Texas Democrat Rep. Joaquin Castro said he has seen “conflicting reports” on whether the Trump administration’s cuts to the nation’s weather and climate research agencies have impacted the state’s flooding response after a flash flood killed at least 100 people.
During an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, Castro questioned why there wasn’t a timely alert system in place for the impacted areas, such as those who lived or camped near the Guadalupe River in Central Texas and noted the cuts to the National Weather Service and other agencies.
“I’ve seen conflicting reports about whether [the cuts] made a difference in this particular event … but going forward, this underscores the importance of the National Weather Service, not just to Texas, but to the country, and how important it is that they’re able to do their job and work with state and local governments to warn people when there’s a storm like this,” he said.
His comments come after a flash flood in central Texas, about an hour drive northwest of San Antonio, unleashed a torrent of water from the Guadalupe River. Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer Christian camp, was destroyed by the flooding and killed at least 27 campers and counselors.
Overall, at least 104 people have died in the Texas floods.
The flooding is raising questions about federal agencies’ preparedness for natural disasters.
“Why [didn’t the county] have an alarm system that would have alerted folks who were living along the river or camping along the river, alerted them in a timely way to be able to evacuate and move to higher ground?” Castro asked during the interview.
However, the White House insists that President Trump is providing Americans “what they need during times of need.”
“Whether that assistance comes from states or the federal government, that’s a policy discussion that will continue, and the president has always said he wants states to do as much as they can, if not more,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
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