Several of Kerr County’s top officials were unavailable when floods struck Texas in the early hours on July 4, according to their testimonies at a joint state Senate and House of Representatives hearing on July 31.
William B. Thomas IV, Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator, testified during the hearing that he had become ill on July 2.
Thomas said his symptoms worsened and that he used a previously scheduled day off on July 3 to stay home and rest, rather than fulfill a commitment to his elderly father.
Thomas briefly woke at 2 a.m. on July 4 before going back to sleep. His wife woke him up around 5:30 a.m. after a call came in requesting he mobilize. Thomas went to his vehicle and drove to the sheriff’s office, where it “quickly became clear that the situation was escalating,” Thomas said….