More than 160 people remain unaccounted for days after deadly Texas floods
More than 160 people remain unaccounted for after devastating floods in Texas, the governor of the US state said on July 8, 2025. The estimate marked a dramatic increase in the number of missing following the tragedy, which so far is known to have claimed 109 lives. Hopes of finding survivors are fading four days after flash floods roared through several Texas counties.
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South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
FEMA loosened flood oversight at Camp Mystic before deadly Texas floods
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South China Morning Post
3 days ago
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South Asia's fatal floods caused by ‘extreme rainfall' linked to global warming
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South China Morning Post
4 days ago
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Texas floods spark concern as Trump appointees' firms linked to privatising weather forecasts
As commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick oversees the US government's vast efforts to monitor and predict the weather. Advertisement The billionaire also ran a financial firm, which he recently left in the control of his adult sons, that stands to benefit if President Donald Trump's administration follows through on a decade-long Republican effort to privatise government weather forecasting. Deadly weekend flooding in central Texas has drawn a spotlight on budget cuts and staff reductions at the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), two agencies housed within the Commerce Department that provide the public with free climate and weather data that can be crucial during natural disasters. What's drawn less attention is how the downsizing appears to be part of an effort to privatise the work of such agencies. In several instances, the companies poised to step into the void have deep ties to people tapped by Trump to run weather-related agencies. Privatisation would diminish a central role the federal government has played in weather forecasting since the 1800s, which experts say poses a particular harm for those facing financial strain who may not be able to afford commercial weather data. Advertisement The effort also reveals the difficulty that uber-wealthy members of Trump's Cabinet have in freeing themselves from conflicts, even if they have met the letter of federal ethics law. 'It's the most insidious aspect of this: Are we really talking about making weather products available only to those who can afford it?' said Rick Spinrad, who served as NOAA administrator under President Joe Biden, a Democrat. 'Basically turning the weather service into a subscription streaming service? As a taxpayer, I don't want to be in the position of saying, 'I get a better weather forecast because I'm willing to pay for it.''
