With Texas rivers rising again, putting more lives at risk, Rep. Tony Gonzales is calling for accountability and urgent action to prevent another disaster in flood-ravaged Texas.
The Texas Republican is demanding accountability as central Texas faces another wave of life-threatening floods, just days after catastrophic flash flooding killed more than 100 people and left over 160 missing.
"Absolutely, 100%," Gonzales said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked if someone should be held responsible. "This is one of my takeaways when President Trump visited — he brought up accountability. He brought up the fact that he was willing to listen and hear out and figure out...what is the way forward?"
Flash floods on July 4 devastated Kerr County and surrounding areas after the Guadalupe River surged over 20 feet in a matter of hours. Now, as heavy rains hammer the region again, the river is expected to breach flood stage once more. Sonora and San Saba counties have issued evacuation orders ahead of expected surges.
Gonzales, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the tragedy exposed gaps in readiness that must be addressed.
"These flash floods happen," he said. "A few weeks before this in San Antonio, Texas, we had 13 people that were killed because of these flash floods."
He said leaders are beginning to take action.
"At that roundtable [discussion], the governor [Greg Abbott] also mentioned — and Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick mentioned — that the Texas Legislature was going to have a session and they were going to have hearings…[asking] 'Hey, is there technology? What can we do in order to prevent this from happening again?' To me, that is a level of accountability that we need to have going forward."
"We can't just allow girls to drown in the middle of the night. We have to make sure we protect everyone," Gonzales said.
While calling for reform, the congressman also praised the bravery of first responders and everyday Texans.
"We have to remember all the heroes that helped save so many lives, like Scott Ruskin, the Coast Guardsman that saved hundreds of lives," Gonzales said. "There's so many neighbors that have come and done the same thing. We have to tell some of these stories as well...there's all these other wonderful stories of Americans just helping Americans."
The danger isn't over. "I'm very concerned," Gonzales said. "The community is completely shocked and overwhelmed."
"There's flash flood warnings [in] Sonora, Texas, which is about 100 miles from Hunt, Texas," he said. "They had a citywide evacuation notice that went out. And so we're not out of the woods yet. Not to mention that the recovery zone area there along that river is 121 miles. So it is a very massive undertaking. I'm very concerned about you know, us [Texas] going forward."
Forecasters warn the San Saba and Lampasas rivers could surge more than 30 feet by Sunday night.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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