Texas, national weather service and FEMA
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Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people.
Some have argued the Trump administration's NWS cuts led to a forecast that underestimated the amount of rain in Kerr County, Texas.
Forecasters warn that slow-moving storms could bring heavy downpours to already saturated areas, increasing the risk of flash flooding.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Congressman Greg Casar and several other Democratic lawmakers have sent letters to U.S. leaders in the aftermath of deadly Central Texas floods, demanding answers about the federal response.
For years, employees say, they've had to do more with less. But the ability to fill in the gaps became strained to the breaking point when the Trump administration began pushing new staffing cuts.
Key positions at National Weather Service offices across Texas are vacant, sowing doubt over the state’s ability to respond to natural disasters as rescuers comb through the flood-ravaged Hill Country.
“Hope is not a plan": Texas meteorologist talks the forecast preceding the deadly Hill Country flood
Renowned Texas meteorologist Troy Kimmel spoke on Inside Texas Politics about the forecast preceding the deadly flooding in the Hill Country.
Officials in Texas are facing questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm's way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed at least 120 people, including more than two dozen children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp.
In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas’ junior U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency’s forecast timing, urgency and communication.