The devastating floods in Texas have left at least 119 people dead and triggered fierce public scrutiny of the Donald Trump administration’s previous budget cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS). Thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes, particularly in the Texas Hill Country, where Kerr County was among the hardest hit.
According to The New York Times, the majority of deaths—95—were reported in Kerr County alone. On Wednesday, officials said that 161 people remained missing in the area, while Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that 173 individuals were unaccounted for across the state.
Rescue efforts were extensive following the disaster. Kerr County officials detailed the situation, saying hundreds were saved as the Guadalupe River rose sharply in the early hours of July 4. However, the region’s lack of warning systems has drawn sharp criticism.
On July 4, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly admitted:
“There was no warning system” in place when the floods struck.
Questions mounted about why flood warnings weren’t issued earlier, especially between the first flash flood emergency alert at 1:14 a.m. and the period between 4 and 5 a.m. when the river began rising significantly.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry L. Leitha acknowledged the confusion, stating that the timeline is still being compiled.
“This will take a little bit of time,” he said, adding that his top priorities are to “locate the people out there, identify them, and notify next of kin.”
Leitha was pressed by reporters about whether the county’s emergency manager had issued an alert. He did not directly answer, instead saying:
“It’s not that easy where you just push a button.”
He added: “There’s a lot more to that.”
When further questioned, he simply responded that he would “come back” with an update and is “going nowhere.”
Meanwhile, frustration has grown among local officials who say the National Weather Service underestimated the scale of rainfall that triggered the flash floods.
Despite the mounting criticism, U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend rejected calls to launch an investigation into whether the NWS’s staffing shortages—caused by budget cuts under his administration—contributed to the disaster.