At Texas Flooding Hearing, State Officials Look Elsewhere for Blame
At several points during the hearing on the state's handling of the catastrophic floods that killed at least 136 people statewide, W. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, directed attention to the role of local emergency managers in disaster response in Texas.
'The responsibility of being in charge rests with local officials,' Mr. Kidd testified at the hearing of State Senate and House committees for disaster preparedness. He also pointed to the lack of specificity and urgency in National Weather Service forecasts until shortly before floodwaters began surging early on July 4.
While Mr. Kidd did not describe any particular failures by local officials, he stressed the need for 'a deliberate conversation about the credentialing of emergency managers at the local level.' At the moment, there are no requirements for credentials.
'We can do better than that,' he said.
The testimony opened a daylong hearing at the State Capitol in Austin, part of a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott to address the flooding, as well as to redraw congressional maps to benefit Republicans in response to pressure from President Trump.
The state is still reeling from the flooding. At the hearing on Wednesday, the director of the state police, Freeman Martin, told lawmakers that another person missing in the flood, an adult woman whom he did not identify, had been found dead. Two people, including a child from Camp Mystic, remain missing in Kerr County, he said.
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