Are the officials giving enough warnings?

Nearly 80 people were killed after devastating flash floods swept parts of central Texas. Rescue work is underway, and the total casualties are still unproven despite officials warning of an increase in deaths.

Questions have been raised as to whether adequate flood warnings were provided and why people did not evacuate before flooding.

The majority of deaths, including 28 children, were in Kerr County, where the girls camp was flooded.

Judge Rob Kelly, a senior elected official in Kerr County, told CBS that the severity of the flood was unexpected.

“We have no reason to believe that this will be anything, like what’s going on here. Nothing is happening,” Kelly said.

The flash flooding began Thursday night and continued until Friday morning, meteorologists said months of rain fell in just a few hours.

In 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 million), causing it to rupture the bank.

• Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) activates state emergency resources Wednesday as “increased flood threats in the western and central Texas areas”
• On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) released a flood watch that indicated Kerr County in central Texas was at risk of mountain flooding overnight
• Friday, 01:14 local time (06:14 GMT) issued a flash flood warning to Kerr Country
• Emergency flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County at 04:03 local time (09:30 GMT), followed by the Guadalupe River at 05:34

Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press conference on Sunday that people in Texas were used for flood warnings.

“But there is no expectation of nearly 30 feet of water wall.”

“Do you have areas that you have phone coverage, and some coverage,” Nim Kidd, head of the Texas emergency management department, told reporters.

“It doesn’t matter how many alert systems you have registered, you won’t get that.”

Kyleville City Manager Dalton Rice said the public may be insensitive to too many weather warnings, according to the Associated Press.

He said he didn’t notice any issues, only when he was jogging along the Guadalupe River Trail at 03:30 on Friday, it was just raining.

But by 05:20, the water had risen rapidly: “We can hardly leave the park.”

Judge Kelly said there was no warning system managed by the county level in the area because it was expensive.

He said that about six years ago, before he took office, the county studied flood warning systems along the river, similar to tornado sirens. However, it has never been implemented due to the cost.

The NWS said it was “a tragic death in Kerr County” and defended itself.

“On July 3, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, Texas conducted a forecast brief for emergency management in the morning and released flood surveillance in the afternoon.

Flash torrent warnings were issued on the evening of July 3 and early morning of July 4, with more than three hours of preliminary delivery time before the warning criteria were met. ”

After some Texas officials seem to blame the NWS for underestimating rainfall, a former Weather Bureau official told the New York Times newspaper that the forecast is a sudden escalation of the heavy rainfall and storm that could be given to them.

Before the tragedy, there were concerns that the Trump administration cuts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the government agency that operates the National Weather Service.

The fiscal year 2026 budget includes cuts and closures for some weather research laboratories, while the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts hundreds of employees at NOAA and NWS.

Meteorologists in the United States and elsewhere expressed concerns about the “reduced number of weather balloons” observed above the ground wind, relative humidity and pressure.

They claim that budget cuts resulted in a 20% reduction in weather balloons that released such observations, affecting the accuracy of weather forecasts.

The New York Times reported that the NWS’ key position was vacant on Friday morning, with some experts questioning whether the staff shortages hindered the agency’s efforts to coordinate with local emergency responders.

But Tom Fahy, legislative director of NWS staff organization, told NBC News: “WFOS [weather forecasting offices] They issue timely forecasts and warnings, with adequate staffing and resources in the event of storms. ”

The Associated Press quoted Jason Runyen, a meteorologist at the Office of National Weather Services, saying their offices provide forecasts for that part of central Texas, with additional staff on duty during storms — five, not the usual two.

Asked about the “fundamental failure” of the administration’s early warnings, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said “weather is hard to predict,” but Donald Trump is seeking to modernize the current system.

In answering questions about the impact of the cuts on New Jersey at a Sunday press conference, she said she would “restore your concerns to the federal government.”

NWS has performed well over the years, but “we know everyone wants more warning time, which is why we’re working on upgrading technology that has been neglected for too long”, said Norm.

Norm said forecasters have a hard time predicting a reduction in rain, but the Trump administration will prioritize upgrading the technology used to issue warnings.

She added that when Trump took office, he “wanted to solve it, and is currently upgrading the technology” and “reforming it”.

Trump is planning a visit to the area on Friday.