US efforts to predict weather hit by staffing cuts: ex-NOAA chief
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Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Texas flash flooding: 28 children among at least 82 killed; DNA being collected to identify the dead
Death toll rises to at least 82 The number of those killed in the floods is 82, but officials have repeatedly warned that this figure is likely to change, as rescuers work night and day to find survivors and recover bodies. Here are the deaths per county: Kerr: 68 Williamson: 1 Burnet: 4 Tom Green: 1 Travis County: 6 Kendall: 2 George W. Bush and Barack Obama send prayers to Texas Two former presidents have offered prayers for the families in Texas. George W. Bush, who served as governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000, said he and his wife are "holding up our fellow Texans who are hurting." Laura Bush, his wife, used to be a counsellor at Camp Mystic, where 27 people died in the floods. President Barack Obama also shared heartfelt condolences, writing in a post on X that the flash flooding is "absolutely heartbreaking." Watch: US Coast Guard rescues people stuck in flooded mobile home The Coast Guard helped rescue people in flood-affected areas of Texas, including assisting four people from a mobile home community in Leander. White House hit backs at 'disgusting' claims about weather service staffing The White House has hit back at criticism that the National Weather Service was not properly staffed. Officials have said forecasts underestimated the amount of rain, with questions being asked about what warnings were sent out to residents. Critics blamed cuts by the Trump administration. Donald Trump's administration has already ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the National Weather Service, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods. A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress. But Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, told Sky's US partner NBC News the accusations were "disgusting" lies to target political opponents. "False claims about the NWS have been repeatedly debunked by meteorologists, experts, and other public reporting," Jackson said. "The NWS did their job, even issuing a flood watch more than 12 hours in advance." Texas National Guard rescues 520 people It conducted 361 air evacuations with UH-60 Black Hawks and 159 ground rescues employing various vehicles and assets, the Texas military department said on X. New flash flood warning for Kerr County The flash flood warning is in place until 6.30pm local time (00.30am UK time). This comes after the governor urged drivers to be "extraordinarily cautious" for the next 48 hours due to more rainfall potentially causing further "rapid flash flooding events" - see our post at 21.03 for more. President says he will 'probably' visit Texas on Friday Donald Trump has said he will "probably" visit Texas on Friday, following the flash flooding that killed 79 people in the state. "We want to leave a little time," he told reporters this afternoon. "I would have done it today, but we would just be in their way, probably Friday." He said he has been in touch with the Texas governor. The president was also asked if he plans to continue with cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The US government agency coordinates the disaster response when state and local authorities are overwhelmed in the wake of a situation like the flooding in Texas. But last month, Trump said he intended to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season, saying states should be able to handle emergency resources on a local level. "We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level," he told reporters in June. "A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can't handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn't be governor." Today, when asked about the planned cuts, he simply said: "FEMA is something we can talk about later, but right now they are busy working, so we will leave it at that." Mayor shares aerial images of flooding damage Joe Herring Jr., the Mayor of Kerrville, has shared images from a helicopter trip he took yesterday to survey the damage. Number of dead is now 79 - but that figure is still likely to change There are now 79 people dead across Texas following the flash flooding on 4 July. Below are the numbers in each county - Kerr county remains the worst affected, with 27 dead at Camp Mystic alone. Kerr: 68 Williamson: 1 Burnet: 4 Tom Green: 1 Kendall: 1 Travis: 4 Officials have repeatedly warned that this figure is likely to change (and it has changed throughout the day), as rescuers work night and day to find survivors and recover bodies. 'We know questions are being asked about emergency notifications' There are still ten children and one camp counsellor missing from Camp Mystic, the county's sheriff has said. Sheriff Larry Leitha says there have been 68 deaths in Kerr County, including 40 adults and 28 children. Of those, eighteen adults and ten children have yet to be identified. Officials will undertake a full review of warning systems in place. "We know questions are being asked about the emergency notifications," city manager Dalton Rice adds. "We will take clear steps to strengthen future preparedness," he said. The next update from Kerr County officials will take place at 4pm tomorrow UK time (10am local time), unless there is a "major update" before then, officials said as they drew the press conference to a close.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Texas flash flooding: 21 children among at least 82 killed; DNA being collected to identify the dead
Death toll rises to at least 82 The number of those killed in the floods is 82, but officials have repeatedly warned that this figure is likely to change, as rescuers work night and day to find survivors and recover bodies. Here are the deaths per county: Kerr: 68 Williamson: 1 Burnet: 4 Tom Green: 1 Travis County: 6 Kendall: 2 George W. Bush and Barack Obama send prayers to Texas Two former presidents have offered prayers for the families in Texas. George W. Bush, who served as governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000, said he and his wife are "holding up our fellow Texans who are hurting." Laura Bush, his wife, used to be a counsellor at Camp Mystic, where 27 people died in the floods. President Barack Obama also shared heartfelt condolences, writing in a post on X that the flash flooding is "absolutely heartbreaking." Watch: US Coast Guard rescues people stuck in flooded mobile home The Coast Guard helped rescue people in flood-affected areas of Texas, including assisting four people from a mobile home community in Leander. White House hit backs at 'disgusting' claims about weather service staffing The White House has hit back at criticism that the National Weather Service was not properly staffed. Officials have said forecasts underestimated the amount of rain, with questions being asked about what warnings were sent out to residents. Critics blamed cuts by the Trump administration. Donald Trump's administration has already ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the National Weather Service, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods. A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress. But Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, told Sky's US partner NBC News the accusations were "disgusting" lies to target political opponents. "False claims about the NWS have been repeatedly debunked by meteorologists, experts, and other public reporting," Jackson said. "The NWS did their job, even issuing a flood watch more than 12 hours in advance." Texas National Guard rescues 520 people It conducted 361 air evacuations with UH-60 Black Hawks and 159 ground rescues employing various vehicles and assets, the Texas military department said on X. New flash flood warning for Kerr County The flash flood warning is in place until 6.30pm local time (00.30am UK time). This comes after the governor urged drivers to be "extraordinarily cautious" for the next 48 hours due to more rainfall potentially causing further "rapid flash flooding events" - see our post at 21.03 for more. President says he will 'probably' visit Texas on Friday Donald Trump has said he will "probably" visit Texas on Friday, following the flash flooding that killed 79 people in the state. "We want to leave a little time," he told reporters this afternoon. "I would have done it today, but we would just be in their way, probably Friday." He said he has been in touch with the Texas governor. The president was also asked if he plans to continue with cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The US government agency coordinates the disaster response when state and local authorities are overwhelmed in the wake of a situation like the flooding in Texas. But last month, Trump said he intended to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season, saying states should be able to handle emergency resources on a local level. "We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level," he told reporters in June. "A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can't handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn't be governor." Today, when asked about the planned cuts, he simply said: "FEMA is something we can talk about later, but right now they are busy working, so we will leave it at that." Mayor shares aerial images of flooding damage Joe Herring Jr., the Mayor of Kerrville, has shared images from a helicopter trip he took yesterday to survey the damage. Number of dead is now 79 - but that figure is still likely to change There are now 79 people dead across Texas following the flash flooding on 4 July. Below are the numbers in each county - Kerr county remains the worst affected, with 27 dead at Camp Mystic alone. Kerr: 68 Williamson: 1 Burnet: 4 Tom Green: 1 Kendall: 1 Travis: 4 Officials have repeatedly warned that this figure is likely to change (and it has changed throughout the day), as rescuers work night and day to find survivors and recover bodies. 'We know questions are being asked about emergency notifications' There are still ten children and one camp counsellor missing from Camp Mystic, the county's sheriff has said. Sheriff Larry Leitha says there have been 68 deaths in Kerr County, including 40 adults and 28 children. Of those, eighteen adults and ten children have yet to be identified. Officials will undertake a full review of warning systems in place. "We know questions are being asked about the emergency notifications," city manager Dalton Rice adds. "We will take clear steps to strengthen future preparedness," he said. The next update from Kerr County officials will take place at 4pm tomorrow UK time (10am local time), unless there is a "major update" before then, officials said as they drew the press conference to a close.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Texas floods: Did officials do enough to warn people?
Nearly 80 people have been killed after devastating flash floods swept through parts of central Texas. Rescue efforts are ongoing and the total number of casualties remains unconfirmed, though officials warn the death toll will have been raised about whether adequate flood warnings were provided and why people weren't evacuated ahead of the deluge. Most of the fatalities, including 28 children, were in Kerr County, where a girls' camp was inundated. Judge Rob Kelly, the top elected official in Kerr County, told CBS the severity of the flooding had been unexpected. "We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be any, anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever," Kelly said. What flood warnings were issued and when? The flash floods began on Thursday night and continued into Friday morning, with meteorologists saying several months' worth of rain fell in just a few hours. Within the space of 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River rose by 26ft (8m), causing it to burst its Wednesday, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated state emergency response resources because of "increased threats of flooding in parts of West and Central Texas"On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood watch that highlighted Kerr County, central Texas, as a place at high risk of flash flooding overnightAt 01:14 local time (06:14 GMT) on Friday a flash flood warning was issued for Kerr CountryAt 04:03 local time (09:30 GMT) an emergency flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County, followed by another for the Guadalupe River at 05:34 Was there a failure to warn people? At a news conference on Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott said people in Texas are used to flash flood warnings."But there's no expectation of a water wall of almost 30ft high," he Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told reporters: "You have areas where there is no cell phone coverage, plus some coverage. "It doesn't matter how many alert systems you sign up for, you're not going to get that."The public can get desensitised to too many weather warnings, said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, according to the Associated said he didn't notice any problems and that it was only raining lightly at 03:30 Friday when he went jogging along the Guadalupe River by 05:20, the water had risen so fast "we almost weren't able to get out of the park", he Kelly said there is no county-administered warning system in the area because such systems are said that about six years ago, before he took office, the county had looked into a flood warning system along the river, similar to a tornado warning siren. Because of the cost, however, it was never implemented. The NWS said it was "heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County" and defended itself. "On July 3, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, TX conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in the morning and issued a Flood Watch in the early Flood Warnings were issued on the night of July 3 and in the early morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met."After some officials in Texas appeared to blame the NWS for underestimating the rainfall, former Weather Service officials told the New York Times newspaper that the forecasts were as good as they could have been given the huge amounts of rainfall and storm's abrupt escalation. Did staff shortages at the National Weather Service affect flood warnings? Before the tragedy, there had been concerns over the Trump administration's budget cuts to 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 of some weather research laboratories, while the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has slashed hundreds of employees at NOAA and the in the US and elsewhere have expressed concerns over "reduced number of weather balloons" that observe wind, relative humidity and pressure above the claim that budget cuts have resulted in 20% fewer weather balloons being released for such observations, impacting the accuracy of weather New York Times reported that critical positions of the NWS were vacant on Friday morning, with some experts questioning whether staffing shortages had impeded the agency's efforts to coordinate with local emergency Tom Fahy, legislative director of the NWS Employees Organization, told NBC News: "The WFOs [weather forecasting offices] had adequate staffing and resources as they issued timely forecasts and warnings leading up to the storm".And the Associated Press quoted Jason Runyen, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office, as saying their office that delivers forecasts for that part of central Texas had extra staff on duty at the time of the storms - five, instead of the usual two. How has the US government responded to questions about flood preparedness? Asked whether the tragedy was due to "fundamental failure" by the government to provide early warnings, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the "weather is difficult to predict", but that President Donald Trump was seeking to modernise the current system. In response to questions during a Sunday press conference about the impact of cuts to the NWS, she said that she would "carry your concerns back to the federal government".Over the years the NWS had done well, Noem said, but "we know that everybody wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long".Noem said that it was difficult for forecasters to predict how much rain would fall but that the Trump administration would make it a priority to upgrade the technology used to deliver added that when Trump took office he "wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology" and that "reforms are ongoing".Trump is planning a possible visit to the area on Friday.
