When disaster hits, rural communities often don’t have the same support systems that cities do. The floods in the Texas Hill Country this summer showed just how dangerous that can be.
Over 120 people died when the Guadalupe River rose nearly 30 feet in less than an hour. It was one of the worst floods in modern Texas history, and many of the people who died were in remote, rural areas and had no warning that the flood waters were rising at historic levels.
But the storm in Texas was more than just a bad storm; it was a failure of planning, funding, and leadership. And for people who live in rural areas and care about being prepared for anything, there are important lessons we need to learn from this incredible tragedy.
When disasters strike, local government matters—so get involved now.
In Kerr County, where the flood happened, emergency officials had known since 2016 that they needed a siren system to warn people. But some local leaders said sirens would be too loud or cost too much. So they never got built.
In a disaster, local governments are responsible for sounding alarms, coordinating emergency responders, issuing evacuation orders, and activating shelters. They control the dispatch centers that send police, firefighters, and EMS. They manage local road closures, provide updates to the public, and make real-time decisions that save or cost lives. If these systems aren’t in place or leaders aren’t ready to use them, people are left in the dark.
Local leaders also manage things like setting up temporary shelters, helping hospitals manage surges in patients, organizing search and rescue efforts, and distributing food and water. In some cases, they even control the timing and content of emergency communications.
In the end, over 100 people paid the price for those delays with their lives.
The lesson? If rural Americans want better systems when emergencies strike, we can’t sit on the sidelines. We have to go to town halls, speak up at meetings, and make sure our leaders take safety seriously. You don’t have to run for office, but showing up, asking questions, and holding officials accountable can make all the difference.
Get to know your neighbors because they might be the only ones who can help in the critical hours after an emergency.
During the flood, it took over 90 minutes for local dispatchers to send out alerts after the first emergency request. Many people never got a warning. There were no sirens, and phone alerts didn’t work in some places.
And while FEMA did eventually arrive, President Trump has said he wants to shut down FEMA and move its responsibilities to the states. He’s already cut a third of his staff.
That means rural communities can’t always rely on outside help. We need to have our own plans and emergency response teams, ensuring neighbors check on each other and that you and your neighbors have the basics, such as NOAA emergency radios, chainsaws, and ways to communicate without cell phones. Many rural communities already have these teams in place. Check with your county commissioners to see if such groups exist in your area.
Talk to neighbors and assess interest. To set up your neighborhood emergency response team, you will need team members. With a few interested individuals, you can spread the word about the program and recruit more people.
Assign roles early, utilizing neighbors’ special skills like medical training or wilderness survival to designate leads for medical, communications, logistics, and supplies. Create a basic emergency response plan, including hazard assessment, communication, meeting/shelter locations, and a neighborhood inventory to identify vulnerable members.
Schedule training sessions for first aid and CPR, often available from fire departments or emergency management. Collect shared emergency supplies like generators and tools, and provide neighbors with a recommended home supply list. Schedule drills and provide updates to practice the plan and build confidence.
The climate is changing, so update your expectations and your local emergency response budget.
Scientists say climate change is making storms more intense and more challenging to predict. The rainstorms hitting Texas now drop more water, faster, than they did in the past.
But it’s not just floods. Across the U.S., wildfires are happening more often and spreading more quickly—sometimes even in places that didn’t used to see them. Winter storms are also getting stronger, with heavier snowfall and deeper freezes that can knock out power and trap people in their homes for days.
For decades, FEMA’s maps have failed to take rainfall and flash flooding into account, relying instead on data from coastal storm surges and large river flooding, even as climate change is supercharging rainfall intensity. Nationwide, First Street found more than twice as many Americans live in dangerous flood-prone areas than FEMA’s maps suggest, leaving many homeowners and even local officials unaware of the risk.
Rural communities need to plan for this new reality. Roads that used to be safe might now flood. Creeks that rarely rose may now overflow. We need to take weather threats more seriously—and build systems strong enough to handle them.
Whether it’s setting up local alerts, backing leaders who believe in safety, or being prepared to act fast, planning ahead can save lives. Communities that build before disaster hits survive better afterward.
Don’t wait for someone else to keep your neighborhood safe.
We can’t wait for someone else to fix things. And we shouldn’t expect politicians—even the ones we like—always to get it right. Being prepared is part of rural life. That means being ready off the grid—and being prepared to speak up in government.
If we want to protect our families, our homes, and our way of life, we have to stay informed, get involved, and help our communities prepare before the next storm comes.
