TAXAS FLOOD; MAJOR DISASTER OF THE HISTORY:

Irfan Bhatti

Texas Flood Disaster: Devastation in the Hill Country"*  Severe flooding has hit the Hill Country in Texas, prompting Governor Greg Abbott to issue a disaster declaration for 15 counties. Over 1,000 state responders and 800 vehicles have been deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts.  *Key Highlights:*  - *Affected Counties*: Bandera, Coke, Comal, Concho, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Reeves, San Saba, and Tom Green - *Response Efforts*: State emergency response resources have been activated, with the Texas State Emergency Operations Center (SOC) at Level II readiness - *Support*: The federal government has offered assistance and resources to support response efforts

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00:00At least 70 deaths, including the deaths of 21 children, have now been confirmed in the

00:11central Texas flash floods, according to the latest update from officials, though several

00:16children from summer camp remain unaccounted for as blame swirls over preparedness and

00:21whether residents were properly alerted.

00:23Rescue teams are searching for a group of 11 campers who are attending Camp Mystic, an

00:27all-girls Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, as well as one counselor,

00:33Letha said.

00:34More than 850 people have been rescued across Kerr County, which saw some of the worst flooding

00:39Texas government, Greg Abbott said.

00:43As search and rescue efforts concentrated on locating the remaining campers who had gone

00:47missing, Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton stated on Sunday, we're seeing bodies are covered

00:53all over up and down.

00:54President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County on Sunday morning,

01:00while Abbott declared Sunday a day of prayer.

01:04W.

01:05Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, faulted the National Weather Service

01:11for not predicting the amount of rain we saw, though alerts were issued beforehand, and as

01:16it became clear the region was facing a flash flood emergency.

01:19The NWS issued a flash flood watch Thursday afternoon that noted Kerr County, where much

01:25of the flooding began early Friday morning, was a particularly vulnerable area, along with

01:30more urgent flash flood emergency alerts in the overnight hours as the disaster unfolded.

01:35According to the Texas Tribune, the National Weather Service, NWS, was one of several federal

01:40agencies that were the target of the controversy's Department of Government Efficiency, DE, of the

01:45Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts. As a result, the NWS has recently laid off nearly

01:51600 employees, which is roughly the same number of employees it lost in the 15 years prior.

01:57Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration would honor a federal

02:02disaster declaration from Abbott, who also declared Sunday a day of prayer as first responders

02:08search for the missing campers.

02:09There is still a risk for more rain in Central Texas. The NWS issued another flood watch for

02:15North Central Texas through Sunday evening, as well as a flash flood warning for parts of Bosque,

02:20Hill, Johnson, and Somerville counties as heavy rains inundate the region.

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