still there. So, we’re having to go layer by layer, peeling these off, to make those recoveries,” he said.