The devastating floods sweeping via central Texas have claimed no less than 119 lives, with over 160 individuals nonetheless unaccounted for, studies CNN. The disaster has triggered contemporary scrutiny of the nation’s emergency response mannequin, particularly as US President Donald Trump, who lately proposed phasing out the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA), is now touting a swift federal response to the disaster.Emergency planning questionedIssues are additionally mounting over whether or not correct precautions have been taken within the days earlier than the floods. Data obtained by CNN present {that a} state inspector had cleared Camp Mystic, the place 27 individuals died, as having an emergency plan simply two days earlier than the catastrophe. The revelation has sparked new questions on how successfully that plan was adopted.Governor Abbott, who toured the affected areas lately, mentioned the state’s emergency alert system could be reviewed in a particular legislative session this month.Trump administration backs FEMA responseRegardless of Trump’s earlier statements about desirous to “wean off of FEMA” and shift duty to states, his administration is now highlighting how shortly FEMA has responded to the Texas catastrophe. The president authorized Governor Greg Abbott’s request for a serious catastrophe declaration inside a day, unlocking federal help for affected residents and native authorities.In a Cupboard assembly, Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem instructed Trump, “We’re slicing via the paperwork of the previous FEMA, streamlining it, very like your imaginative and prescient of how FEMA ought to function.” She added that the federal assist to Texas resembled the “state block grants” mannequin championed by the president.Nonetheless, former FEMA officers argued the company’s present involvement displays its conventional function somewhat than any substantial shift. “It is a defining occasion that may assist them realise {that a} Federal Emergency Administration Company is crucial,” mentioned Michael Coen, former FEMA chief of employees below Presidents Obama and Biden. “Think about if an occasion like this occurred a yr from now, after FEMA is eradicated.”
