Failed Bill May Have Prevented Kerrville Disaster

The tragedy that has occurred in Kerrville has gripped us here in Texas and across the country. We've all been following the story hoping for some good news to come from the tragedy, and thankfully at least a few of the people that were swept away have been rescued.

Many, however, have turned up without the same outcome, and the death toll continues to rise from the tragedy. Now, info is starting to leak that makes us ask if this is something that could've been completely avoidable.

Tragedy In Kerrville, TX.

Just to recap, flash flooding hit the Kerrville area and the Guadalupe River quickly flooded. A Christian all-girls camp, Camp Mystic, was being held in Kerrville along the river.

As the rains ripped through and the river flooded, it swept away campers as they slept, along with so many others in the city. As of this writing, there were 89 people confirmed dead, some of those were campers.

Could This Have Been Prevented Possibly

While no one can control Mother Nature, there are things we can do to help prevent tragedies, such as this one, from happening.

House Bill 13 was created to improve emergency and disaster response by creating a new government council that would establish an emergency response plan and improve communication between first responders.

What Happened To The Bill

In short, the bill failed with the majority of lawmakers striking it down in the Texas Senate. One representative in the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Wes Virdell, is now dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy firsthand.

Virdell spoke with the Texas Tribune, and in an article posted by Yahoo, he said:

“I can tell you in hindsight, watching what it takes to deal with a disaster like this, my vote would probably be different now.”

We can only hope that now they reconvene and find a solution to improve operations before another tragedy strikes.