Texas Flood Live Updates: White House Says Blaming Trump For Flooding A ‘Depraved Lie’ As Death Toll Reaches 104

Members of a rescue team look for missing people on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas

AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsKerr County officials on Monday said 84 bodies have been recovered from weekend flooding, including 22 adults and 10 children that have not been identified, with the total death toll for the entire region rising to 104

The death toll for the catastrophic flooding is expected to rise, state authorities said Sunday, and rescue teams are still ing for a group of 10 girls who were attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, as well as one counselor, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday afternoon told reporters that “blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie” as claims mount that the public wasn’t perly warned of the danger

The National Weather Service has def its alerts, which first started 12 hours before the storm, and said they vided "preliminary lead times of more than three hours. "Leavitt said Trump plans to visit Texas later this week, ly Friday, but no firm schedule has been announced

On Monday morning, Camp Mystic confirmed 27 campers and counselors have died and local police in Kerrville, Texas, which took the brunt of the flooding, asked non-residents to avoid the area, saying first responders have been hampered by "sightseers who are making things worse. "A flood watch is in effect through Monday evening across much of central Texas, including for Kerr County, which saw some of the worst flooding in the state during a catastrophic event Friday

The National Weather Service is warning rivers, creeks, s and other low-lying land could flood as up to 10 more inches of rain has the potential to fall before 7 p

At least 400 first responders from over 20 agencies have been deployed to conduct rescue and recovery operations in the impacted areas, the sheriff said, and 850 people have been rescued across Kerr County. “We’re seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down,” Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said Sunday, as -and-rescue operations focused on finding the remaining missing campers

Greg Abbott said state officials will be “relentless in going after and assuring that we locate every single person who's been a victim of this flooding event. ”President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County on Sunday morning, while Abbott declared Sunday a “day of prayer. ”Could There Be More Flooding

In its shortly after midnight on Monday, the National Weather Service’s Austin and San Antonio office warned: “There remains a threat of flash flooding overnight and through the day on Monday” in the affected areas

The agency said it would difficult to “pinpoint exact locations where isolated heavier amounts occur” but warned that any additional heavy downpour could lead to “rapid runoff and flash flooding. ” The warning covers the cities of Llano, Fredericksburg, Bastrop, Uvalde, Blanco, Georgetown, Lockhart, Bandera, Austin, Rocksprings, San Antonio, Boerne, Hondo, New Braunfels, Seguin, Leakey, Kerrville, San Marcos, Giddings and Burnet

How Many Deaths Have Been Confirmed From The Floods

Authorities in Kerr County confirmed at least 75 people, including more than two dozen children, were killed in the floods

Freeman Martin, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the death toll is expected to rise

At least 15 more deaths have been reported by local authorities in other nearby counties

One woman was found dead in a submerged car in Tom Green County, the San Angelo Police Department confirmed on social media Saturday

Two people have been recovered in Williamson County, and a third is still missing, officials said

At least three more people were found dead in Burnet County, the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office reported after -and-rescue operations rescued over 63 residents

At least seven people have died in Travis County, according to multiple reports, while officials in Kendall County confirmed six residents have died

What Have Local Officials Said The Nws’ Role

Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, faulted the National Weather Service for not predicting “the amount of rain we saw,” though alerts were issued beforehand and as it became the region was facing a flash flood emergency

The NWS issued a flash flood watch Thursday afternoon that noted Kerr County, where much of the flooding began early Friday morning, was a particularly vulnerable area, along with more urgent flash flood emergency alerts in the overnight hours as the disaster unfolded

The NWS was one of several federal agencies targeted by the controversial cost-cutting efforts of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, and has recently laid off nearly 600 employees—around the same amount of staffers it lost in the 15 previous years, the Texas Tribune reported

Land Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration would “honor” a federal disaster declaration from Abbott, who also declared Sunday a “day of prayer” as first responders for the missing campers

Why Weren’t Summer Camps Evacuated

Although the NWS issued warnings the incoming weather system and the potential for massive flooding as early as Friday morning, it remains un why Camp Mystic and other summer camps in the area were not evacuated sooner. “That is a great question,” Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said when pressed this Sunday, but did not vide an answer

Instead, Dalton said the city was still focused on ing for the remaining missing children

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, when he was asked why camps along the Guadalupe were not evacuated, told reporters Friday, “I can’t answer that, I don’t know,” before saying the county had “no reason to believe that this was going to be anything what’s happened here. ”Could There Be More Flooding

There is still a risk for more rain in central Texas

The NWS issued another flood watch for north-central Texas through Sunday evening, as well as a flash flood warning for parts of Bosque, Hill, Johnson and Somervell Counties as heavy rains inundate the region

Was The National Weather Service perly Staffed

A representative for the union for NWS employees told CNN that the offices in Austin and San Antonio had “adequate staffing and resources,” but also said the San Antonio office was missing a coordination meteorologist to work directly with emergency managers

When asked by a reporter from Kerrville if the government’s preparedness was a “failure,” Noem said the Trump administration was trying to “upgrade” the nology the NWS uses to send alerts and notify the public catastrophic weather events. “For decades, for years, everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict, but also that the National Weather Service has done well,” Noem said at a press conference alongside Abbott. “And at times we have all wanted more time, and more warning, and more alerts, and more notification. ” Noem added the Trump administration is working to what she called an “ancient system” that “has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years. ”How Has The Nws Been Impacted By Federal Funding Cuts

Some NWS field offices have reported the loss of around-the-clock staffing and reductions in weather balloon launches, which are crucial in collecting data on humidity, pressure, temperature and more elements needed to duce forecasts

Longtime meteorologist Troy Kimmel, who leads his own meteorological services company, told CBS Austin in May that local Texas offices such as the Austin/San Antonio office experienced some staffing shortages

The Austin/San Antonio office’s website shows six vacancies across its meteorological, management, observations and nician teams, though it is not how many of the vacancies are a direct result of cuts engineered by the Department of Government Efficiency

Forbes has reached out to the NWS for

What Has Trump Said The Flooding

Trump said Friday the deaths reported in Texas were “shocking” and that the government would work with Abbott to vide federal aid

Trump has insisted states should play a larger role in handling their own weather disasters, saying last month his administration intends to “wean” states off help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ing this year’s hurricane season

Speaking alongside Abbott on Saturday, Noem seemed to double down on this idea. “We recognize that when something this happens to a community, happens to a state, that the best responders are those locally because it’s your family members, it’s your community members that are being impacted, and you can respond quickly,” she said at a press conference

Noem repeated the position that the state should “run and manage” emergency responses, but said that the federal government would still “be here for the support and extra resources on the ground. ” FEMA has lost hundreds of employees since Trump took office and its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities gram, which awarded around $4. 6 billion to communities throughout the U

In an effort to prepare them for future weather disasters

What To Watch ForThe National Weather Service issued a flood watch for San Antonio and several neighboring cities, warning of two to four inches of additional rainfall and excessive runoff that may result in flash flooding for rivers and creeks, low-lying areas and low water crossings

What Do We Know The Children Missing From Camp Mystic

The children considered missing as of Saturday were attending an all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic

Former First Lady Laura Bush was once a drama counselor at the camp her daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, said on the Today show Monday

The organization told parents in an Friday morning it experienced “catastrophic level floods. ” according to The New York Times

That is how many rescuers were deployed in Texas on Saturday morning, the Associated Press reported

The river crested at 31. 5 feet and flooding resulted in the deaths of 10 teenagers and 33 injuries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting a range of 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 of which are forecast to become hurricanea

Mary Whitfill Roeloffs and Siladitya Ray also contributed to this report

Confidential information with Forbes

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