The search for over two dozen children missing from a girls’ summer camp hit by flash floods in Texas entered a third day on Sunday as rescuers faced the threat of more flooding and the death toll in the region reached at least 43.
Search and rescue teams raced to find 27 girls missing from a camp near the Guadalupe River, which broke its banks after torrential rain fell in central Texas on Friday, the US Independence Day holiday.
Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain across Texas Hill Country, about 85 miles (140 km) northwest of San Antonio. It was unclear exactly how many people in the area were still missing.
Some experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm.
Also read: Dozens missing as Texas flash floods leave at least 51 dead
President Donald Trump and his administration have overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, said former NOAA director Rick Spinrad.
He said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advance warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but that they would inevitably degrade the agency’s ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees NOAA, said a “moderate” flood watch issued on Thursday by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from Texas, told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ that fewer personnel at the weather service could be dangerous.
“When you have flash flooding, there’s a risk that if you don’t have the personnel… to do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way, it could lead to tragedy,” Castro said.
