Warning: These texts discuss the missing and dead. If you see something important in these records that we did not highlight, please DM me or my co-author @emfoxhall.bsky.social We focused on Camp Mystic but there’s a lot more here. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

We spent months — and hundreds of dollars — fighting to get these records from the county. We decided to publish both excerpts of what the texts showed us and the full batch of text messages we received. Read them all here. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

NEW: We got hundreds of never-before-released text messages between county leaders sent during deadly July 4 Texas floods. They show confusion among those in charge with how to respond to the devastating event. We published with @texastribune.org. www.kut.org/energy-envir... #txlege

Great accountability reporting from the Texas Tribune and Texas Newsroom. Confusion and conflicting information among officials in the July 4 flood. @emfoxhall.bsky.social @lmcgaughy.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2026/01/14/t...

They couldn’t save their daughters’ lives in the July 4 floods. Now they’re dealing with the grief and the guilt. I hope you'll read my latest story for @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

They couldn't save their daughters' lives in the July 4 floods. Now they're dealing with the grief and the guilt. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

🧵 Today we published the story of RJ and Annie Harber, who suffered an unimaginable loss July 4 when the Guadalupe River flood killed their daughters and RJ's parents. The parents awoke that night to crashing thunder. They stepped out of bed into water... www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

This beautiful, heart-breaking story about loss and grief and grace by the amazing journalist @emfoxhall.bsky.social: They couldn't save their daughters' lives in the July 4 floods. Now they're dealing with the grief and the guilt. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/t...

It's been more than 3 months since the Central Texas floods, and the application window for FEMA aid has closed. So @carla-astudi.bsky.social and I looked at where things stand. We found about one-fifth of FEMA applications from Kerr County have been approved so far.

The @texastribune.org is trying to reach 500 new members during our Fall member drive. You can support me and our newsroom's important work covering this state by donating: trib.it/friend

It's been amazing to see how this story is connecting with readers. I hope you all will keep sharing the piece, about two dads moving through unimaginable grief in the days and weeks after their daughters died at Camp Mystic and fighting for positive change. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

Heartbreak, 17 kisses and a new law: brilliant reporting from @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents successfully pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But too late to save their own children. Beautifully told story by former @ksjatmit.bsky.social fellow @emfoxhall.bsky.social via @texastribune.org

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to push for new camp laws in Texas. For one, staying busy kept him from dark places in his mind. The other couldn't stop asking why his daughter died. The laws passed, but the dads couldn't get their kids back. My latest: www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

After a tearful hearing with testimony from the Camp Mystic parents, Texas senators on the special committee appointed after the July 4 floods voted 8-0 to pass Senate Bill 1 which makes changes to how camps would operate. It will be considered by the full chamber tomorrow night.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd vows to legislators that the search for the last missing Camp Mystic girl will continue: “We are not stopping the search for Cile." Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.

The parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”

Houston people: I'm excited to say I'm teaching again at Inprint this fall. We'll be practicing writing using each of the five senses. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable to writing weekly in a supportive group. Registration and more info here: inprinthouston.org/event/non-fi...

The state legislative hearing on the floods is now onto the meteorology panel. Texas Water Development Board's Carla Guthrie said at one point during the storm *half an inch* of rain was falling *every ten minutes*.

We got answers at a state hearing this morning about what the Kerr County Judge, who is in charge of emergency management, and Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator were doing in the early morning of July 4 as floods rose. They were asleep. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is at the hearing on the floods in Kerr County now. He says Gov. Greg Abbott was out of state that day, July 4, so Patrick was serving as acting governor. "That day will haunt me for the rest of my life," Patrick said.

The work of investigating how a disaster happened and why a response unfolded in the way it did is not the work, as Greg Abbott says, of “losers”, it’s the work of accountability and prevention of future disasters. @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

The second state hearing about the floods is now underway in Kerr County. County and city officials are on the schedule to speak. We're going into this with new information about how Kerrville responded. Lots of questions remain about the county's role. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

The city of Kerrville released copies of texts and emails that officials sent Friday as the flood waters raged. A big thing stood out: Some of the officials didn't seem to know the magnitude of the flash flooding killing people upriver and heading toward them. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

Under the new budget law, the timeline is much shorter for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. Economists say solar and wind development will slow as a result, and electricity prices will rise -- including in Texas. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/t...

The legislative hearing yesterday on the deadly Hill Country flooding lasted nearly 12 hours. Our takeaways: (1) There is no minimum qualification to be an emergency management coordinator in the state; it just takes "a signature." www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...

Texas lawmakers continue to hear testimony about the deadly Central Texas flooding. They lambasted a local river authority manager who talked about why they didn't keep pursuing state money for a warning system, a decision one senator called "pathetic." www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...

Texas House and Senate members are meeting this morning to talk about what to do following the deadly Kerr County flooding. The meeting began with a prayer from Sen. Charles Perry, who noted people saw things they cannot unsee. State officials will testify today; not local ones.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others have suggested sirens could help improve warning systems in remote places like the Hill Country. I talked to experts who said, yes, sirens can be a piece of the solution, but they can't be the only thing. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/k...

We've been digging into the timeline on when the NWS issued alerts as the flooding along the Guadalupe became more clear. We found their warnings gave officials time to act, but it's not clear whether they saw them or activated a response in any meaningful way. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/08/t...

The first storm of hurricane season formed today, and it's not posing any threats to land. If only they could all be like that...

It's my first day back at @texastribune.org covering climate. I spent the last year at MIT with @ksjatmit.bsky.social and learned so much about science journalism, climate science and science policy. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. And I'm excited now to get back to this beat.