A week after the flash floods began in Texas, US President Donald Trump traveled to the disaster area. His wife Melania is also there. The two arrived at noon local time on Friday in Kerrville, an area that has been particularly hard hit by the flooding. According to US media reports, at least 119 people died, 95 of them in Kerr County alone. Among them are 36 children, said local Sheriff Larry Leitha on Thursday. More than 160 people are still missing in the region.
Media reported that Trump was flying over the disaster area in a helicopter and speaking with rescuers. "What a tragic situation," the US president had said earlier in the week. He had been criticized for his cuts to the weather service and the US climate protection agency, NOAA. Did residents realize it was too late? The Tagesschau reported Friday that more than 2,000 emergency personnel and volunteers were continuing to search for missing people.
"It's a very difficult task to find victims in running water, in mud and debris, among fallen trees, swept-away houses, and car wrecks. It can take weeks, if not months," said Russel Honoré, a retired general. Many are wondering whether residents were warned too late or not at all. This reassessment will come later, said Sheriff Leitha. Everything will be investigated, he promised. The former district disaster control officer said he had wanted to set up an alert system with sirens.
However, funding from the state and federal governments wasn't enough. Donald and Melania Trump planned to spend a few hours in Texas on Friday and speak with survivors and emergency services, among others. Therefore, he did not travel to the US state earlier so as not to hinder anyone, the president said. The flood is an "inevitable force of nature" and a "hundred-year catastrophe."
However, his administration is investigating public concerns, for example, regarding vacant positions at the National Weather Service, the New York Times reported. Previously, Trump had accused the former Biden administration of negligence in disaster management. It provided federal funding for the natural disaster in Texas. In the past, rivers have repeatedly flooded in South Texas, and encampments have been set up in an area at extreme risk of flooding.
