Climate reporter for the Texas Tribune. Knight Science Journalism Fellow '25. Native Houstonian. Often thinking about hurricanes, heat and floods. Tell me your story: Emily.Foxhall@texastribune.org.https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3mruu4ogqhk27FEMA hasn't approved funding for individuals after the Hill Country floods, and philanthropies say they've had a hard time raising money to help the area recover again. The local foundation today said it's repurposing $18 million largely donated last year to help https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/29/texas-floods-kerr-county-damage-donations-volunteers/30 Jul 2026 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mruu4ogqhk27https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3mptkr5xsak2gI'm thinking today about the people I've met and the stories they've shared since the July 4 floods. What happened that day -- and the grief and loss and rebuilding and resilience -- will certainly stay with me. Here are some of their stories:04 Jul 2026 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mptkr5xsak2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3mklfohz2qs26This morning in front of Texas legislators, Edward Eastland apologized to families of the campers and counselors who died last year at Camp Mystic. “We tried our hardest that night and it wasn’t enough to save your daughters," Eastland said. https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/28/texas-camp-mystic-flood-eastland-testimony-hearing/28 Apr 2026 20:16 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklfohz2qs26https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3mklfkblq6c26In a Capitol hearing yesterday, an investigator gave a detailed account of what happened at Camp Mystic on July 4. She described a chaotic evacuation without a plan, with campers passed through windows and going under water to get out a door. My dispatch: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/27/texas-legislature-flood-investigating-committee-hearing-camp-mystic/28 Apr 2026 20:14 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklfkblq6c26https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3m6kcrhc57k2sThey couldn’t save their daughters’ lives in the July 4 floods. Now they’re dealing with the grief and the guilt. I hope you'll read my latest story for @texastribune.org: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/texas-kerr-county-july-4-floods-family-lost-daughters-parents/26 Nov 2025 16:49 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6kcrhc57k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3m6i44hjgek2f🧵 Today we published the story of RJ and Annie Harber, who suffered an unimaginable loss July 4 when the Guadalupe River flood killed their daughters and RJ's parents. The parents awoke that night to crashing thunder. They stepped out of bed into water... https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/texas-kerr-county-july-4-floods-family-lost-daughters-parents/25 Nov 2025 19:45 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6i44hjgek2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3m3fnbt2i722vIt's been more than 3 months since the Central Texas floods, and the application window for FEMA aid has closed. So @carla-astudi.bsky.social and I looked at where things stand. We found about one-fifth of FEMA applications from Kerr County have been approved so far. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-floods-fema-aid-kerr-county-nonprofits/17 Oct 2025 15:58 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3fnbt2i722vhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lzhb3lx2622yThe @texastribune.org is trying to reach 500 new members during our Fall member drive. You can support me and our newsroom's important work covering this state by donating: trib.it/friend https://trib.it/friend22 Sep 2025 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzhb3lx2622yhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lz2m4e5vs22zIt's been amazing to see how this story is connecting with readers. I hope you all will keep sharing the piece, about two dads moving through unimaginable grief in the days and weeks after their daughters died at Camp Mystic and fighting for positive change. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/texas-camp-mystic-parents-new-laws-grief/17 Sep 2025 19:48 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz2m4e5vs22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lyxq7xjgj22fTwo dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to push for new camp laws in Texas. For one, staying busy kept him from dark places in his mind. The other couldn't stop asking why his daughter died. The laws passed, but the dads couldn't get their kids back. My latest: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/texas-camp-mystic-parents-new-laws-grief/16 Sep 2025 16:23 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyxq7xjgj22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lwu5ds3nkk2sAfter a tearful hearing with testimony from the Camp Mystic parents, Texas senators on the special committee appointed after the July 4 floods voted 8-0 to pass Senate Bill 1 which makes changes to how camps would operate. It will be considered by the full chamber tomorrow night. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Aug 2025 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwu5ds3nkk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lwu3wuhuhk2zTexas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd vows to legislators that the search for the last missing Camp Mystic girl will continue: “We are not stopping the search for Cile." Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.20 Aug 2025 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwu3wuhuhk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lwtr7qimek2qThe parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”20 Aug 2025 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwtr7qimek2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lvlnfwgntk22Houston people: I'm excited to say I'm teaching again at Inprint this fall. We'll be practicing writing using each of the five senses. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable to writing weekly in a supportive group. Registration and more info here: https://inprinthouston.org/event/non-fiction-in-person-2526-201/04 Aug 2025 16:46 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvlnfwgntk22https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lvcihgstbk2oThe state legislative hearing on the floods is now onto the meteorology panel. Texas Water Development Board's Carla Guthrie said at one point during the storm *half an inch* of rain was falling *every ten minutes*.01 Aug 2025 01:23 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvcihgstbk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lvc3kz6dic27We got answers at a state hearing this morning about what the Kerr County Judge, who is in charge of emergency management, and Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator were doing in the early morning of July 4 as floods rose. They were asleep. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/texas-kerr-county-officials-asleep-july-4-floods-hill-country/31 Jul 2025 21:32 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvc3kz6dic27https://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lvbevve2ls2zLt. Gov. Dan Patrick is at the hearing on the floods in Kerr County now. He says Gov. Greg Abbott was out of state that day, July 4, so Patrick was serving as acting governor. "That day will haunt me for the rest of my life," Patrick said.31 Jul 2025 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvbevve2ls2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lvbejluxkk2oThe second state hearing about the floods is now underway in Kerr County. County and city officials are on the schedule to speak. We're going into this with new information about how Kerrville responded. Lots of questions remain about the county's role. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-kerrville-hill-country-floods-response-emails/31 Jul 2025 14:40 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvbejluxkk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/emfoxhall.bsky.social/post/3lv7s6ggels2qThe city of Kerrville released copies of texts and emails that officials sent Friday as the flood waters raged. A big thing stood out: Some of the officials didn't seem to know the magnitude of the flash flooding killing people upriver and heading toward them. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-kerrville-hill-country-floods-response-emails/30 Jul 2025 23:39 +0000at://did:plc:ng42lebcvrwru3daci7mtat4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv7s6ggels2q