Emily Foxhall
@emfoxhall.bsky.social
Climate reporter for the Texas Tribune. Knight Science Journalism Fellow '25. Native Houstonian. Often thinking about hurricanes, heat and floods. Tell me your story: [email protected].
It'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.
FEMA denied or didn’t advance most Kerr County flood requests
Advocates are questioning why so many applicants from the flood-ravaged county have not received federal disaster help. Nonprofits are trying to fill in the gaps.
www.texastribune.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:59 PM
It'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.
The @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
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trib.it
September 22, 2025 at 8:35 PM
The @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
It'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. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
September 17, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It'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. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
Reposted by Emily Foxhall
Heartbreak, 17 kisses and a new law: brilliant reporting from @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.
Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.
www.texastribune.org
September 16, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Heartbreak, 17 kisses and a new law: brilliant reporting from @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
Reposted by Emily Foxhall
“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents successfully pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But too late to save their own children. Beautifully told story by former @ksjatmit.bsky.social fellow @emfoxhall.bsky.social via @texastribune.org
“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.
Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.
www.texastribune.org
September 16, 2025 at 4:41 PM
“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents successfully pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But too late to save their own children. Beautifully told story by former @ksjatmit.bsky.social fellow @emfoxhall.bsky.social via @texastribune.org
Two 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:
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.
Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.
www.texastribune.org
September 16, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Two 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:
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...
After 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.
The 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.”
August 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
After 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.
Texas 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.
Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.
August 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Texas 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.
Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.
The 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.”
August 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The 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.”
Houston 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: inprinthouston.org/event/non-fi...
Non-fiction/In-Person 2526-201
inprinthouston.org
August 4, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Houston 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: inprinthouston.org/event/non-fi...
The 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*.
August 1, 2025 at 1:23 AM
The 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*.
We 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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...
They were asleep.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...
Top two Kerr County emergency officials say they were asleep as July 4 floods struck
Their statements to state legislators marked the first time county officials have spoken publicly about what they were doing the morning of the disaster that killed more than 100 people in the county.
www.texastribune.org
July 31, 2025 at 9:32 PM
We 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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...
They were asleep.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...
Lt. 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.
"That day will haunt me for the rest of my life," Patrick said.
July 31, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Lt. 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.
"That day will haunt me for the rest of my life," Patrick said.
Reposted by Emily Foxhall
The work of investigating how a disaster happened and why a response unfolded in the way it did is not the work, as Greg Abbott says, of “losers”, it’s the work of accountability and prevention of future disasters. @emfoxhall.bsky.social
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.
www.texastribune.org
July 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
The work of investigating how a disaster happened and why a response unfolded in the way it did is not the work, as Greg Abbott says, of “losers”, it’s the work of accountability and prevention of future disasters. @emfoxhall.bsky.social
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
The 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. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
We're going into this with new information about how Kerrville responded. Lots of questions remain about the county's role. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.
www.texastribune.org
July 31, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The 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. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
We're going into this with new information about how Kerrville responded. Lots of questions remain about the county's role. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
The 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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.
www.texastribune.org
July 30, 2025 at 11:39 PM
The 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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
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.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...
Under the new budget law, the timeline is much shorter for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits.
Economists say solar and wind development will slow as a result, and electricity prices will rise -- including in Texas.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/t...
Economists say solar and wind development will slow as a result, and electricity prices will rise -- including in Texas.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/t...
Texans will pay higher power bills as clean energy development slows because of tax credit cuts, economists say
The One Big Beautiful Bill drastically shortens the timeline for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. This will impact even Texas, where wind and solar power have boomed and power deman...
www.texastribune.org
July 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Under the new budget law, the timeline is much shorter for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits.
Economists say solar and wind development will slow as a result, and electricity prices will rise -- including in Texas.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/t...
Economists say solar and wind development will slow as a result, and electricity prices will rise -- including in Texas.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/t...
The legislative hearing yesterday on the deadly Hill Country flooding lasted nearly 12 hours. Our takeaways:
(1) There is no minimum qualification to be an emergency management coordinator in the state; it just takes "a signature."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
(1) There is no minimum qualification to be an emergency management coordinator in the state; it just takes "a signature."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
Plans for flood warning system floundered before Hill Country floods, witnesses tell legislative flood committee
Lawmakers serving on special committees investigating deadly floods blasted a river authority for failing to build a flood warning system on the Guadalupe River.
www.texastribune.org
July 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The legislative hearing yesterday on the deadly Hill Country flooding lasted nearly 12 hours. Our takeaways:
(1) There is no minimum qualification to be an emergency management coordinator in the state; it just takes "a signature."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
(1) There is no minimum qualification to be an emergency management coordinator in the state; it just takes "a signature."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
Texas lawmakers continue to hear testimony about the deadly Central Texas flooding. They lambasted a local river authority manager who talked about why they didn't keep pursuing state money for a warning system, a decision one senator called "pathetic."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
Plans for flood warning system floundered before Hill Country floods, witnesses tell legislative flood committee
Lawmakers serving on special committees investigating deadly floods blasted a river authority for failing to build a flood warning system on the Guadalupe River.
www.texastribune.org
July 24, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Texas lawmakers continue to hear testimony about the deadly Central Texas flooding. They lambasted a local river authority manager who talked about why they didn't keep pursuing state money for a warning system, a decision one senator called "pathetic."
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/t...
Texas House and Senate members are meeting this morning to talk about what to do following the deadly Kerr County flooding.
The meeting began with a prayer from Sen. Charles Perry, who noted people saw things they cannot unsee.
State officials will testify today; not local ones.
The meeting began with a prayer from Sen. Charles Perry, who noted people saw things they cannot unsee.
State officials will testify today; not local ones.
July 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Texas House and Senate members are meeting this morning to talk about what to do following the deadly Kerr County flooding.
The meeting began with a prayer from Sen. Charles Perry, who noted people saw things they cannot unsee.
State officials will testify today; not local ones.
The meeting began with a prayer from Sen. Charles Perry, who noted people saw things they cannot unsee.
State officials will testify today; not local ones.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others have suggested sirens could help improve warning systems in remote places like the Hill Country. I talked to experts who said, yes, sirens can be a piece of the solution, but they can't be the only thing.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/k...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/k...
Can sirens help save lives in the next flood? Yes, but there’s more to it.
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.
www.texastribune.org
July 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others have suggested sirens could help improve warning systems in remote places like the Hill Country. I talked to experts who said, yes, sirens can be a piece of the solution, but they can't be the only thing.
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/k...
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/k...
We've been digging into the timeline on when the NWS issued alerts as the flooding along the Guadalupe became more clear. We found their warnings gave officials time to act, but it's not clear whether they saw them or activated a response in any meaningful way. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/08/t...
Weather warnings gave officials a 3 hour, 21 minute window to save lives in Kerr County. What happened then remains unclear.
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.
www.texastribune.org
July 9, 2025 at 2:37 PM
We've been digging into the timeline on when the NWS issued alerts as the flooding along the Guadalupe became more clear. We found their warnings gave officials time to act, but it's not clear whether they saw them or activated a response in any meaningful way. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/08/t...
The first storm of hurricane season formed today, and it's not posing any threats to land. If only they could all be like that...
June 24, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The first storm of hurricane season formed today, and it's not posing any threats to land. If only they could all be like that...
It's my first day back at @texastribune.org covering climate. I spent the last year at MIT with @ksjatmit.bsky.social and learned so much about science journalism, climate science and science policy. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. And I'm excited now to get back to this beat.
June 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
It's my first day back at @texastribune.org covering climate. I spent the last year at MIT with @ksjatmit.bsky.social and learned so much about science journalism, climate science and science policy. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. And I'm excited now to get back to this beat.