Latest news with #FEMA
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- Climate
- The Advertiser
More than 130 dead and 100 missing after Texas floods
The search for the more than 100 people missing after devastating floods in Texas will take months, officials say, as the death toll rose to at least 133. Search efforts in the Hill Country area, characterised by its mountainous terrain, resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to heavy rain. In Kerr County, the worst affected area, the number of fatalities rose to 107, including at least 36 children, according to officials. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said a large percentage of people missing for were probably visiting the area. "We don't know how many came, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many we lost," he said. "We've heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the (Guadalupe River) with families in them. Can't find trailers." Dozens of volunteers and emergency teams are continuing to dig through the rubble and search through kilometres of properties. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 97 people were reported missing in Kerr. Abbott said those people were not registered in a "camp or a hotel." The floods struck during the July 4 public holiday in the United States for Independence Day. Hundreds of tourists had travelled to Texas Hill Country, a popular destination due to its proximity to the Guadalupe River, which overflowed, causing the disaster. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the process to find all the missing people would take up to six months. Local authorities have faced scrutiny over Leitha's response to the floods and deficiencies in the alert system. An investigation by The New York Times revealed despite a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning the region would "likely" flood in 2025, Kerr County had not received funding to improve the flood alert system. In a report published in 2024, FEMA estimated that the cost of the new system, concentrating on the Guadalupe River, would be $US1 million, the newspaper said. Between the night of July 3 and early July 4, the National Weather Service recorded between 127 and 279mm of rain in Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green, and Kendall counties. with AP The search for the more than 100 people missing after devastating floods in Texas will take months, officials say, as the death toll rose to at least 133. Search efforts in the Hill Country area, characterised by its mountainous terrain, resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to heavy rain. In Kerr County, the worst affected area, the number of fatalities rose to 107, including at least 36 children, according to officials. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said a large percentage of people missing for were probably visiting the area. "We don't know how many came, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many we lost," he said. "We've heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the (Guadalupe River) with families in them. Can't find trailers." Dozens of volunteers and emergency teams are continuing to dig through the rubble and search through kilometres of properties. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 97 people were reported missing in Kerr. Abbott said those people were not registered in a "camp or a hotel." The floods struck during the July 4 public holiday in the United States for Independence Day. Hundreds of tourists had travelled to Texas Hill Country, a popular destination due to its proximity to the Guadalupe River, which overflowed, causing the disaster. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the process to find all the missing people would take up to six months. Local authorities have faced scrutiny over Leitha's response to the floods and deficiencies in the alert system. An investigation by The New York Times revealed despite a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning the region would "likely" flood in 2025, Kerr County had not received funding to improve the flood alert system. In a report published in 2024, FEMA estimated that the cost of the new system, concentrating on the Guadalupe River, would be $US1 million, the newspaper said. Between the night of July 3 and early July 4, the National Weather Service recorded between 127 and 279mm of rain in Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green, and Kendall counties. with AP The search for the more than 100 people missing after devastating floods in Texas will take months, officials say, as the death toll rose to at least 133. Search efforts in the Hill Country area, characterised by its mountainous terrain, resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to heavy rain. In Kerr County, the worst affected area, the number of fatalities rose to 107, including at least 36 children, according to officials. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said a large percentage of people missing for were probably visiting the area. "We don't know how many came, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many we lost," he said. "We've heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the (Guadalupe River) with families in them. Can't find trailers." Dozens of volunteers and emergency teams are continuing to dig through the rubble and search through kilometres of properties. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 97 people were reported missing in Kerr. Abbott said those people were not registered in a "camp or a hotel." The floods struck during the July 4 public holiday in the United States for Independence Day. Hundreds of tourists had travelled to Texas Hill Country, a popular destination due to its proximity to the Guadalupe River, which overflowed, causing the disaster. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the process to find all the missing people would take up to six months. Local authorities have faced scrutiny over Leitha's response to the floods and deficiencies in the alert system. An investigation by The New York Times revealed despite a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning the region would "likely" flood in 2025, Kerr County had not received funding to improve the flood alert system. In a report published in 2024, FEMA estimated that the cost of the new system, concentrating on the Guadalupe River, would be $US1 million, the newspaper said. Between the night of July 3 and early July 4, the National Weather Service recorded between 127 and 279mm of rain in Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green, and Kendall counties. with AP The search for the more than 100 people missing after devastating floods in Texas will take months, officials say, as the death toll rose to at least 133. Search efforts in the Hill Country area, characterised by its mountainous terrain, resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to heavy rain. In Kerr County, the worst affected area, the number of fatalities rose to 107, including at least 36 children, according to officials. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said a large percentage of people missing for were probably visiting the area. "We don't know how many came, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many we lost," he said. "We've heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the (Guadalupe River) with families in them. Can't find trailers." Dozens of volunteers and emergency teams are continuing to dig through the rubble and search through kilometres of properties. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 97 people were reported missing in Kerr. Abbott said those people were not registered in a "camp or a hotel." The floods struck during the July 4 public holiday in the United States for Independence Day. Hundreds of tourists had travelled to Texas Hill Country, a popular destination due to its proximity to the Guadalupe River, which overflowed, causing the disaster. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the process to find all the missing people would take up to six months. Local authorities have faced scrutiny over Leitha's response to the floods and deficiencies in the alert system. An investigation by The New York Times revealed despite a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning the region would "likely" flood in 2025, Kerr County had not received funding to improve the flood alert system. In a report published in 2024, FEMA estimated that the cost of the new system, concentrating on the Guadalupe River, would be $US1 million, the newspaper said. Between the night of July 3 and early July 4, the National Weather Service recorded between 127 and 279mm of rain in Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green, and Kendall counties. with AP
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Climate
- Perth Now
More than 130 dead and 100 missing after Texas floods
The search for the more than 100 people missing after devastating floods in Texas will take months, officials say, as the death toll rose to at least 133. Search efforts in the Hill Country area, characterised by its mountainous terrain, resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to heavy rain. In Kerr County, the worst affected area, the number of fatalities rose to 107, including at least 36 children, according to officials. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said a large percentage of people missing for were probably visiting the area. "We don't know how many came, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many we lost," he said. "We've heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the (Guadalupe River) with families in them. Can't find trailers." Dozens of volunteers and emergency teams are continuing to dig through the rubble and search through kilometres of properties. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 97 people were reported missing in Kerr. Abbott said those people were not registered in a "camp or a hotel." The floods struck during the July 4 public holiday in the United States for Independence Day. Hundreds of tourists had travelled to Texas Hill Country, a popular destination due to its proximity to the Guadalupe River, which overflowed, causing the disaster. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the process to find all the missing people would take up to six months. Local authorities have faced scrutiny over Leitha's response to the floods and deficiencies in the alert system. An investigation by The New York Times revealed despite a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning the region would "likely" flood in 2025, Kerr County had not received funding to improve the flood alert system. In a report published in 2024, FEMA estimated that the cost of the new system, concentrating on the Guadalupe River, would be $US1 million, the newspaper said. Between the night of July 3 and early July 4, the National Weather Service recorded between 127 and 279mm of rain in Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green, and Kendall counties. with AP
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
FEMA Chief Finally Makes His Appearance At Flood-Ravaged Texas Region
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the federal government agency tasked with providing emergency aid in disaster sites finally visited Texas' devastated Hill Country over the weekend — more than a week after massive flooding killed at least 132 people and left families desperate for help. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief David Richardson made an unannounced visit to Kerr County, Texas, on Saturday to 'survey the impacts of the recent floods,' according to the agency. The flooding began on the Fourth of July. As of Tuesday, volunteers continue to clear debris and search for missing loved ones. Richardson, who was made acting administrator in May, was nowhere to be seen in the immediate aftermath of the devastation. Instead, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the disaster site and spoke at press conferences on how the federal government is assisting recovery efforts. Saturday appeared to be Richardson's first visit to a disaster site since being picked to lead an agency in which he has no known experience, according to Politico. FEMA and its Texas division promoted the trip with several photos on social media that showed the acting administrator concentrating on maps and speaking to officials while wearing cowboy boots, a straw planter hat and a shirt buttoned halfway up. 'So when you think of the Donald Trump presidency and what it looks like for them to be in charge of really, really, really important parts of the government, now at least you can picture this,' Rachel Maddow said Monday on MSNBC, comparing Richardson's visit with President George W. Bush's historic failure of a response to the deadly devastation Hurricane Katrina caused in New Orleans. The New York Times reported last week that thousands of calls made by victims in the flood's aftermath to FEMA's disaster assistance line went unanswered, largely because Homeland Security didn't renew the contracts of call center staff. On Sunday, Noem called the report 'fake news' and accused FEMA whistleblowers of politicizing the situation. Trump, who previously threatened to dismantle FEMA, praised the agency while visiting the disaster site Richardson, the president saw the devastation caused by the floods from a helicopter.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Just 9 percent think FEMA should be eliminated
Very few Americans say in a new poll that it's a good idea to scrap the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entirely, a position President Trump has embraced in recent months. In the latest Economist/YouGov survey, conducted over the weekend, just 9 percent say FEMA should be eliminated. Another 10 percent say they think the agency should be reduced. But two-thirds of Americans support the agency, with 30 percent saying it should remain the same size and 36 percent saying it should expand. There's still a clear partisan divide in the survey results. Among Republicans, 18 percent support eliminating the agency, while 20 percent support reducing it. Only 1 percent of Democrats, on the other hand, want to scrap the agency, while 2 percent want to reduce it. Independents find themselves in the middle, with 7 percent saying they want to eliminate it and 9 percent in favor of reducing it. The survey asked respondents whether they support eliminating a variety of federal agencies and departments, most of which also see single-digit support for scrapping them altogether, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Weather Service (NWS). A slightly higher share of respondents say they support getting rid of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), at 36 percent, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), at 20 percent — both levels driven by increased support from Democrats. In January, Trump floated getting rid of FEMA, a frequent talking point from the 2024 campaign trail. He said at the time that he would be signing an executive order 'to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.' The executive order established a council to put together a report with information including 'an evaluation of whether FEMA can serve its functions as a support agency' and 'an analysis of the principal arguments in the public debate for and against FEMA reform.' But in March, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department includes the agency, said 'we're going to eliminate FEMA,' without elaborating. Over the last month, the administration has slightly shifted its tone, with Noem saying in June that Trump wants 'to see FEMA eliminated as it exists today.' At the time, Trump said FEMA would 'give out less money.' And just last week, Noem said, 'This entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency.' The latest Economist/YouGov poll includes 1,680 U.S. adults and was conducted July 11-14. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's what damages homeowners and car insurance cover in the event of flooding
New Jersey was hit once again with heavy rain, flooding, power outages and road closures on Monday, July 14, with flash flooding killing at least two people. Flooding was particularly high in Central Jersey along the Route 22 corridor in Watchung, Plainfield, North Plainfield and Somerville. If your home, car or apartment was spared by the floods, now might be a good time to get up to date on insurance to protect yourself or, at the very least, minimize your financial losses. 'New Jerseyans need to be prepared for events where we have flooding or heavy rainfall,' said Christine O'Brien, president of the Insurance Council of New Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, said flooding can be caused by runoff from new construction; sudden, heavy rainfall; breached levees or released dams; rapid snow melt; or changing weather patterns that bring heavier rains. Many homeowners' insurance policies do not include coverage for flood damage, O'Brien said. Instead, you have to purchase a separate policy. But in some instances, 'depending on how the water seeps into the home,' there may be coverage, she said. Even so, 'everybody should talk to [their] agent or insurer about pricing a flood insurance policy,' O'Brien said. FEMA's flood-mapping tool determines whether your home is in a flood zone and whether you should therefore get flood insurance. Enter an address, a place or the longitude and latitude coordinates and search whether that area is in a flood zone. More: Despite more intense storms, these pricey NJ flood projects went nowhere Flood insurance can be purchased through a private insurer or FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program, which is capped at $250,000 for building coverage and $100,000 for home contents. 'Even homes outside high-risk flood zones can flood — over a quarter of all NFIP claims come from these 'low-to-moderate risk' areas,' said Loretta Worters, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute. Natalie Todoroff, a writer for the consumer finance website Bankrate, said the flood insurance cost is affected by location; flood risk; options of coverage selected; age, value and design of the home; deductible amount; and amount of building and contents coverage for personal property like jewelry, appliances, rugs and art. Bankrate estimated in July that the average annual cost of New Jersey flood insurance for a home was $1,274. So you tried to drive through a flooded street and your car was washed away. Or maybe you unknowingly parked next to a stream that later overflowed. Worters said that when a car is flooded, typically it's a total loss because of damage to the electronics. O'Brien said basic auto insurance doesn't cover floods, requiring comprehensive auto insurance instead. 'Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car caused by events other than a collision, including natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes, or heavy rains,' according to the Insurance Agents of New Jersey. Most renters' insurance policies exclude floods, said the state Department of Banking and Insurance, meaning you need a separate rider for floods. FEMA said contents coverage in rental units under the National Flood Insurance Program will typically include up to $100,000 in tenant-owned property, including furniture, clothing, electronics, rugs and books. 'A special limit of $2,500 applies to artwork, autographed items, jewelry, furs and/or personal property used in business,' FEMA said. When dealing with a condominium or co-op, Worters cautioned, 'make sure they have flood insurance.' Important documents like stock certificates are not covered and should be kept in a waterproof safe, or a safety deposit box at a bank, said Sarah Schlichter, a senior writer at personal finance website NerdWallet. O'Brien said insurance policies often include covering the cost of temporary relocation if your residence is made uninhabitable, or rental car coverage if your automobile is damaged or destroyed. For apartments and homes, these are known as 'additional living expenses,' which are 'temporary housing costs if you move into a hotel or apartment while your home is being repaired or rebuilt,' said the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. However, unlike a private insurance company, the National Flood Insurance Program does not cover temporary housing, just personal belongings, NerdWallet said. That means you should get both the flood insurance rider and comprehensive home or auto insurance. 'With a rental car, you can get X amount per day,' or have it capped at a certain dollar amount, 'and you can stay until you hit that cap,' O'Brien said. Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for and The Record. Email: munozd@ Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook This article originally appeared on Here's what flooding damages NJ home and car insurance cover Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
