Emergency response questioned in Texas floods
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President Trump is set to travel to Texas to visit the areas hit by catastrophic floods. This comes as questions loom about his administration's plans for FEMA, and how residents were notified about the weather events.
Max Chesnes is the Tampa Bay Times' environment and climate reporter, covering public lands, water quality, wildlife and everything in between. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Instagram @MaxChesnes. Anyone can view a sampling of recent comments, but you must be a Times subscriber to contribute. Log in above or subscribe here.
Over 100 people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to "catastrophic" flooding, the sheriff said.
Alert fatigue may have led some residents to ignore warnings. Spotty cell service also could have kept some alerts from coming in at all.
Catastrophic floods can be difficult to prepare for. Sometimes evacuation is the right call, but if it’s too late the best bet is to find higher ground nearby. The stakes can be high, because a flash flood may give those in its path only minutes or seconds to react.
The alert, a Blue Alert issued by the FBI, named Benjamin Song, 32, as the suspect wanted in the July 4 shooting of a police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarad
The president has defended his administration's response to the fatal flooding amid criticism that federal assistance could have been provided more quickly.