Texas, Trump and flood
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At least 95 dead in Kerr County, Texas
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Key positions at National Weather Service offices across Texas are vacant, sowing doubt over the state’s ability to respond to natural disasters as rescuers comb through the flood-ravaged Hill Country.
Experts said the NWS did a good job warning about the flooding, but questions remain about whether the cuts played a role.
The death toll from the devastating Texas floods has risen to over 110 people and at least 173 remain missing. Former NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad joins Ana Cabrera to break down the timeline of the flood alerts and to provide more insight on response.
The National Weather Service says its Central Texas office was prepared for the devastating storms, but understaffed offices may not be. Scott Friedman reports.
15hon MSN
In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas’ junior U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency’s forecast timing, urgency and communication.
Chuck Schumer asked acting Inspector General Roderick Anderson to investigate if recent NWS staff cuts affected the death toll from the Texas floods.
Sen. Chuck Schumer is pressing the NWS’s watchdog to probe whether Trump’s cuts worsened the recent catastrophe.
As authorities continue to respond to catastrophic flash floods that have killed more than 100 people, including at least 28 children, hurricane specialist and weather expert John Morales is weighing in on whether staffing shortages at the National Weather Service contributed to the lethality of the event in Central Texas.
Deadly flood in Texas sparks a debate over whether recent cuts and staffing shortages led to a greater loss of life.
President Trump's pick to head NOAA — which includes the National Weather Service — will tell Congress on Wednesday that he wants to make the U.S. a weather forecasting leader. Why it matters: Neil Jacobs' nomination hearing arrives as critics wonder if NWS staffing reductions hampered performance in the deadly Texas flooding — and whether proposed budget cuts will hinder the very forecasting improvements he's vowing.