One Year Since Texas Floods, Trump’s Cuts to Disaster Response Are Still Leaving People Vulnerable

Washington, DC – This weekend marks one year since flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 139 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic. During the floods, the Trump administration stalled life-saving rescue operations and delayed critical disaster response. As “once-in-a-century” extreme weather events become more frequent because of the climate crisis, Trump is weakening our disaster response, leaving people on their own to prepare and recover. 

In the aftermath of the floods, recently departed FEMA officials warned that the organization was dangerously underfunded and had faced a loss of institutional knowledge due to a mass exodus of staff. Additionally, nearly three months after the floods, only a fifth of federal disaster relief applicants had been deemed eligible for assistance in Kerr County, where people were most affected by the floods.

Climate Power Senior Advisor Mia Logan issued the following statement: “The Texas floods were a tragic reminder of how climate-fueled extreme weather devastates communities and how important it is to have strong disaster response infrastructure. With every delayed search-and-rescue mission and missed phone call to the disaster assistance helpline, the Trump administration failed Texas families. A year later, survivors are still waiting for relief, while Trump’s cuts to disaster response are leaving even more people vulnerable to extreme weather.”