US President Donald Trump arrived in Texas on Friday when issues were swirled on the authorities’ response to the sudden devastating floods that left at least 120 dead, including dozens of children.
The republican chief and first lady Melania Trump stolen as a helicopter in the country of the hills in the center of Texas to meet the first stakeholders, families and local officials, a week after a river that raised rains, houses, camp cabins, recreational vehicles and people.
While they were attacked in Kerrville, a city in the county of Kerr the most affected, where at least 96 people died of historic floods, they were welcomed by the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.
“We are going to be there with some of the large families” victims of the floods, Trump told journalists before leaving the White House, calling the disaster “terrible thing”.
The search for more than 170 disappeared people, including five girls who were at the summer camp, entered the eighth day while the rescue teams paint through mounds of debris and mud.
Find out more:The number of deaths on the floods of Texas reaches 120; 170 still missing
But without live rescues reported this week, concerns have swollen that the number of deaths can further increase.
Trump pushed questions about the impact of his cuts to federal agencies on the response to the deluge, which he described as a “100 -year disaster” that “nobody expected”.
Later in the day, Texas officials are faced with questions about the reasons why emergency evacuation messages to residents and visitors along the floods would have been delayed, in some cases, Trump expressed his support for a flood alert system.
“After seeing this horrible event, I imagine that you would eat alarms in a form, where alarms would increase if they saw large amounts of water or anything,” Trump told NBC News during a telephone interview.
“But local officials were struck by this like everyone else,” he said.
The floods, among the deadliest American in recent years, have also reopened questions on Trump’s plans to eliminate the Federal Agency for Response to FEMA disasters instead of greater state responsibility.
But the President has been withdressing questions about its future. Noem insisted that FEMA should be “eliminated” in its current form at a government review meeting on Wednesday.
Read also:Pets found the owners after the Texas floods as best friends, animal company helps rescue efforts
Heads of the County Kerr, who is in a califredity, the Guadalupe river in an area nicknamed “Aled Flods”, said that at least 36 children were killed in the disaster at the start of the July 4 vacation weekend.
Experts say that the forecasters have done their best and have sent a timely and precise warnings despite the sudden meteorological change.
The sheriff of Kerr County, Larry Leitha, said: “It was between 4:00 or 5:00 (AM) when I was informed” of incoming emergency calls.
ABC News reported on Thursday at 4:22 a.m. on July 4, a firefighter in Ingram, upstream from Kerrville, had asked the Kerr County Sheriff’s Bureau to alert the residents of Hunt nearby to future flood.
In some cases, he said, warning messages only arrived after 10:00 am, while hundreds of people had already been swept away.
The flood of the Guadalupe river was particularly devastating for the summer camps on its banks, including the Mystic camp, where 27 girls and advisers died.
