in the wake of The devastating floods swept in Texas Hill Control In Texas, the United States, a tightly coherent society is a mourning of a loss of at least 110 life for deadly floods-including 27 in mystic camp, a summer camp of girls along the Guadalobi River.
CAMP Mystic carries the burden of flood water, but the region is home to many famous Sleepaway camps and youth facilities that serve families from all over Texas, including Hill Country Youth Ranch. Tony Galuchi, who has lived in the region for more than 40 years, is working there.
“We will get some clearing (from debris like fallen trees), we have a record jam and this type of things,” Galuchi said. “We have one way (in their facilities) that have been reprimanded; it must be fixed.”
The farm is arduous from the river, unlike the Mystic camp, where it rose 2.4 meters (8 feet) of water filled with water with sleeping camps in the early morning hours of July 4, and the Guadalpe River rose more than six meters (20 feet) in two hours. Among the dead camp director Dick Estland, who perished in an attempt to save girls from accelerating flood water.
Sudden floods are a frequent threat in this part of Texas. The Hill Country, including the CARE province where the camp is located, is a thin bed and limestone that limits rain from the ground, and quickly delivered to rivers and tables. Storms fed by the bay and the bound tracts often fall several inches of rain in a short period, overwhelming terrain.
This was the case last week, as deep tropical humidity in the wake of the tropical storm Barry, which just struck southern Mexico, fueled the heavy rains. The Guadalobi River has been immersed in the past, with noticeable incidents in 1978 and 1987 and in 2002, which raised long fears about the weakness of the Riferside camps. Since this danger is well known, I renewed the last scrutiny of the error that happened – and whether it could be prevented.
Politics problem
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Governmental efficiency (DOGE) reduced 600 national weather service (NWS) – the agency in charge of predicting storms and issuing warnings. As a result, many local offices lack the necessary employees to adequately inform the public. In Houston, 30 percent of NWS sites are still vacant.
“Prediction of precise weather helps to avoid deadly disasters. Sinator Connecticut Chris Murphy said in a post on X.
However, both San Antonio and San Angelo NWS offices, which oversee the prediction of the area that includes the CARE province, was sufficiently equipped at the time of sudden floods, and the office had already had more employees than usual, with five people in service instead of the two models.
Murphy’s office did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request for comment.
NWS has released Flash Flood at 12:41 am Central time (05:41 GMT), warning that “excessive surface flow may lead to flooding of rivers, tables, tables and other low sites and duties exposed to the floods. With the exacerbation of conditions, a sudden flood warning was issued at 1:14 am, and the state of Flash flooding has been announced. After 5:30 am local time.
However, Tom Fahi, Legislative Director of the National Weather Service Organization, told the New York Times that the San Angelo office is still suffering from employee deficiency, forecast loss, meteorological specialist, and senior hydros specialists. Fahi did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request for comment.
Discounts in the last jobs by Dog may hinder the ability of NWS offices at the country level to predict and respond to harsh weather in the future. There are additional discounts on NWS included in the tax law signed by President Donald Trump last week.
The legislation cancels the funding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees NWS. These changes were formulated by the Senate Committee on Trade, Science and Transport, headed by Senator Texas Ted Cruz.
“The shameful partisan penetration is only and does not link it to the large and beautiful project of the floods in Texas. There is no relationship with the money that was canceled by the weather, but it was used instead in campaigns“ campaigns ”,“ the functions of people with green collars ”, and it creates a plan for citizens on anything of traditional knowledge in the air, and building a new center in the field of welcome. For Senator Cruz, in a statement, the Director of Communications, Communications Director of Senator Cruz, was in a statement that the Director of Communications for Senator Cruz is “obligated to any existing prediction operations or activity.”
The draft law already includes funding for additional “weather control systems” but only determines those that will be prepared at airports. The legislation also maintains the current funding levels of NWS.
“After obtaining an increase of 41 percent in its budget in the past decade, NOAA now spends about 3 billion dollars annually to predict weather, research, and relevant infrastructure. Even the growing administration has suggested canceling millions in future radar research, partly due to the fact that many of the project has already been completed, and explained after nearly three years, about money away. Martinez added:” From continuity In overcoming every Noaa account possible. “
The Biden Administration has suggested discounts to NOAA in March 2024. The Trump 2026 fiscal suggestion suggestion will reduce climate research financing, which would reduce the development of new weather prediction technologies that, unlike Cruz claims, affect the weather forecast.
The White House did not respond to the island’s request to comment.
Bad infrastructure for floods
Texas has increased funding for flood -related infrastructure projects in recent years, but those efforts were largely reactionary and not preventive.
“Loss of spirits is tragic. While we cannot predict every storm, we do everything we can prepare. Texas is strong and takes every disaster seriously,” said Voltre Baker, head of the Gulf Coast Zone (GCPD), an agency funded by the country responsible for planning coastal flexibility, for Al Jazerera.
The Texas Bay coast has seen some of the most destructive flood events in the history of the United States. After Hurricane Harvey – a storm in August 2017 to the point that NWS had to add new colors to rainfalls – the state created the Texas Festival of Infrastructure. Since the fund was launched, about $ 669 million of financing has been allocated, although only one project was located in Kiir Province.
“After the tropical storm Alison in 2001, we invested in preventing the floods that still protect us today. In 2008, Hurricane IKE led to the coastal project of the Texas-the largest Corps of the American Army Engineers-to defend our coast and our societies in the future. Baker, who previously worked in the Trump administration and worked in the Office of Governmental and Medical Relations alongside Governor Greg Abbott.
But in this part of Texas – more than 480 km (300 miles) – the ovulation improvements of the floods have not been fulfilled. According to the new investigation at Houston Cronic, CARE County, where the affected camp is, has requested state financing three times to improve the flood warning system. The state rejected its requests.
Instead, the state was postponed responsible for the boycott. Care Rob Celly Provincial Judge told the New York Times that they will oppose local financing due to the cost.
In April, the UGRA, a state -funded government agency, granted more than $ 72,000 to develop a flood warning system although concerns raised almost a decade ago. UGRA did not respond to our request for comment.
This comes at a time when the Texas State has failed to pass this year’s bill that would improve the state’s emergency communications infrastructure. Among those who voted against the draft law was the actor Wes Firedale, who represents the province of Kiir. VIDELLL did not respond to our request for comment.
In the aftermath of the last floods, Texas Dan Patrick Lieutenant said that the state will now push to install a failed flood warning system, although the country that previously rejected such requests.
“This will be one of the issues that we begin to address in less than two weeks in the state legislature. We will address each aspect of this storm to ensure that we will achieve necessary systems to prevent fatal flood events in the future.” The ruler Greg Abbott said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Abbott’s office did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request for more details.
When asked about the current system, Judge Kelly told the correspondents at a press conference on Friday, “We do not have a warning system.”
“This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods regularly. When it rains, we get water. We have no reason to believe that this would be like what happened here. Nothing at all.”
Kelly did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request for comment.
Texas did not issue the first flood plan at the state level until last year.
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