Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, discusses the hassle by some on the left accountable President Donald Trump for the Texas floods on ‘Varney & Co.’
Within the occasion of a catastrophe, a cell phone would be the first to alert somebody.
With Wi-fi Emergency Alerts (WEAs), clients of telecommunications corporations together with Verizon, T-Cellular and AT&T obtain pressing messages from authorities companies throughout vital conditions resembling tornadoes, flash floods or AMBER Alerts. FEMA stated the messages present the kind and time of the alert, any motion folks within the impacted space ought to take, and the company issuing the alert.
This is how they work:
WEAs are issued by approved federal, state, native, tribal and territorial public alerting authorities and broadcast from cell towers to any WEA‐enabled cellular gadget in a regionally focused space. WEA is a part of a partnership between FEMA, the Federal Communications Fee (FCC) and wi-fi suppliers, geared toward enhancing public security.
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There are several types of alerts, however pure disasters and excessive climate fall below the Imminent Risk Alerts class.
Wi-fi Emergency Alerts will not be subscription-based, based on FEMA. There’s additionally no want to supply private info to obtain a WEA. WEAs are free and primarily based on location. Nevertheless, folks will nonetheless obtain messages even when they’re in an space the place they do not reside or are exterior the world the place the telephone is registered.
Flood waters left particles, together with automobiles and gear, scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (Eric Vryn / Getty Pictures)
If somebody travels into an space after a WEA was despatched, they’ll obtain the message, if the alert continues to be lively.
To determine if it is an WEA, FEMA stated the alert might be not more than 360 characters. These messages may also have a particular tone and vibration that might be repeated twice.
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Wi-fi suppliers are promoting gadgets with WEA functionality included. Nevertheless, to search out out if a telephone can obtain WEA alerts, FEMA stated folks ought to contact their wi-fi supplier, which participates in WEA on a voluntary foundation.
Wi-fi Emergency Alerts (WEAs) don’t observe folks’s location. As a substitute, they’re broadcast from cell towers to all WEA-enabled telephones in a particular geographic space.
Search and rescue employees dig via particles searching for any survivors or stays of individuals swept up within the flash flooding on July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (Jim Vondruska / Getty Pictures)
If a telephone is in vary, an individual will obtain the alert irrespective of which provider they use. If somebody is on a name when an alert is distributed, it will likely be delayed till the decision ends. WEAs are additionally not affected by community congestion, to allow them to get via even when common calls or texts are sluggish.
Except for the WEAs, the Nationwide Climate Service additionally sends up repeated warnings.
On July 3, forward of the lethal flooding in Central Texas, the NWS places of work in Austin and San Antonio performed forecast briefings for emergency administration within the morning and issued a Flood Watch within the early afternoon. Flash Flood Warnings had been issued on the morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead instances of greater than three hours earlier than warning standards had been met.
First, the Nationwide Water Middle Flood Hazard Outlook issued on July 3 indicated an enlargement of flash flood potential to incorporate Kerrville, Texas, and surrounding areas. A Flood Watch was then issued by NWS Austin and San Antonio round 1:18 p.m. central time Thursday, in impact via Friday morning.
The Climate Prediction Middle (WPC) additionally issued three Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions for the extreme rainfall occasion as early as 6:10 p.m. Thursday, indicating the potential for flash flooding.
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The Nationwide Water Middle Space Hydrologic Dialogue (AHD) #144 messaged regionally appreciable flood wording for areas north and west of San Antonio, together with the town of Kerrville, and the primary Flash Flood Warning for the occasion was issued at 11:41 p.m. Thursday for Bandera County. The AHD is a device to assist the NWS rapidly determine and talk potential flash flood threats.
A photograph exhibits flooding attributable to a flash flood on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP by way of / Getty Pictures)
At 1:14 a.m. Friday, a Flash Flood Warning marked as “considerable” was issued for Bandera and Kerr counties, signaling a critical menace. Warnings labeled “considerable” or “catastrophic” imply there’s a excessive danger of main harm. These alerts routinely exit as emergency notifications to cellphones within the space and are additionally broadcast over NOAA Climate Radio, making certain the general public is warned throughout solely essentially the most harmful flash flood occasions.
The NWS stated the primary experiences from Kerr County Sheriff’s Workplace of flooding at low water crossings had 201 minutes of lead time. Nevertheless, simply after 4 a.m. native time, the Flash Flood Warning was upgraded to a Flash Flood Emergency for south-central Kerr County, together with Hunt.
An hour later, the Nationwide Water Middle Space Hydrologic Dialogue #146 included concern about appreciable widespread flooding all through the day. The Flood Hazard Outlook was additionally upgraded to appreciable and catastrophic.
A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for the Guadalupe River at 5:34 a.m.
