Trump Says He’s Closely Monitoring Situation With Texas Floods
President Donald Trump said Saturday that his administration is working closely with state and local officials in Texas after devastating flooding killed at least 53 people and left dozens more missing.
He also confirmed that his Homeland Security chief is heading to the state to provide in-person assistance.
“The Trump Administration is working with State and Local Officials on the ground in Texas in response to the tragic flooding that took place yesterday. Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly. Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!,” Trump posted on Truth Social, Newsmax reported.
Among the missing are 23 to 25 people from Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls. The river near the camp rose by 29 feet in a matter of hours.
The U.S. National Weather Service says the flash flood emergency in Kerr County, the epicenter of the disaster, is now mostly over. Up to a foot of rain fell early Friday.
Noem blasted what she called an “ancient system” for warning the public about dangerous weather and said the Trump administration will overhaul it.
Sitting next to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Noem was asked why alerts about the flooding were delayed. She said the problem was inherited.
“The weather is extremely difficult to predict,” she said. “But also … the National Weather Service, over the years at times, has done well and at times, we have all wanted more time and more warning and more notification.”
She added, “We needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years and that is the reforms that are ongoing there.”
The National Weather Service said it was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County,” and defended its actions. The NWS said it issued a Flood Watch at 1:18 p.m. on July 3, followed by Flash Flood Warnings later that night and early the next morning. The agency said its warnings gave more than three hours’ lead time before the floodwaters reached dangerous levels.
Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said local NWS offices were staffed properly and delivered forecasts in a timely manner.
Still, some officials said the forecast didn’t reflect the severity of what actually happened, Newsweek reported.
“Everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service, right? You all got it, you’re all in media, you got that forecast. It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd.
The NWS office in Austin/San Antonio said it conducted forecast briefings on July 3 and escalated its alerts as conditions worsened. The agency says it remains committed to its mission to protect the public through forecasts and decision support services.
The flood disaster comes as the agency faces staffing concerns heading into what’s expected to be a highly active hurricane season. More than 500 employees were lost earlier this year, with shortages at the leadership and senior forecasting levels now under review.
“The National Weather Service is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County. On July 3, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, TX conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in the morning and issued a Flood Watch in the early afternoon. Flash Flood Warnings were issued on the night of July 3 and in the early morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met,” The National Weather Service said.
“The National Weather Service remains committed to our mission to serve the American public through our forecasts and decision support services,” it said.
