Controversial text from the mayor revealed after the Kerrville flood disaster
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According to the newly released City Communications, which includes emails and text messages, Kerrville city officials were barely prepared for the devastating flood that hit Hill Country on July 4th. Obtained by KSAT Through a request for public records.
The document includes a text exchange involving Dalton Rice, the City of Kerrville manager. Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem “Basically as my hometown, Barbie.”
Hours before attending the July 5 press conference, Rice received a message from a city employee who worked with federal, state and local officials to update the public about rescue operations, saying, “We met Barbie in my hometown. How is she?”
Rice replied, “Barbie is basically my hometown,” followed by a series of laughs.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem will be taking part in a roundtable meeting with President Donald Trump at the Hill Country Youth Event Center to discuss flash floods held in Carville, Texas on July 11, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Nicknames and similar terms like “Ice Barbie” have been used online to satirise Noem as he took on the role of DHS secretary earlier this year.
Her handling of the flood crisis sparked sharp criticism, particularly after it became apparent that FEMA’s rollout was delayed by about three days due to changes in federal contract approval procedures.
Rain falls on Sunday, July 13, 2025, on a memorial to match between flood victims along the Guadalupe River in Carville, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Concerns have also been raised at the state and local levels.
Texas officials have long resisted implementing the Guadalupe River warning siren system, where floods proved to be the most deadly. Additionally, a controversial restructuring by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caused the major National Weather Service emergency coordinator to be fired a few months before the disaster.
The tragedy called for Kerrville and the surrounding communities to demand answers and reforms before the next storm hits.
Secretary Norm defended federal government action in response to surveillance efforts. “This is the fastest in history that FEMA has ever responded to a disaster,” she said in a previous interview with Fox News. “Unlike FEMA’s poor track record under the Biden administration, This time FEMA worked The way President Trump wanted to run it. ”
She said, “We’re very proud of the fact that we didn’t go there and manage it. We went there and allowed local officials to manage it and do it. The state did a great job.
NOEM RIPS CNN report claims it delayed DHS’ response to the Texas flood as “absolutely garbage”
DHS secretaries Christie Noem and Gov. Greg Abbott will discuss ongoing efforts in recent flooding along the Guadalupe River at a press conference in Ingram, Texas on Saturday. (Rodolfo Gonzalez/AP photo)
The devastating floods have claimed at least 137 lives across Texas, and 108 deaths have been reported in Kerr County alone. Among the dead were 27 campers and staff from the Christian Summer Camp, Camp Mystic, a century ago, Christian Summer Camp for girls In the town of Hunt.
Authorities are currently investigating whether the mystical officials at the camp received flash flood warnings before the tragedy and responded appropriately.
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The incident raised broader questions about how youth camps and other vulnerable agencies are being done and acting. The threat of rapidly evolving weather.
Fox News Digital reached out to Kerrville City managers Dalton Rice and Kerrville City officials, but received no response.
Stephen Sorace and Asher Redd of Fox News contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, murder, national crime cases, illegal immigration and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com