re: Reports of over 20 young camp girls missing In TX floods

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Does a security guard need to be a government employee? I don’t think so.

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If it happens, they 100% will be, but it's a stupid idea. Now, if you want to talk about a network of gauges that could be used with AI to warn people, sure, but people will just ignore those warnings, too.

A single USGS gauge is going to cost about $6000 per year to maintain. Pretty sure Harris County installed their own gauge network to manage cost, but it's still not cheap, and that's just for the Houston area, which has cash.

The families that enjoy the camps in the Hunt area can afford to purchase and maintain flood gauges.
Historically, the warning system has been a call from upriver that a flood is coming. Time to use a better system.

They waited too late to evacuate those cabins and there was already water between them and safety. I assume they were using the truck to expedite the process and drive through the water.

Interview with a guy in Merryville this morning said there is limited cell reception out there.
Not sure but why can’t they install high water alarms throughout the gaudaloupe river basin? No different than the high water alarms installed on offshore boats.

the Texags forum has been amazing if you are following this story for information and support and faith, quite frankly. Seeing how they have prayed and been there for members of the forum has been a sight to behold. Reminds me of how this place rallied around Honkus in his time of need or how we always pray and provide support for those here that have lost wives and brothers and sisters and children.

In the picture you posted, a few things stood out to me after reading that entire thread on texags.

1) Wiggle Inn, where the security guard kept everyone safe by riding the thing out on mattresses inside the cabin, was right next to twins and bubble inn. Only Wiggle had vaulted ceilings and Twins and Bubble didn't so they had to abandon ship and head to rec hall. thats when they got washed away.

2) Chatterbox, also close by, had a counselor who said screw this, busted out a window and told her people to climb the nearby hill to safety instead of heading to rec hall. they all made it and got rescued about 11am that morning.

I don't profess to know why life works the way it does. Something as simple as what kind of ceiling your cabin has can determine your fate. Running up a hill in pitch black of night as water is actively pouring down said hill with kids more worried about not leaving their retainers than saving their own skin can lead to salvation while trying to follow the prescribed evac plan can lead to doom. Riding it out in place on top of mattresses with a fricking bad arse angel from heaven seemed to work pretty good too.

All I do know is that I have never prayed harder for a group of strangers in my life. I've never shed tears for strangers and yet I have for these little girls and their counselors. May God be with everyone affected by this awful tragedy.

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I know some counties throughout tornado zones have issues with sirens going off and folks not heeding them because of the frequency. It's a fine line.

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Used to be a tornado warning meant one had been sighted. You got one maybe one a year. Now they're radar indicated and it's not unusual to get multiple warnings in a day. I think it does lead to complacency.

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They waited too late to evacuate those cabins and there was already water between them and safety.

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The young kid cabins that were affected were literally the highest part of that area. It didnt flood in 87 to give you an idea. The rec hall, which was the place everyone was evacuated to from the other cabins, was on the same elevation. They were last to get evac'd for that very reason. The night security guard starting wailing and getting the ball rolling at a little before 2am. She even called other camps. No telling how many lives she saved. the wall came around 4am. thats nothing, time wise, when you are talking about 750+ kids and counselors. That they had 27 get swept away is a miracle in and of itself. Numbers could have been so much worse.

Even something as stupid as the ceiling of the cabins played a role in this. The hills where Chatterbox ran to for safety were actually closer to twins and bubble than the rec hall. Had twins and bubble gone that way this ends differently. Had they had vaulted ceilings, this ends differently. How you make those decisions, with 10 or so little girls in your charge while you are 18-20 or so yourself at 4am in the pitch black with rain pouring down on you and actual biblical type flooding happening before your very eyes from both sides while you are in your fricking pajamas and barefoot is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

As far as counselors, i’m pretty sure most of them are teenagers themselves. Not that they can’t be trained, but if you think of them as also kids it makes more sense.

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All we can do now is rebuild on higher ground and invest in the detection/alarm systems to make sure this never happens again

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In Japan they have tsunami stones warning people not to build below a certain level. Some are 500+ years old. Some lessons can’t be wished on our worst enemies or their descendants.

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The tsunami stone in Aneyoshi says: "High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. ... Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point."

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