 "'Never seen anything like this': Trump visits flood-hit Texas, defends first responders")
US President Donald Trump lauded the state and federal officials for their handling of the Texas flash floods that killed at least 120 people over the week, saying they had done an “incredible job.”
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were in the Hill Country of central Texas to meet first responders, victims’ families and local officials, a week after a rain-swollen river swept away houses, camp cabins, cars and people.
“This is a tough one. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Trump said at a roundtable meeting in Kerrville, in the worst-affected Kerr County.
“I’ve gone to a lot of hurricanes, a lot of tornadoes. I’ve never seen anything like this. This is a bad one.”
Trump’s trip down to the flood-ravaged state comes at a time when his administration has made significant cuts to federal agencies on the response to the flood, which he described as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”
The president’s appreciation for the search and rescue operation follows scrutiny of first responders, as many questioned why emergency evacuation messages to residents and visitors along the flooding Guadalupe River reportedly were delayed, in some cases by hours.
Before the most recent flooding, the county declined to install an early-warning system after failing to secure state money to cover the cost. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Thursday ahead of the trip, Trump appeared to support any fresh initiative to install such alarms.
According to a report by the Washington Post, the Trump administration has decided to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) in lieu of greater state-based responsibility.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFema began its response to the Texas flash floods over the weekend after Trump signed a major disaster declaration to release federal resources.
But the president has so far avoided addressing questions about its future. Noem insisted Fema should be “eliminated” in its current form at a government review meeting Wednesday.
With inputs from agencies
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