The Texas Senate has advanced a package of flood-related legislation aimed at strengthening emergency response in vulnerable communities, including a measure that would require outdoor sirens in flood-prone areas of Central Texas.
The bills, passed at the start of the Legislature’s second special session, come in response to the deadly July 4 flooding in Kerr County that killed 119 people.
Senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 2, Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 5, which build on measures introduced during the first special session. The legislation now moves to the Texas House for consideration.
Under Senate Bill 3, the Texas Water Development Board is tasked in identifying areas at risk of severe flooding and requiring counties and municipalities to install sirens in those zones. The measure directs $50 million in state grants for local governments to install the systems across 30 counties, including Kerr, Bexar, Comal and Gillespie.
Senate Bill 5 provides $200 million in state funds to match federal disaster relief and support recovery efforts statewide.
The bill also allocates $24 million in preparedness grants to improve forecasting, flood management and the speed of emergency warnings.
In addition to the siren requirements, Senate Bill 2 calls for new licensing standards for emergency managers, mandatory annual disaster drills, and greater authority for state officials to neutralize unauthorized drones in disaster zones.
Calls for new warning systems intensified after July’s flooding, which struck communities along the Guadalupe River. Some lawmakers argued that outdoor sirens could have provided critical minutes of warning for camps, RV parks and neighborhoods located near the river.
According to an article published by the San Antonio Express News on August 19, Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, told colleagues the legislation directly responds to the disaster.
“How critical flood early warning systems would be in flash flood areas that are home to youth camps, camp sites, RV parks and other large gatherings near flood-prone rivers,” Bettencourt said.
The bill would require local governments to maintain and regularly test the sirens, which must include sensors, gauges and backup power sources. Jurisdictions that fail to comply would be barred from accessing other water development board funding.
“With limited cellphone connectivity in parts of this region, there’s a need to go back to old-school technology, which is to use outdoor warning sirens,” Bettencourt said.
He added that a properly placed gauge and automated alert system could have provided camps on the Guadalupe River with 24 minutes of warning on July 4.