At a hearing in hard-hit Kerr County, an emergency management coordinator for the first time explained his whereabouts when the Guadalupe River burst its banks.

Kerr County emergency chief William “Dub” Thomas defended his response to the Texas floods that killed more than 130 people, saying he mobilized despite being off duty and ill. He said supervisors knew of his personal time and that he skipped a cellphone alert because the National Weather Service had already issued one.