New legislative panels will investigate ‘facts and circumstances’ of deadly Central Texas floods

New legislative panels will investigate ‘facts and circumstances’ of deadly Central Texas floods

A hearing attendee labels a map of the Guadalupe River during a joint committee hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center on July 31, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Credit: Texas Tribune / Ronaldo Bolaños Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Top Republicans in the Texas Legislature have announced the creation of committees tasked with “getting to the bottom…

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New legislative panels will investigate “facts and circumstances” of deadly Central Texas floods

New legislative panels will investigate “facts and circumstances” of deadly Central Texas floods

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Top Republicans in the Texas Legislature have announced the creation of committees tasked with “getting to the bottom of” the July flooding that killed more than 130 people, including 25 young girls and…

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Speedy Sparks, bassist for Texas Tornados, other San Antonio music icons, has died

Speedy Sparks, bassist for Texas Tornados, other San Antonio music icons, has died

Speedy Sparks (second from left in the rear) performed with legendary musicians, including the Texas Tornados. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Texas Tornados Speedy Sparks, a bassist who played with Lone Star State music icons including Doug Sahm, Joe King Carrasco and the Texas Tornados, has died at age 79, according to friends and associates. Though he primarily worked out of Austin, Sparks first made his mark in San Antonio, recording with new-wave wild man Carrasco…

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Central Texas floods reveal need to shore up disaster response in unincorporated areas

Central Texas floods reveal need to shore up disaster response in unincorporated areas

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. This story was produced by Grist and co-published with the Texas Tribune. Editor’s note: This story contains explicit language. Rain was already coursing through the usually dry creek near Abraham Stallins’ home in…

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'Gut punch': Kerrville slaps homeowners with tax hike after July 4 floods

'Gut punch': Kerrville slaps homeowners with tax hike after July 4 floods

The 7.98% property tax rate increase was approved on Tuesday, September 23, during a city council meeting that drew angry residents in strong opposition to the tax hike. City officials have the option to keep the new tax hike for three years or until the city’s total taxable value exceeds $3.6 billion without a vote, which angered residents even more.  “This tax increase is basically a gut punch to the flood victims in the city,” Jacklynn…

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Camp Mystic plans partial reopening in 2026 after devastating floods

Camp Mystic plans partial reopening in 2026 after devastating floods

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Camp Mystic, the Christian girls’ camp where 25 young campers and two counselors died during the July 4 flooding, will reopen one of its campsites in 2026, according to an email shared with families. Camp Mystic officials said in the email sent Monday that they would follow all new laws and regulations as…

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Travis County is raising property taxes to pay for past and future floods

Travis County is raising property taxes to pay for past and future floods

The Travis County Commissioners Court has approved a 9.12% property tax rate increase. All four county commissioners and Travis County Judge Andy Brown supported the increase, which they say is necessary after the county zeroed out its savings account responding to catastrophic flooding this summer. So far, the county has spent just over $21 million cleaning up flood debris and setting up emergency services, according to Travis County spokesperson Hector Nieto. The tax increase is…

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Texas passed laws to address historic flooding. We asked a flood expert if they'll work.

Texas passed laws to address historic flooding. We asked a flood expert if they'll work.

After historic floods on the Fourth of July killed more than 130 people in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed state lawmakers would pass transformative legislation, designed to “make sure communities are better, more resilient, and have the resources that they need.” Just two months later, on Sept. 5, Abbott held a bill signing ceremony surrounded by families who’d lost loved ones in the tragedy. That day, the governor signed a package of flood-related measures into…

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Tropical Storm Mario forms off Mexico's Pacific coast, expected to bring rain and possible flooding

Tropical Storm Mario forms off Mexico's Pacific coast, expected to bring rain and possible flooding

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Mario formed Friday off the Pacific coast of Mexico and was expected to bring wind, rain and possible flash flooding, forecasters said. Mario was described as “mini” in the National Hurricane Center’s morning advisory, but the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.  A tropical storm watch was in effect for parts of the Michoacan state. It spanned from Lázaro Cárdenas to Punta San Telmo. The Miami-based weather service…

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Life in the Time of Hurricanes

Life in the Time of Hurricanes

Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from the first chapter of Life in the Time of Hurricanes by Rod Davis, out this month from TCU Press. It is republished here with permission. “And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the…

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Texas braces for drastic temperature drop amid cold front, tropical storm

Texas braces for drastic temperature drop amid cold front, tropical storm

Photo of cloudy skies. Annett Engelhardt / 500px/Getty Images/500px Now that August is behind us, it’s really time for it to start feeling like fall. While it typically takes until nearly the start of winter to really feel a significant cool down, a cold front sweeping across Texas is bringing the autumnal feels early. If there’s anything we can expect from Texas weather, it’s to expect the unexpected. For the northern half of Texas – sorry…

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Flood Watch issued as thunderstorms could ruin Labor Day plans in San Antonio

Flood Watch issued as thunderstorms could ruin Labor Day plans in San Antonio

Did anybody else get randomly soaked while at a high school football game last night? Well, whether you were or not, rain was all over the San Antonio area on Saturday night, August 30, and it looks like there may be that and more on the way.  The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch is in effect beginning noon on Sunday, August 31 that will last until Monday, September 1. What a way…

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Flood watch in effect for the Austin area from noon Sunday until noon on Monday

Flood watch in effect for the Austin area from noon Sunday until noon on Monday

Rain is in the forecast for a large area of Texas for the remainder of the long Labor Day weekend, including the Austin area and the Hill Country. The National Weather Service says there could be enough rainfall over a long enough period of time to cause flooding. The NWS has issued a flood watch that is in effect from noon Sunday until noon on Monday. A slow-moving cold front is expected to move through…

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A Texas congressman is quietly helping Elon Musk pitch building $760M tunnels under Houston to ease flooding

A Texas congressman is quietly helping Elon Musk pitch building $760M tunnels under Houston to ease flooding

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback. This article is co-published with The Texas Newsroom, the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica as part of an initiative to report on how power is wielded in Texas. Also, sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The devastating flooding in Houston caused by…

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TribCast: How will Texas protect its campers from future floods?

TribCast: How will Texas protect its campers from future floods?

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk to Texas Tribune climate reporter Emily Foxhall about the emotional pleas Camp Mystic parents made to state lawmakers and analyze the proposed new laws in…

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