TEXAS FLOODS CLAIM OVER 100 LIVES
EL-ZION NEWS
The number of fatalities from the devastating flash floods that hit central Texas on Friday has surpassed 100, with an undetermined number of people still missing.
Rescue workers continue to comb through muddy riverbanks, even as additional rainfall and thunderstorms threaten the area. However, hopes of finding survivors have dwindled four days after the disaster.
Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls, confirmed that at least 27 campers and staff members lost their lives. Ten girls and one camp counselor remain unaccounted for.
In response to concerns, the White House dismissed claims that budget reductions at the National Weather Service (NWS) may have impacted the emergency response.
Authorities in Kerr County reported that 84 of the deceased — 56 adults and 28 children — died in the area after torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to overflow early Friday, which coincided with the July Fourth holiday.
The sheriff's office noted that 22 adults and 10 children have yet to be identified.
In a statement released on Monday, Camp Mystic said: "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy."
Richard Eastland, 70, co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died while attempting to rescue children.
Local pastor Del Way, who is familiar with the Eastland family, remarked: "The whole community will miss him [Mr Eastland]. He died a hero."
The latest forecast from the NWS warned of additional slow-moving storms, raising the risk of more flash flooding in the region.
Some critics of the Trump administration have connected the tragedy to staffing reductions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the NWS.
Officials reported that five employees were on duty at the NWS forecasting office as the storms developed on Thursday evening — the standard number during expected severe weather.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed suggestions of fault, saying: "That was an act of God."
"It's not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did, but there were early and consistent warnings and, again, the National Weather Service did its job," she added.
Leavitt also stated that the NWS office in Austin-San Antonio held briefings with local authorities the day before the flood, issued a flood watch that afternoon, and followed up with multiple flood warnings later that night and into the early hours of July 4th.
President Trump, who is scheduled to visit Texas later this week, rejected the notion that federal cuts weakened the disaster response. When asked on Sunday, he appeared to deflect blame toward what he referred to as "the Biden set-up", referencing the previous Democratic administration.
"But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either," he added. "I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe."
Texas Senator Ted Cruz emphasized during a Monday press briefing that now is not the moment for "partisan finger-pointing."
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