It didn’t take long for the climate doomsters to link the recent flooding tragedy in Texas to man-made catastrophic climate change. Fortunately, the CO₂ Coalition’s team of experts were in the final stages of a new report on Texas and climate change and were able to counter this misinformation.

The area of the Camp Mystic tragedy is so prone to flooding that it is nicknamed “Flash Flood Alley.” You can learn more about the specifics in this AccuWeather article.

The combination of the area’s unique geology and its proximity to the Gulf of America is the reason for common flash floods.

The shaded area in the map to the left is the Balcones Escarpment. This is an inactive fault zone and is the transition from the low-lying topography of the gulf coast to the hill country of west Texas – an elevation rise of more than 500 feet.

The area has thin soil due to its geologic bedrock and the steep slopes, so very little rainfall is absorbed during heavy downpours. While the flooding that hit the area on July 4th was extreme and unusual, it is not unprecedented. According to meteorologist Cary Burgess, large scale floods “have occurred at least four times in the last 50 years. In 1987, Kerrville had an even higher crest of 37.4 feet and 10 campers were killed.”

If climate change had any role in causing or exacerbating the rainfall, it should be apparent in the rainfall and flooding history of the area. Below is a chart of Texas flash floods from 1996 to 2024 that show a DECLINE in these extreme weather events.

In short, while the human tragedy in the Lone Star State is very real, claims of a climate crisis are quite false.