Hearing for Questions State Should Already Know

CNN interviewed Rep. Drew Darby on the creation of two committees to further investigate Guadalupe River flash flooding on July 4th that killed so many.  

Camp Mystic's statement indicated their willingness to work with the committees and stressed the need for appropriate warning.  Two months ago Darby commented on youth camps "being wholly unprepared."  

Camp Mystic passed a state inspection two days prior to the deadly flash flood disaster.  A Camp Mystic founder who died in the July 4th flood had a long history of warning about river flood dangers and served on boards responsible for warning systems.

Earlier reports showed Kerr County's top three officials charged with disaster management to be asleep or out of town.

William “Dub” Thomas, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator, told lawmakers that he was sick the day before the flooding occurred and missed two calls with Texas Emergency Management officials.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) prepositioned swift water rescue teams in anticipation of significant rainfall.  A call that went through from TDEM Region 7's Shawn Baxter saved lives along rivers and creeks as County Judges and Sheriffs took preventive action.   

Was anyone from Kerr County on the line for those Region 6 calls?  If they were, what did they do with that information?  If other County Judges heeded the warnings that "this could be different", why didn't Kerr County officials?

It's a slow drip of official information which is odd given the State of Texas took over the disaster response on July 4th with support from FEMA.  Surely, they had people document their actions in the hours prior to the state assuming command and interviewed officials as part of their responsibility to evaluate their response, a standard in professional disaster management.

As for youth camps the State of Texas has had months to investigate Camp Mystic for its "failure to ensure the health, safety, or welfare of persons at the program" as it has authority to "conduct an investigation in response to an allegation" or actual incident.

The questions today are the same questions as shortly after the horrific disaster (when Governor Abbott characterized it as "loser football fan" talk) and the same questions that took nearly a month to get partially answered in public testimony.

Eventually, they may be answered or they may remain hidden.  It's the State's deck of cards and they seem hesitant to show their hand.