Tag: response

• Visit occurs amid growing scrutiny of government response.
• Flooding marks the deadliest disaster of Trump’s second term.
• Many individuals remain unaccounted for.

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President Donald Trump toured the flood-affected Hill Country in Texas on Friday, defending both state and federal responses to the devastating flash floods that claimed at least 120 lives, including numerous children, just a week earlier.

During a roundtable discussion following his visit to Kerr County, the epicenter of the catastrophe, Trump lauded Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their efforts, stating they both did an “incredible job.”

Despite these praises, the Trump administration, along with local and state officials, is facing increasing criticism regarding their preparedness and warning systems prior to the floods, which struck with alarming swiftness in the early hours of July 4, coinciding with the U.S. Independence Day celebrations.

Trump displayed frustration when a reporter mentioned that some families affected by the disaster felt that warnings should have been issued earlier. “I believe everyone did an outstanding job given the circumstances,” he stated. “I don’t know who you are, but only a deeply unkind person would ask such a question.”

Critics have pointed to the administration’s budget cuts affecting the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees disaster responses, questioning if this might have contributed to the severity of the situation.

Yet, officials from the Trump administration assert that these cuts did not affect the National Weather Service’s ability to predict the storms, notwithstanding some vacancies in local offices. The president has largely avoided directly addressing inquiries about his plans to diminish or eliminate FEMA, as well as the reassignment of key responsibilities to state and local authorities. “I’ll tell you more about that later,” Trump remarked when questioned by a reporter on the topic during his visit.

Leading up to the flooding, Kerr County had opted not to implement an early-warning system after failing to secure state funding to support it. Local resident Lawrence Walker, 67, and a Kerrville resident for nearly thirty years, criticized both the county and state for not investing adequately in disaster prevention measures, such as an early-warning system.

When questioned about the effectiveness of the government’s response, he commented, “It was fine once the water reached 8 feet.”

The Texas legislature plans to hold a special session later this month to examine the flooding situation and allocate disaster relief funding. Governor Abbott has rebuffed inquiries about accountability, dismissing that notion as the “language of losers.”

Many Missing

On Friday, search and rescue teams continued to sift through the muddy debris scattered across the Hill Country in central Texas as they searched for numerous individuals who remain missing. However, no survivors have been found since the day of the floods.

Intense rains led to a torrent of water rushing down the Guadalupe River on July 4, resulting in the deadliest disaster of Trump’s nearly six-month term. As sunlight broke through the overcast skies on Friday morning, search teams methodically traversed the devastated riverbanks, documenting damages and examining wreckage.

Upon his arrival in Kerr County that afternoon, Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump and Governor Abbott, visited an area near the river, where he received updates from first responders amid the disaster’s aftermath.

This county is situated in a region known as “flash flood alley,” notorious for some of the most lethal floods in the country. On July 4, over a foot of rain fell in under an hour, causing the river’s level to surge from about one foot to 34 feet (10.4 meters) in mere hours, breaching its banks and sweeping away everything in its path, including trees and buildings.

Kerr County officials report that more than 160 individuals remain unaccounted for, although experts indicate that the missing person count often tends to be inflated in the aftermath of disasters.

Among the deceased are at least 36 children, many of whom were campers at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp with nearly a century of history located along the riverbanks.

Jon Moreno, 71, a long-time resident of Kerrville whose property was spared due to its elevation, praised both local and federal government responses. While acknowledging the ongoing discussions about potential additional measures, like warning sirens, he expressed doubt about their effectiveness, given people’s inclination to build near hazardous flood zones.

“It’s unavoidable,” he stated. “I wouldn’t want to live along the river — it’s far too risky.”

Meanwhile, at a local convenience store in Kerrville, a gas station bore graffiti in large white letters accusing “Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill” of cutting necessary emergency funding.

Trump’s extensive legislative package, which aimed at cutting taxes and controlling spending, was approved by Congress last week and signed into law on the same day Texas experienced the flooding.