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Texas Flood Survivor Says He Stood On Meter Box For Three Hours; Questions About Emergency Alerts In Wake Of Deadly Texas Floods; Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting One Day After Extending Tariff Deadline. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 08, 2025 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:34:07]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning more and more families are getting the devastating news their loved ones did not survive the flash floods.

But at the same time we're also hearing new and incredible stories of how some flood victims somehow managed to survive, like Devyn Smith. She was swept up in the floods but managed to hold onto a tree for hours before being rescued. She was on a camping trip like so many in the area when she got separated from her family by floodwaters. But she is in a state of panic this morning because four of her family members remain missing. One of her family members' bodies has been found.

Her uncle is telling the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS REYNOLDS, FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS MISSING, ONE KILLED: My brother, sister-in-law, and her sister actually escaped for the time being and got up the hill in a truck and were trying to get them to safety. The SUV that Devyn, Joel, and Tasha were in stalled out and they escaped through the sunroof. They were swept into a tree. Joel held onto them and prayed over his family and did his very best to hang on as long as he could until the floodwaters swept him away. And sadly, he didn't resurface.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That's just so hard to hear.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is joining us now from Kerrville, Texas, one of the hardest hit areas. You are also hearing more stories of survival. What did you learn?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's incredible stories of survival. We talked to this young man. His name is Christian. He was at their family home by himself for the Fourth of July weekend like so many others, ready to float the river like people do here in the Texas Hill Country.

And he said he went to bed around 1:00 and heard something in the house. It turned out to be water already flooding into his home. He had no alert on his phone until the water was already inside.

He talked to us about how he called his parents and asked what he should do. And his parents said that he needed to try and leave if he could. He showed us his route as he tried to escape the house.

Listen to what he said and where he actually was while he awaited some rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN FELL, TEXAS FLOOD SURVIVOR: So I came out of that window --

WALDMAN: Um-hum.

FELL: -- and that's when I started making my way over to the meter box. And then I kind of like grabbed that metal pole. And then I looked around the corner and I saw my truck in the patio area with the hazard lights flashing when it was originally parked on the other side of the building. So the water just picked it up and --

WALDMAN: It brought your truck over here.

FELL: Yeah.

And so I climbed -- I climbed up to right -- to right there and I stood there for probably, like, three hours. At that point the water was -- when I was standing up on that meter box the water was up to my knees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Now to add some more context here, it was the middle of the night when all of this happened. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't see the devastation that was around him. At one point, Christian tells us that there was a transformer that burst. He said it was like the sun came out and he saw the water that was surrounding him.

Eventually he saw a law enforcement officer coming down the road. That man helped him to safety.

I asked him if there was any point when he thought that he wasn't going to make it out of that home alive and he said yes. The furniture in his bedroom was already floating right above his head. He couldn't get on top of it. And that's when he found that open window.

And now reflecting back on what he survived -- what he lived through -- and hearing about the heartbreaking stories of so many other people who didn't have the same fate as him, he says he's heartbroken but he's also grateful to be alive, and so is his family.

SIDNER: Leigh, that watermark inside of the home is terrifying. It is literally to the roof. Thank you for bringing that story to us. I mean, it is amazing that he managed to survive all that. Leigh Waldman, great reporting from you throughout these last few days. I really appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: At the very same time there are growing questions about the warnings that happened in the area of these catastrophic floods. When they came, how they came, and who received them.

The lieutenant governor of Texas now said yesterday that he thinks sirens along the Guadalupe River would have saved more lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK, (R) TEXAS: Had we had sirens along this area, up and down, it's possible that would have saved some of these lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Then there's the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer who is now calling for an investigation into whether staffing shortages at the National Weather Service may have contributed to deaths as the tragedy unfolded.

The White House is defending the National Weather Service forecast here and pushing back on suggestions the Trump administration's cut to federal services may have played a role.

The night of the flood -- the night the floods struck a series of mobile alerts were sent by the Weather Service, but some say they weren't received, including the mayor of Kerrville.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOE HERRING JR., KERRVILLE, TEXAS: I, individually, did not receive a warning in time. When I woke up I was -- I got a call from the city manager. I got up. I --

REPORTER: And what time was that?

HERRING: Oh, goodness, 5:30-ish. I can look on my phone -- about 5:30- ish.

I went downtown and I looked at the river and it was already -- our Louise Hays Park was already inundated. It -- that was the first time in knew.

When I checked it about 8:00 that night there's a chance of rain. But I did not see a flood warning. I did not receive a flood notification. I did not know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Let's talk more about this.

Joining us right now is Richard Spinrad. He's a former administrator of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rick, thank you for being here.

[07:40:00]

There was a couple of things at play -- the warning systems and the forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service. Let's go at both of these.

First, we did hear local officials have called into question the forecast leading up to what happened. The Texas Division of Emergency Management chief said the forecast did not predict the amount of rain that we saw. The city manager of Kerrville had said that the storm dumped more rain than what was forecast.

From what you see, Rick, did you -- do you think the forecast was off or that the Weather Service didn't raise enough alarm or alert in time?

RICHARD SPINRAD, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) (via Webex by Cisco): The Weather Service did their job in terms of the forecast and getting out watches and warnings in what are called wireless emergency alerts. Those alerts shrill alerts you get on your phone when there is lightning or hail or strong winds, or Amber Alerts for that matter.

The first flood watch was actually out by the Weather Service shortly after 1:00 on Thursday afternoon, the day before the floods. And the flash flood warning went out at 1:14 in the morning on Friday morning with a tag that this was going to be a considerable and catastrophic impact. So the Weather Service did their job. The watches and warnings went out.

Clearly, the heartbreak with respect to this development is that those warnings were not received. We've heard some people got the WEA alerts; some did not. We need to understand why that last mile is where the problem was in terms of getting alerts out.

And then the other point here with respect to siren is in most vulnerable areas there are multiple systems -- redundant systems. So you have alerts and NOAA weather radio, but you're apt to have siren as well. In this case there were none.

BOLDUAN: And I wanted to ask -- and this gets to that last mile, which is it all has to work together for it to work.

Hearing the lieutenant governor of Texas say -- he seems to be the first official, especially in the state, to really say this so pointedly that the -- he says the state is going to fund installing sirens along the Guadalupe River now to have it ready by next summer because, as he said, he thinks they could have, would have saved lives.

I mean, what do you make of that?

SPINRAD: Well, think of the comparison to something like the areas in the Midwest that are prone to tornadoes. And in the same sort of situation, many of those towns -- they'll get their tornado warnings, they'll get those emergency alerts, and they will also have sirens in the local communities. So in that case the sort of belt and suspenders approach to making sure you've got redundant warning systems work very well.

I think they're well advised to look into redundant systems and actually nail down exactly where the disconnect with respect to what were excellent forecasts and timely watches and warnings were not acted upon.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you really quick. CNN has this new reporting I want to get your take on. It says this. "

A review of typically off-the-record communications from a real-time messaging system operated by the National Weather Service showed that no emergency management from Kerr County was sending messages or interacting with NWS staff on the platform even as emergency officials from other counties were doing so." The lack -- the reporting also says in an acknowledgement, "The lack of messages doesn't mean officials in Kerr County weren't monitoring the communications or acting on them. But it raises new questions."

That real-time messaging system and what the reporting is there, what could that mean or maybe what can you not discern from it?

SPINRAD: So the important thing to realize is during an emergency there's a lot of active communication between the local weather forecast offices -- in this case, in San Angelos as well as Austin and San Antonio -- and the local and federal emergency managers.

One of the problematic issues here which is going to have to be assessed is the lack of a warning coordination meteorologist, a critical position in the Austin-San Antonio weather forecast office. It suggests perhaps that part of the reason for the inability of emergency managers to communicate with the weather forecast office through the systems you alluded to may be attributable to the fact that there was nobody in that position. The individual who had that position took one of the retirements that the administration had offered up a couple of months ago.

BOLDUAN: Rick, this is important, real quick, because from your level of expertise do you think -- and yes, analysis after action all needs to occur -- a review. Do you think these cuts to the federal workforce you could see there being a direct line to this tragedy?

[07:45:00]

SPINRAD: I've talked with any number of my friends in the weather service, colleagues in the commercial weather community and to a person. One of the first questions they asked was, "Where was the WCM -- the warning coordination meteorologist?"

I am convinced that the staff cuts that we saw were a contributing factor to the inability of the emergency managers to respond. The staffing was just fine, and the White House has concurred with this, to get the forecast out and to get the watches and warnings issued, but when you send a message there's no guarantee it's being received. So someone needs to follow up, and that's the warning coordination meteorologist -- a position that was vacant.

BOLDUAN: Rick Spinrad, thank you so much for coming in this morning -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Happening today, President Trump holds a cabinet meeting after extending his self-imposed deadline for trade deals to August 1. Remember 90 deals in 90 days? The so-called reciprocal tariffs were supposed to take effect tomorrow after the 90- day pause announced back in April. The president calls the August deadline firm but not 100 percent firm, which I am fairly certain makes them not firm. He fired off a wave of letters warning of new higher rates if no deals are reached.

U.S. stocks closed lower after the announcement with all three major averages posting their worst day in about three weeks. Futures right now basically flat before the open.

With us now CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala, and Maura Gillespie, founder and principal of Bluestack Strategies.

And Maura, I want to put these three dates up on the screen so people can see them -- April 9, July 9, and August 1. The visual helps here. August 1 -- there's one thing I know about August 1 is that it's not July 9 or April 9.

So, you know, what do voters think when they see this deadline continuing to move?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, BLUESTACK STRATEGIES, FORMER PRESS ADVISER TO THEN-HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER (via Webex by Cisco): He's got a semblance of a plan is what I first thought of. I think that this is going to be concerning for the president but also mostly for the members of Congress because August recess, they go home to their constituents and have to explain why his plan didn't work and why it's not working as far as this 90 deals in 90 days. And what happens if these 25 percent, 40 percent tariff increases actually take place?

You know, you mentioned the markets are -- you know, took a bit of a dip or are flat. Global markets really weren't impacted because I think that they saw that as not firm and that there is wiggle room with the president and that he will push this off again and again.

You know, I think that this is a messaging challenge for Republicans going into August between the mega bill -- you know, the one big, beautiful bill and then these tariff decisions by the president. They need explained to their constituents what the impact will be and why they're still supporting the president.

BERMAN: Paul, a little deep tease here. Harry Enten is going to be on in a little bit talking about how polling shows the president's tariff policy is very, very unpopular and remains unpopular -- not getting more popular here.

So when you look at this what do you think the lasting impact here is because it's been a drag on his overall economic numbers?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST (via Webex by Cisco): Well, it has, John. It goes right to the heart of why he got elected. Immigration played a role but it's not even close. The cost of living is what drove the Trump election. That's why he became president.

His most important mission politically and I think also economically is cut the cost of groceries, gas, and rent, right? Stuff cost too much.

Tariffs are taxes that American people and American companies pay. It's a new tax. And this one now -- and Maura makes a good point I'd forgotten. I used to work on the Hill a million years ago but you're right. The August recess really matters, Maura, but so does back-to- school shopping, right? All the moms and dads, right when this hits in August, they're going to be going back to school and paying more money for less stuff. It makes you really unpopular.

Add to that this big, ugly bill that's going to add $3 trillion to the rent -- to the debt. That's going to increase interest rates and it's going to cost all of us a whole lot more money. And then the cuts on things like health care, veterans' assistance. So the cost of living is going to go up and up and up, which is exactly what Trump doesn't need politically and it's what America doesn't need economically.

It makes no sense whatsoever. And he can try to spin his way out of it but when you're going to the store to buy Junior a new pair of jeans for back-to-school, you're going to know it costs more.

BERMAN: I'm going to change subjects here and talk about third parties.

Paul, am I right? I have this, like, distant memory that you played Ross Perot in some debate prep for Bill Clinton --

BEGALA: Yes.

BERMAN: -- I think in '96. So you're uniquely suited to answer this question here.

So Elon Musk and Andrew Yang -- apparently there have been discussions between Elon Musk and Andrew Yang. Andrew Yang ran for president in the Democratic primaries but has since been talking about forming a third party.

Andrew Yang posted a tweet about some of the talks they've been having. "If it breaks the duopoly, I'm all for it."

[07:50:00]

So Paul, with your unique perspective on third parties, and once basically playing third party in dress-up, what does it take for a third party to work in any election?

BEGALA: Well, work is a -- is an elastic word there, John. No third party candidate has ever won the presidency -- ever.

I think the greatest politician who ever lived was Teddy Roosevelt. He'd already been president, he actually won the Nobel Peace Prize, and he was a war hero. And he tried with a third party and all he did was elect the Democrats. He'd been a Republican, right? They never work.

Ross Perot -- you're right. Ross Perot got the votes the first time he ran in '92 of one out of five Americans. Nineteen percent voted for Perot. He got zero electoral votes, zero states.

So look, this thing is going to go off like one of Mr. Musk's rockets, OK? I mean --

And in this case Perot drew equally from both parties because he was pro-choice, anti-war, pro-change. That took from Clinton. But he was also a businessman. He had sort of Republican credentials that took from Bush. So all the data are clear. Perot drew equally.

I don't think Mr. Musk and maybe Mr. Yang will draw equally. I think it hurts Trump more because Musk had really been central to the Trump projects. So in that sense I guess I hope it works out. But Elon Musk, lately, has not been terribly successful if you ask me.

BERMAN: Maura, I want to ask you something that has happened over the last 24 hours that seems to have had some ripple effects within conservative circles, and that's the Justice Department coming out and saying basically Jeffrey Epstein, case closed. No evidence that it was anything but a suicide. There is no other charges coming on anyone else. No client list that they're going to release here.

And there are a lot of supporters of the president who seem to believe that if he were elected there would be some giant release here.

What's the kerfuffle about, and what do you think the impact of this might be in terms of trust?

GILLESPIE: I think that the impact on trust is whether or not the MAGA holdouts who are Trump loyalists will see the light of day. You know, that they're being played.

I think that this is just another example where President Trump and Pam Bondi and others -- they can scream from the rooftops during campaign season and do all these things. And talk about transparency and say we want to lower costs, lower costs, lower costs, and we want to know the truth and all these things. And then when they have the opportunity -- they have all the power to do so, and they still haven't done it.

And so there has to be some accountability here and I do hope that more Republicans will speak out. You saw some who have -- Thom Tillis. Obviously, he's not running again for re-election. But you're seeing there is dissent among Senate GOP who don't like how the president spoke about Thom Tillis, their colleague.

And so there has to be some pushback because for the Republican Party to continue to stand on its own two feet they need to push back on Trump because he will not be here forever. He's only here for a few more years and he cannot run again. And it doesn't sound as though he's going to be out there to help them in their re-election. So they need to be out loud and calling out some of these issues. So that's my hope for the Republican Party.

But on the Epstein stuff, it's just hypocrisy.

BERMAN: All right, Maura Gillespie, Paul Begala. Great to see both of you today. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So more than 100 people killed by the catastrophic flooding and we are learning more about the victims. We'll bring that to you next.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:57:30]

BOLDUAN: And the number really is hard to wrap your mind around. The death toll in Texas has now surpassed 100 from the floods that hit on Friday. This morning we are learning more about some of those lives lost. So many families and communities remembering the victims of this tragedy. Victims like Camp Mystic owner Dick Eastland who is remembered as a hero. Eastland lost his life while rescuing campers as the floodwaters surged.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In the wake of the rising Texas floodwaters the list of victims is growing --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

FOREMAN (voiceover): -- especially at Camp Mystic where more than two dozen campers and counselors died.

Lila Bonner was there enjoying the summer before third grade. Her parents wrote, "We ache with all who loved. They say she was killed with her cabinmate and best friend Eloise Peck. Her family says she loved spaghetti, dogs, and animals.

A vigil was quickly called for Linnie McCown and Mary Stevens, two elementary school-aged victims from Austin, while elsewhere families are mourning Renee Smajstrla, Janie Hunt, and Hadley Hanna, who was enjoying her first year at the camp. Her mom said she was the most joyful, happy kid. Anna Margaret Bellows came from Houston. Sarah Marsh came from near Birmingham.

And camp owner Dick Eastland came to the rescue as hundreds of campers were pulled to safety. His grandson says Eastland lost his life trying to reach more, noting on Instagram, "If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for."

HERRING: I've lost two friends. We loved them and they're gone.

FOREMAN (voiceover): The search for the flood victims is stretching over dozens of miles along rivers and creeks, through valleys and trees.

LOUIS AMESTOY, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, THE KERR COUNTY LEAD: You see the debris fields here. I mean, there's probably people possibly buried in some of those debris fields and it's going to take a long time to get those folks out.

FOREMAN (voiceover): Anywhere anyone might be.

TONIA FUCCI, FLOOD WITNESS: You just want them to be found for the sake of the families, but you know it's not going to be a good ending.

FOREMAN (voiceover): It was not good for the Harber family. Blair, 13 and Brooke, 11 disappeared along with their grandparents. The family says the girls were found holding hands in death. No word on the grandparents.

Jane Ragsdale was the owner of another nearby summer camp.