Texas officials are blaming the National Weather Service (NWS) for failing to predict flash floods that have killed at least 27 people, including nine children.
Texas officials are blaming the National Weather Service (NWS) for failing to predict flash floods that have killed at least 27 people, including nine children. “The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd. The original forecast called for 3–8 inches of rain, but over 10 inches fell, causing severe flooding along the Guadalupe River. About 25 girls from Camp Mystic, a nearby Christian summer camp, remain missing.
City manager Dalton Rice said flooding occurred because the sky “dumped more rain than what was forecasted.” The NWS, already understaffed, lost about 600 employees under Trump-era cuts and was preparing to offer “degraded” forecasting services, The New York Times reported. President Trump called the disaster “shocking” and “terrible,” adding, “it looks like some young people have died.” The NWS has not responded to media inquiries.