Space Industry and Business News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Trump voices shock at devastating scale of Texas flood damage
Trump voices shock at devastating scale of Texas flood damage
By Danny KEMP
Kerrville, United States (AFP) July 11, 2025

US President Donald Trump spoke Friday of seeing devastation like he'd never before experienced as he toured parts of Texas hit by devastating flash floods that have left at least 120 people dead, including dozens of children.

The Republican leader and First Lady Melania Trump were in the Hill Country of central Texas to meet first responders, victims' families and local officials, a week after a rain-swollen river swept away houses, camp cabins, cars and people.

"This is a tough one. I've never seen anything like this," Trump said at a roundtable meeting in Kerrville, in the worst-affected Kerr County.

"I've gone to a lot of hurricanes, a lot of tornadoes. I've never seen anything like this. This is a bad one."

Trump lashed out at reporters for questioning authorities' response to the disaster and said he wanted to focus on solidarity with emergency workers and volunteers.

"All across the country, Americans' hearts are shattered," said Trump, speaking at a table draped in a black banner with the message "Texas Strong."

"I had to be here as president. The first lady wanted to be here."

He compared the suddenly rising floodwaters to a "giant wave in the Pacific Ocean that the best surfers in the world would be afraid to surf."

Earlier, the Trumps were met by Governor Greg Abbott near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, in an area with numerous downed trees and an overturned tractor trailer.

They were briefed by Texas Emergency Management and Kerrville Fire Dept officials, and greeted by 30 or so rescue workers and Coast Guard members.

The search for more than 170 missing people, including five girls who were at summer camp, was in its eighth day as rescue teams combed through mounds of debris and mud.

But with no live rescues reported this week, worries have swelled that the death toll could still rise.

Trump has brushed off questions about the impact of his cuts to federal agencies on the response to the flood, which he described as a "100-year catastrophe" that "nobody expected."

On Thursday, Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, who was with Trump in Texas, defended the immediate response as "swift and efficient."

But Texas officials have faced questions about why emergency evacuation messages to residents and visitors along the flooding Guadalupe River reportedly were delayed, in some cases by hours.

Trump expressed support for a flood warning system in a telephone interview with NBC News on Thursday.

- FEMA questions -

The floods, among America's deadliest in recent years, have reopened questions about Trump's plans to phase out federal disaster response agency FEMA in lieu of greater state-based responsibility.

FEMA began its response to the Texas flash floods over the weekend after Trump signed a major disaster declaration to release federal resources.

But the president has so far avoided addressing questions about its future. Noem insisted FEMA should be "eliminated" in its current form at a government review meeting Wednesday.

Officials in Kerr County, which sits astride the Guadalupe River in an area nicknamed "Flash Flood Alley," said at least 36 children were killed in the disaster at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Details have surfaced about reported delays to early alerts at a local level that could have saved lives.

Experts say forecasters did their best and sent out timely and accurate warnings despite a sudden weather change.

ABC News reported Thursday that at 4:22 am on July 4, a firefighter in Ingram, upstream of Kerrville, had asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert residents of nearby Hunt to the coming flood.

The network said its affiliate KSAT obtained audio of the call, and that the first alert did not reach Kerr County's CodeRED system for a full 90 minutes.

In some cases, it said, the warning messages didn't arrive until after 10:00 am, when hundreds of people had already been swept away.

The flooding of the Guadalupe River was particularly devastating for summer camps on its banks, including Camp Mystic, where 27 girls and counselors died.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Poland reintroduces border controls on Germany, Lithuania
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 7, 2025
The Polish government on Monday reintroduced border control measures between Lithuania and Germany due to growing public concern over what many say is irregular migration. The Polish Government Security Center said "controls at the border with Germany and Lithuania are being introduced" starting midnight on Sunday and will last until August 5. The sanctions in the passport-free Schengen zone, which includes a large part of north and western Europe, are viewed as extreme but not uncommon. ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Underappreciated threat of nanoplastic pollution revealed in Atlantic Ocean study

Pentagon takes stake in US rare earth company

Vibration control system enhances satellite detumbling for orbital cleanup

Houses made from rice: Kyrgyzstan's eco-friendly revolution

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Eutelsat to Deliver Low Orbit Satellite Services Under New French Defense Agreement

France finds cash for 'strategic asset' satellite firm Eutelsat

Skynet 6A military satellite advances with successful module integration

Skynet 6A reaches integration milestone as Airbus prepares next-gen military satellite

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
ESA and Neuraspace develop autonomous satellite navigation technologies

Bogong moths rely on stars and magnetic fields to guide epic migrations

Breakthrough hybrid model restores orbit accuracy for BeiDou-3 satellites

SpaceX launches advanced GPS satellite for Space Force

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Sceye secures SoftBank backing to launch HAPS connectivity services in Japan

Spire unveils flight-level analytics to assess aircraft weather exposure

Bali flights nixed after huge Indonesia volcano eruption

Erdogan confident Turkey to be readmitted to US F-35 programme in stages

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Scientists find new way to control electricity at tiniest scale

Space Forge and Intuitive Machines team up to boost US orbital chip production

Malaysia clamps down on export, transit of US-made AI chips

Dutch court jails 'chip spy' Russian for three years; TSMC's half-year revenue surges 40 percent

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Europe launches first geostationary atmospheric sounder to boost extreme weather forecasts

Planet secures 240 million euro satellite services contract with German government

SatSure and Dhruva Space unite to deliver complete Earth observation service solutions

UK thermal satellite firm wins ESA contract to deliver real time climate and security insights

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
EU environment ministers test blood for 'forever chemicals'

Tourist coins pose giant problem at N. Ireland's famous causeway site

Tens of millions of tons of nanoplastics detected adrift in North Atlantic

'Happy suffering': the Brazilian gold rush that spawned iconic pictures

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.