Heavy rains recently hit Texas, causing floods, and the number of casualties continues to rise. Regarding the questioning of the Trump administration’s layoffs of the federal government after taking office, which impacted the disaster prevention and response capabilities, the White House defended on the 7th, calling it a “depraved lie” and saying that the National Weather Service has played an early warning role.
The search for missing persons in south-central Texas has entered its fourth day. As the disaster area faces the risk of heavy rain, new floods may hit. Local police said the floods have killed at least 104 people, including 28 children. The children’s summer camp team said on Monday that 27 girls and counselors in the camp were killed. Governor Abbott said that 41 people are still missing, including 10 girls and a counselor at the summer camp. The White House pointed out on the 7th that President Trump is expected to go to the disaster area on Friday this week.
The White House held a press conference on the 7th. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that according to the latest statistics from the Department of Homeland Security, more than 90 people have died in the floods. Trump has declared Kerr County, Texas, a major disaster area. The federal government will provide the necessary resources to the heroic first-line rescuers.
According to The Hill, Senate Democratic leader Schumer wrote to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce on the 7th, asking for an investigation into whether the vacancy at the National Weather Service affected the delay, window or accuracy of flood warnings.
The New York Times also reported that some key positions in the local offices of the National Weather Service were vacant when heavy rains hit central Texas. The report stated that although some vacant positions predate the Trump administration, the current vacancy rate is about twice that of the Trump administration when it took office.
Leavitt said at the press conference that this is a natural disaster that occurs once in decades, but the Democrats and some media are blaming Trump. Leavitt said these are “vicious lies” and are of no benefit to the national mourning.
She denied that the Trump administration should be held responsible for the floods, saying that many Democrats wanted to turn the national tragedy into a political game. She said that the National Weather Service had made timely forecasts and warnings before the flash floods, and even gave preparation time for record-breaking rainfall before the disaster. Levitt also said that the National Weather Service had sufficient staff, and some offices were even overstaffed. She said that the National Weather Service had more staff than needed, and any accusation of understaffing was wrong.
Levitt said that Trump is expected to visit the disaster area later this week. The White House is currently planning and is tentatively scheduled for Friday (11th), but does not want Trump’s visit to interfere with the recovery work in the disaster area.
She said that Trump and the White House prayed for the people of Texas, especially the parents who lost their children, and also said, “President Trump loves you, we are praying for you, and he (Trump) will visit you later this week.”
