Kerrville (dpa-AFX)-After the flood disaster with around 80 dead and 40 missing people in the US state of Texas, there are new dangerous storms. The weather service warned of further floods. It is difficult to determine the exact places for it, but every heavy rain is now potentially dangerous. This made it difficult for saviors to search for missing and evacuate. In the media and social networks, criticism of the crisis management was also sounded. The tidal warnings were too late, it said.
Since Friday morning, there had been violent floods in a holiday area in the south of the United States within a short time. Many children and adults had campaigned on river banks and are now dead. Time-lapse video recordings circulated online, which should show how quickly the water swelled within a very short time and stepped over the banks.
“Our hearts are broken”
A Christian girl camp had hit it particularly badly. The “Camp Mystic” mourns 27 dead campers and supervisors. “Our hearts are broken alongside the families who have to endure this unimaginable tragedy. We are constantly praying for them,” said the camp together with the number of deaths. According to the camp that was devastated, the missing girl is still looking for missing girls. So far, according to the authorities, a total of around 80 deaths have been confirmed. It was unclear whether the camps are included or not. The region wanted to provide information about the current status again in the morning (local time).
Trump cuts in criticism
Also the cuts of the government of President Donald Trump at the Weather Service (NWS) under his then consultant Elon Musk focused on. According to media reports, several hundred meteorologists have been released since Trump’s taking office. However, the President denied the question on Sunday whether he would post them again. The disaster was unpredictable. “This happened within seconds, nobody expected that,” he said to journalists. Trump had declared the disaster for the affected region and thus released further federal aid.
When asked about his plans to abolish the civil protection authority (FEMA) or to reduce drastically, Trump said that it could be spoken later. Now this is busy with the situation in Texas.
Trump: “Catastrophe for the Century”
The FEMA authority was also a matter of its democratic predecessor Joe Biden. However, he does not blame him for the situation: “This is a century disaster, and it is so terrible to look at it,” he added. He will probably visit the tidal area on Friday.
Plans for better warning systems failed
Since the risk of fall floods in the affected area was known, there were plans for a better warning system years ago, it was said in media reports. Local authorities would have discussed it to install sirens and level ads. The “New York Times” wrote for cost reasons. Instead, people have now been warned of text messages that were too late for some.
Just a few months ago, a bill to improve disaster relief failed in the Texas Congress, the newspaper “The Texas Tribune” reported. The city administrator of Kerrville, Dalton Rice, said the authorities would now check the emergency measures./RIN/JV/DP/Men