Warnings predicted both Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.

Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people.

People awoke from water rushing around them during the early morning hours of July 4, all along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. Residents were seemingly caught off guard, but warnings had been issued days and hours before floodwaters began carrying away homes,

For years, employees say, they've had to do more with less. But the ability to fill in the gaps became strained to the breaking point when the Trump administration began pushing new staffing cuts.

Experts said the NWS did a good job warning about the flooding, but questions remain about whether the cuts played a role.

Renowned Texas meteorologist Troy Kimmel spoke on Inside Texas Politics about the forecast preceding the deadly flooding in the Hill Country.

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.

Deadly flood in Texas sparks a debate over whether recent cuts and staffing shortages led to a greater loss of life.

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.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Congressman Greg Casar and several other Democratic lawmakers have sent letters to U.S. leaders in the aftermath of deadly Central Texas floods, demanding answers about the federal response.