Rep. Julie Johnson calls for federal hearing on Texas flood response

WASHINGTON - Texas Congresswoman Julie Johnson is calling for a hearing to look at the federal government's response to the devastating floods that hit Central Texas over the July 4th weekend.

The Farmers Branch Democrat called on Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) to hold an oversight hearing. The letter was co-signed by Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and ranking member of the committee.

What they're saying:

"The flooding—which has killed over 100 people, displaced hundreds, and devastated communities along the Guadalupe River—raises serious concerns about FEMA’s readiness," the members wrote. "The potential gaps in the emergency alert system during this catastrophe did not occur in a vacuum. The Trump administration has taken alarming steps to weaken FEMA’s ability to carry out its mission."

Specifically, Johnson is questioning if the Federal Emergency Management Agency has the proper resources to assist state and local governments during disasters.

Trump's plan to phase out FEMA

The letter comes a month after President Donald Trump announced plans to phase out FEMA and shift disaster response to the states.

"We want to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it down to the state level," Trump said last month.

Trump's plan would begin the process after the 2025 hurricane season.

On Sunday, Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, Texas, which was hit with the worst of the flooding.

By signing a major disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be activated to assist with the efforts in Texas.

The other side:

"The danger is not over—in fact, the most active part of the hurricane season has not yet begun," Johnson and other members wrote Thursday. "Without a fully staffed and adequately funded FEMA, communities impacted by the flooding in Texas—as well as communities that will be affected by disasters in the future—may face unnecessary obstacles in accessing assistance, rebuilding critical infrastructure, and receiving long-term hazard mitigation support."

Texas Flooding

Flooding in Central Texas over the July 4th weekend has killed more than 100 people and officials said Thursday that more than 170 people remain missing.

At least 96 people have died in Kerr County, including 36 children, at last count.

161 people in Kerr County are now known to be missing, including at least five girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic are still missing.

In Travis County, there were at least seven deaths and also significant damage to infrastructure.

Kendall County has reported seven deaths.

Burnet County has at least five deaths confirmed. A Marble Falls volunteer fire chief is still missing.

Williamson County reports three deaths and Tom Green County has one death confirmed.

In Johnson's letter, she cites reports that officials failed to send out timely alerts.

Weather staffing shortages

What they're saying:

"Breakdowns in the public alert system during the Central Texas flooding reveal potential weaknesses in how emergency warnings are communicated and acted upon. Although the National Weather Service (NWS) issued flood warnings, many residents in Kerr County, especially campers and those in remote areas—never received them. Reportedly, local officials failed to send alerts through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) until two days after the flooding began," the letter reads.

Dig deeper:

Speculation on social media questioned if a lack of alerts happened because of understaffing in the National Weather Service, and if federal cuts have left vacancies at the agency.  

The other side:

The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms, Jason Runyen, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office, told The Associated Press. 

Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather, they had up to five on staff.

Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, faced a Senate committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Neil Jacobs questioned about weather warnings

Jacobs said he would like to advance numerical weather prediction, the most common form of weather prediction where current weather observations are used to forecast future weather. Jacobs said another improvement he would like to see is the modernization of the NOAA weather radio.

"Getting the warnings to the people, particularly at late hours of the night, is a challenge," Jacobs said. "I think we can do, more advancements moving away from copper wire, moving towards telecom, potentially satellite to send out these messages."

Jacobs also said he wanted more data for extreme weather events, similar to the way the National Transportation Safety Board collects data after a plane crash. 

"Because we need the data to understand what went right, what went wrong, whether people got the warnings, if they did or didn't, and if they did, did they not understand them?" Jacobs said.

As head of NOAA, Jacobs would also be in charge of the National Weather Service, an agency that's come under fire recently after reports show that 55 of 122 National Weather Services field offices have vacancy rates of over 20 percent.

TexasWeatherPolitics