"Texas lawmakers have for years rejected legislation that could have protected residents in the state’s flood-prone areas. Three bills would have banned youth camps or nearly all development in areas most at risk of dangerous flooding. Experts said the bills could have saved lives."
"The sound of construction machinery filled the air as Kylie Nidever walked past properties ravaged months earlier by floodwaters.
Nidever’s home was among those in her Bumble Bee Hills neighborhood untouched by last year’s July 4 flood, one of the deadliest disasters in Texas history. The 35-year-old understood the draw of the tranquil Kerr County subdivision, where she played as a child in a nearby creek that fed the Guadalupe River. But she was taken aback by how enthusiastic most of her neighbors were to rebuild.
Nidever wondered why the government had let people build in any areas long known to be dangerous and whether leaders would intervene now.
“Is somebody going to come in and stop us?” said Nidever, who has considered moving. “If it happens again and it’s worse next time, people will die in this neighborhood.”"
