Trump flies to flood-ravaged Texas as scrutiny of response mounts

AFP | Washington

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US President Donald Trump flew to Texas yesterday as questions swirled over the authorities’ response to flash floods that have left at least 120 people dead, including dozens of children.

The Republican leader and First Lady Melania Trump boarded Air Force One en route to a meeting with first responders, families and local officials in the Hill Country of central Texas, a week after heavy rainfall and an overflowing river swept away houses, camp cabins, recreational vehicles and people.

They were due around midday in Kerrville, a city in the worst-affected Kerr County where at least 96 people are confirmed dead from the historic flooding.

“We’re going to be there with some of the great families” of flood victims, Trump told reporters before leaving the White House, calling the disaster a “terrible thing.”

The search for more than 170 missing people, including five girls who were at summer camp, entered the eighth day as rescue teams combed through mounds of debris and mud.

But with no live rescues reported this week, worries have swelled that the death toll could still rise.

Trump has brushed off questions about the impact of his cuts to federal agencies on the response to the flood, which he described as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”

On Thursday, Homeland Security Department head Kristi Noem defended the immediate response as “swift and efficient.”

Later that day, with Texas officials facing questions about why emergency evacuation messages to residents and visitors along the flooding Guadalupe River reportedly were delayed, in some cases by several hours, Trump expressed support for a flood warning system.