During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump did not mention those plans and instead praised the federal flooding response. Turning to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, he said, “You had people there as fast as anybody’s ever seen.”

Kerr County failed to secure a warning system, even as local officials remained aware of the risks and as billions of dollars were available for similar projects.

At least 120 people have been found dead since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the river and flowed through homes and youth camps in the early morning hours of July 4. Ninety-six of those killed were in the hardest-hit county in central Texas, Kerr County, where the toll includes at least 36 children.

Kerr County first tried to secure $1 million for a flood warning system in 2017, but could not. Could such a system have prevented loss of life on July 4?

In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending.

President Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Kerr County, Texas, Friday afternoon, one week after the area was struck by catastrophic flooding.

Weather warnings predicted devastation from both the Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.

Nearly a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.

The Houston Texans were the first to announce their donations on Saturday, July 5, with more coming throughout the week. The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL Foundation joined the Texans on Sunday, July 6, with each contributing $500,000 in a $1.5 million total donation.