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MARTINDALE, Texas (KXAN) -- At precisely 6 p.m. on a Thursday, the mayor of Martindale stopped what she was doing and looked to the sky. A countdown, which had started moments earlier, signaled it was time to start. "We've got to be planning right now before it happens again," she had told us weeks before this moment. "Because it will happen again." Mayor Laura Sanchez Fowler presides over this tiny city of about 1,200 residents nestled along the San Marcos River in Caldwell County, about 45 miles south of Austin. In 2015, dozens of homes were flooded over Memorial Day weekend after a big storm blanketed the area. Across the region, 13 people died. After the recent July 4 floods killed at least 135 people, Sanchez Fowler had one thought: "That could have been us." A warning siren just a few feet away began to blare — a test showing the work to prevent another tragedy was already underway. Nearly two months after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new law requiring outdoor warning sirens in 30 flood-prone areas — along with a mandate to "regularly test" them — a KXAN investigation uncovered flood-prone Central Texas counties without a single one in place. The state doesn't track sirens, so we combed through online records and reached out to nearly two dozen Texas counties. The result: 10 counties currently have no sirens. Most are located in areas the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers to be a relatively moderate to high risk of flooding. Under Senate Bill 3, only the counties Abbott included in his July disaster declaration are eligible for grants to pay for sirens. Burnet and Travis counties, which currently don't have sirens and qualify for state assistance under the new law, are now looking to install them. "In light of the passage of SB3, we will be planning and assessing areas that would be most beneficial for the installation of these systems," said Burnet County Emergency Management Coordinator Derek Marchio. The Texas Water Development Board will identify "risk areas" within disaster area counties that must add warning sirens, Travis County spokesperson Hector Nieto said, adding, after that, his county will "determine the next steps to comply with SB3." The new state grant money will ensure flood-prone areas, like Kerr County, are "going to have the warning systems they need" by next summer, Abbott said at a September bill signing ceremony with the families of Camp Mystic victims. "If an event like this does occur again, those warning systems will go off in a way that will do everything possible to protect lives," Abbott added. Across Central Texas, we found five counties without warning sirens that were not part of the governor's disaster declaration. Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette, Gonzales and Lee counties are not eligible for state funds under the new law. Gonzales is considered a relatively high risk for flooding, according to FEMA. KXAN reached out to the counties about why they don't have warning sirens and will update this story when we receive a response. In Bell County, there are warning sirens in Killeen, Temple, Belton and Holland. The county is not eligible for SB 3 funding to install additional ones. "That would be a question for our state legislators," Bell County Judge David Blackburn wrote in an email. "But, I think, in part, because Bell County was not one of the counties listed in the Governor’s disaster declarations associated with the flood events … and the Legislature seemed to be focused on providing funding targeted to specific counties." Among the grief-stricken families standing behind the governor as he made SB 3 law were Callie and Michael McCown of Austin. In their first interview, they told KXAN their eight-year-old daughter, Linnie, never should have died during the catastrophic flooding. It was her first time away at summer camp. "She even said, 'I know I'm going to be homesick, but everyone will take care of me,'" Callie recalled. "And she didn't come home." Camp Mystic is an all-girls' Christian camp in Kerr County. It is located along the Guadalupe River — described by local officials as "the most dangerous river valley in the United States" — in an area referred to as "Flash Flood Alley." There are no warning sirens there, which officials have acknowledged could have made a difference. "Yes, sir, senator, there's no question that that could have saved lives," the president of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, William Rector, told lawmakers during a hearing held in Kerrville in July. In 2017, the UGRA had warned about the potential for "monstrous and devastating flash floods." Wearing pink "Heaven's 27" buttons and colorful bracelets representing the names of the girls who were killed, Callie described how Linnie loved to dance and perform gymnastics. She was the middle child of two boys. “She was the glue of our family. I thought of her as my best friend," Callie said. "She was the child at school that everyone described as always including others. She never wanted anyone to be left out. She had a contagious giggle, was so silly and funny, and just so sweet.” "She was my angel," Michael added. In August, Kerr County commissioners tasked a team with developing a plan to implement an automated county-wide flood warning system that can provide "adequate warning of an impending, life threatening flood in sufficient time for people at risk to reach safety." By the end of the year, the team aims to have a plan in place for its design, development and testing, former Kerr County Commissioner Tom Moser said during a September update. The group will help prepare grant applications and requests for proposals, he added. According to their timeline, contractors could be selected before March of next year with testing starting by June. KXAN reached out to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly along with the five county commissioners to ask for more details about new sirens. We also emailed the county's spokeswoman three times, texted and left a voicemail. We did not hear back. Linnie's parents said sirens "absolutely" could have made a difference in sounding the alarm for Camp Mystic to evacuate. The loud wailing, emanating from a towering siren next to Martindale's water tower, could be heard for miles. The Oct. 2 test was the first in years. For Mayor Sanchez Fowler, who was elected before the floods, fixing her city's two broken and long-ignored sirens became a priority after July 4. They were once again operational within two weeks, she said. Under the new law, state grant money could help pay for future additions. The two sirens were originally installed in 2018 at a cost of less than $20,000, she said. At some point, they stopped working. Today, Police Chief Tommy Ward is responsible for pressing a series of buttons on his portable radio to activate the alarms in the event of a weather emergency. He admits, for years, the city failed to check to see if the sirens even worked. "From when you were appointed in 2021 until now in 2025, how come you didn't stop to ask, 'Why aren't these sirens working?'" asked KXAN investigative reporter Matt Grant. "You know, that's on me. I'll take that. I just assumed that they were working by the county and that the county maintained them," Ward said. "I'll take accountability for that." The tower has always been radio-activated but, "somehow over time the radio just became inoperative," Ward said. After the flooding in Kerrville, the city purchased a new one. Steps away from one siren, under a clear blue sky dotted with clouds, the San Marcos River calmly and gently flowed. Standing next to the water, Ward knows it can rise "at any moment." That's why the city is now committed to making a change. This siren test will continue monthly. "We're not going to take any more chances," Ward said. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, pushed for river sirens days after the deadly floods. At the time, he told KXAN that mobile alerts aren't enough. Holding up his cell phone, he complained it is "too overloaded" with all kinds of alerts that most people tune out. "You want to try to get as many chances to get the public's attention that trouble is on the way," he told KXAN on July 7. The general criticism around warning sirens centers on the fact that they can be expensive, require routine maintenance and are only meant to be heard outdoors. “I do think they have their place, but a lot of times if you’re indoors, especially four o’clock in the morning when it’s pouring down rain, the likelihood is going to be that you’re not going to hear those sirens," Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, whose district includes Kerr County, told KXAN in July. Virdell, who sat on the House Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, cautioned that government "sometimes has the problem of overreacting to a situation" and said the “real question” is “when’s the right time to send alerts out and are we sending too many alerts out right now?” Ultimately, he voted in favor of SB 3. In Martindale, minutes after the test ended, the mayor and police chief received reports that the sirens weren't heard indoors, at least in some cases. They also acknowledged another criticism: the sirens can be confusing. In addition to producing a warning signal for floods, the Martindale sirens also sound the alarm for tornadoes. Both alerts were tested back-to-back. The challenge for this community, and others, is making sure people know what the different danger alarm tones mean — and how to react. "We don’t want someone running out if they hear a tornado warning," Ward said. City leaders say the sirens will be used alongside other more modern methods — like mobile text alerts sent to anyone located in the area. "We need to educate everyone about what those sirens actually mean," said Dr. Keri Stephens, who teaches disaster and crisis communication at the University of Texas at Austin. "I would say the biggest challenge with them is if people don't know what that sound sounds like than they can be confused." As for how residents can tell the difference between a siren signaling them to shelter in place and one that's warning them to evacuate, Stephens said, “I’m not aware of any way to do that right now.” Stephens was recently awarded a federal grant to study why some camps and other locations did evacuate during the floods and whether warning sirens could have played a role. Still, she said while sirens are effective they are only one part of a "layered" solution that should be combined with mobile alerts and public education. Just funding sirens is "not at all" enough, she said. In July, KXAN reported how another city, San Marcos, touted its 14 warning sirens as a "vital tool" for emergency preparedness. Yet, over the weekend, the city's sirens failed to activate during a weather event that included a tornado warning, the city said, blaming a "server malfunction." “We understand how important it is for our community to feel confident that these systems will work during emergencies, and we’re treating this with the urgency it deserves,” the city wrote in a social media post. The sirens also didn't sound in May. At the time, officials said they were temporarily turned off due to widespread confusion that they signaled a tornado rather than a flood. At the time, the city said it was "working to improve public education around what the sirens mean in different emergency scenarios" so residents "understand how to respond" when they hear them go off. The city said its goal was to "maintain trust in the system as a reliable tool for public safety." For counties that don't have sirens, like Kerr, funding is often cited as a factor. That excuse, at least for more than two dozen counties, isn't an option anymore, said Matthew Childress. His 18-year-old daughter, Chloe, died during the flooding at Camp Mystic, where she was a counselor. "It's one more layer of protection," he said about the new siren law. "One more layer ... to let folks have the opportunity to evacuate." The McCowns said they also believe sirens — along with a slate of new camp safety reforms signed into law — will save lives. This month, a new Texas House and Senate joint committee was formed to investigate "contributing factors" that led to 27 people dying at Camp Mystic. The committee will look at actions taken at other youth summer camps, examine facts and circumstances surrounding the floods and look for ways to "strengthen the state's preparedness and response to flooding and other natural disasters." "The tragedy at Camp Mystic and the flooding disasters this summer have left a devastating impact on Texas families, communities, and our entire state," said Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. "As Texans work to rebuild and recover, it is the responsibility of the legislature to understand what went wrong and ensure our state is better prepared for future emergencies." Recently, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he was "shocked" over Camp Mystic's decision to partially reopen next summer "with so many questions unanswered about what happened" on July 4. The McCowns, meanwhile, are convinced Linnie's death could "100%" have been prevented. Now, they hope her memory will be a warning that can help save others. "I don't like that my daughter had to die for this to take place," Callie said. "I don't want any other parent to have to suffer the way that we have suffered — and will suffer for the rest of our lives." Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Photojournalist Tim Holcomb, Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report.
