President confronts criticism over early warnings and emergency preparedness
By Reuters

President Donald Trump defended the federal and state response to the devastating flash floods in central Texas during a visit to Kerr County on Friday, where he praised first responders and officials despite growing public frustration over delayed warnings and preparedness failures.

The floods, which struck in the early hours of July 4, have been declared the deadliest disaster of Trump’s second term. At least 120 people, including 36 children, were killed, and more than 160 remain unaccounted for.

Speaking at a roundtable with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Trump applauded their efforts as “incredible,” brushing aside questions about government accountability. “Everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances,” Trump said. “I don’t know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that,” he snapped at a reporter who raised the concerns of flood victims about the lack of timely warnings.

Critics have pointed to budget cuts under Trump’s administration at both the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), raising concerns that these may have weakened the nation’s disaster response capabilities. Administration officials, however, insist the cuts did not affect storm forecasting, even as some local offices faced staffing shortages.

Trump avoided direct answers on FEMA’s future. When asked earlier in the week whether he planned to reduce or dismantle the agency’s role, he responded, “I’ll tell you some other time.”

Local Gaps and Legislative Fallout

Kerr County had reportedly declined to install an early-warning siren system due to lack of state funding. Longtime Kerrville resident Lawrence Walker, 67, said efforts to prevent such disasters had been insufficient. “It’s been fine since the water was at 8 feet,” he said, referring to the delayed response.

Governor Abbott dismissed suggestions of negligence or blame, labeling such criticisms as “the word choice of losers.” He has called a special session of the Texas Legislature later this month to investigate the flood response and allocate relief funding.

Search crews continue to work through the debris-strewn landscape of the Texas Hill Country, still hoping to locate survivors, though none have been found since the floods hit.

The July 4 disaster was triggered by a sudden downpour that dumped more than a foot of rain in under an hour, causing the Guadalupe River to rise from one foot to 34 feet in a matter of hours. The floodwaters destroyed homes, uprooted trees, and swept away entire communities along the riverbanks.

Among the victims were dozens of children attending Camp Mystic, a well-known Christian summer camp for girls located directly along the river.

Community Divided Over Accountability

Locals are split on how the government has handled the aftermath. Jon Moreno, 71, whose hilltop property escaped damage, defended the authorities. “I’ve heard the debate, but I don’t think sirens would’ve changed much. People shouldn’t be living along the river,” he said.

However, resentment lingers. At a gas station in Kerrville, graffiti scrawled across a wall read: “Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill cut our emergency funding,” referring to the president’s recently signed tax and spending package. The legislation, approved by a Republican-majority Congress just hours before the floods struck, included significant reductions in funding for federal programs—sparking renewed debate over the costs of austerity in disaster-prone regions.

Trump toured the hardest-hit areas near the Guadalupe River alongside First Lady Melania Trump and Governor Abbott on Friday afternoon, receiving briefings from emergency crews amid the wreckage.

Kerr County sits in what experts call “flash flood alley,” one of the most flood-prone regions in the United States—a reality that may force a nationwide reckoning with preparedness strategies as extreme weather becomes more frequent and more severe.