Texas Flooding Death Toll Climbs
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Texas, flash floods
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Texas, Trump
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State officials said rescue efforts in Central Texas following devastating flooding continue, emphasizing the state's continued commitment to recovery.
President Donald Trump toured the devastation left by flash flooding in central Texas amid growing questions about how local officials responded to the crisis as well as questions about the federal response -- including the fate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- that he has so far avoided.
In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending.
The Houston Texans were the first to announce their donations on Saturday, July 5, with more coming throughout the week. The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL Foundation joined the Texans on Sunday, July 6, with each contributing $500,000 in a $1.5 million total donation.
The number of confirmed deaths from the Texas Hill Country floods rose to 95 in Kerr County on Wednesday, Sheriff Larry Leitha said.
Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens in Kerr County, Texas.
Twice, the Texas Division of Emergency Management turned down Kerr County's requests for money to improve flood warnings.