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The Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, responded to the experts and officials who claim that their recent policy changes in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) left without the capacity to respond to the search and rescue teams, and paralyzed an emergency care center in the days after sudden floods that left at least 130 dead in the center of Texas.
Key facts (Key Facts):
Noem lashed out on Sunday against a report of the New York Times which revealed that “almost two thirds” of the calls for help to FEMA by victims of floods were not answered due to personnel cuts, as well as against a CNN report that indicated that its policies – especially one that requires its personal approval for any expense greater than $ 100,000 – delayed the sending of search and rescue equipment to the area.
Noem described the reports – based on statements from current and previous fema employees unidentified – as false and “inappropriate”, and said that the federal government’s response to floods in Texas was “the best we have seen in many, many years.”
“People inside Fema who are leaking information, I would love to put their name behind what they say, because anonymous attacks to politicize the situation are completely bad,” Noem said in the program Meet The Press.
Sources within FEMA also told CNN that the new policies delayed a request from the state of Texas to obtain aerial images that would help in search and rescue work.
The accusations that FEMA failed Texas after the floods are part of a partisan dispute that has blamed various actors, from local taxpayers to federal agencies such as FEMA, the National Meteorological Service (NWS) and even former President Donald Trump.
State officials initially tried to blame NWS in the early stages of recovery, claiming that he did not adequately communicate the threat of the storm, but experts have claimed since then that the alerts issued were as appropriate and precise as possible.
Some former NWS officials told Times That, although the warnings were adequate, the cuts to the agency and the anticipated retirement incentives implemented during the Trump administration caused personnel shortage in the office of the Texas center, which could have affected their ability to communicate with local authorities in the hours after alerts.
Local and state government hindered flood alert system
Kerr County officials had known for a decade that a better flood alert system would benefit the local community, according to minutes obtained by The Texas Tribune. However, there was no system in operation when floods hit the state last week for several reasons.
One of them: Texas state authorities rejected Kerr County applications on multiple occasions to finance an alert system, whose cost was estimated at approximately one million dollars. According to The New York TimesThe State rejected at least three requests between 2017 and 2024 for different reasons.
Another reason: local authorities also did not act when, in 2021, they received 10 million dollars under the American Rescue Plan Actapproved during the pandemic. Instead of investing that money in storm infrastructure – as the subsidy encouraged – they assigned it to other public security projects, salary increases for county employees and a new pedestrian path, according to The Texas Tribune.
Even the county voters themselves have been pointed out by local officials, who say that there was not enough public support for the system: “In general, everyone is in favor of doing something … until it comes to paying for it,” said Harvey Hilderbran, former state representative of Kerr’s county, Tribune.
Although it is not clear how many lives they would have saved with an alert system, the Vice Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said that “there should be sirens here.” The county authorities have promised a “complete and transparent review of the past actions.”
Surprising data
Accept money from American Rescue Plan Act In 2021 it was a controversial decision in this conservative area, which voted for Donald Trump in the last three elections. A survey sent to residents revealed that 42% of the 180 respondents preferred to reject 10 million dollars. According to him Tribunesome local taxpayers expressed that they did not want to depend on the Biden government: “We do not want the federal government to buy us, thank you very much. We want it to stay out of Kerr county and take their money,” said a resident. Another asked to return all the money “to the Biden Administration, which the most criminal, traitor and communist government that has never occupied the White House.”
Cita Crucial
“Who to blame? Know this: that is the way of talking about the losers,” said Texas governor Greg Abbott, on Tuesday, when questioned on who is responsible for the tragedy. “The winners do not point to the finger, talk about solutions. And that’s what Texas is about: solutions.” Abbott convened an extraordinary legislative session for this month, in order to strengthen the state’s response to future floods, including issues such as alert systems, communication, preparation for natural disasters and aid financing.
Key context
On July 4, heavy rains whipped the center of Texas, causing the Guadalupe River to rise more than 32 feet and devastate nearby communities. It was the most lethal interior flood event in Texas in almost 50 years. Until Friday, the death toll was at least 130 people, with another 160 missing. At least 35 of the victims were children. Among the deceased there are 27 people, including minors and counselors, of the Camp Mystic Women’s Camp, with more than one generation of history and where the former first lady Barbara Bush was once counselor.
According to The Washington Postthe executive director of the camp, Richard “Dick” Eastland, did not begin to evacuate up to more than an hour after receiving the severe flood alert of the NWS around the 1st of July 4. The alert did not include an evacuation order, so Eastland decided to “evaluate the situation” with relatives before starting to evacuate. He died trying to rescue the campers.
What to observe soon
Changes in the NWS. Kristi Noem said Trump wants to improve the agency’s alert system and “renew this ancient system that the federal government has left intact for many years.”
This article was originally published in Forbes United States
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