New federal law enables satellite emergency alerts for flood zones

President Donald Trump signed the Mystic Alerts Act into law to allow the National Weather Service to send life-threatening emergency alerts to mobile phones via satellite.

The law addresses a critical gap in the current system where alerts often fail to reach people in areas with poor cellular coverage. The legislation followed a July 2025 flash flood in the Texas Hill Country that killed more than 100 people.

During that disaster, some victims at Camp Mystic were unable to receive warnings because of spotty cell service or because they had disabled automatic alerts on their devices. U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, who sponsored the bill, stated the law ensures warnings reach people when they need them most by using satellite technology. The Federal Communications Commission will now create policies to integrate satellite technology into the automatic cell phone alert system.

Cell carriers must notify the commission if they intend to use satellite technology under these new rules. If a carrier chooses not to use the technology, they must inform their subscribers. The law gives the Federal Communications Commission a year and a half to issue a final rule on how the system will function. This rule will not take effect for at least three years.

While Texas legislators are also installing outdoor sirens in flood-prone counties, experts note that sirens may not be effective for people indoors or those who do not know how to react to the alarms.