Photo: CFP

The death toll from a devastating flood in Central Texas, the US rose past 100 on Monday evening, as the chance of finding more survivors faded on the fourth day of searching. Among the dead were at least 27 campers and staff members from a single summer camp, where 11 people were still missing, The New York Times reported.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas acknowledged on Monday that lives could have been saved if there were flood-warning sirens along the river, and said they needed to be in place by next summer. Kerr County officials had previously considered installing them but balked at the price tag, the media said.

More rain is expected in Central Texas, and a flash flooding risk remains in the area, according to NBC News.

The White House meanwhile rejected suggestions that budget cuts at the National Weather Service NWS could have inhibited the disaster response, according to BBC.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, vigorously disputed any such connection at her press briefing on Monday afternoon. She said the NWS had sufficient staff and executed "timely and precise forecasts and warnings." She described what happened as "a once-in-a-century flash flood."

"Many Democrat-elected officials are trying to turn this into a political game, and it is not," Leavitt said. "This is a national tragedy, and the administration is treating it as such."

"Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning," she added.

At least 84 of the victims -- 56 adults and 28 children -- died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.

In its latest forecast, the NWS has predicted more slow-moving thunderstorms, potentially bringing more flash flooding to the region.

Critics of the Trump administration have sought to link the disaster to thousands of job cuts at the NWS' parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, per BBC.

Trump pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts had hampered the disaster response, initially appearing to shift blame to what he called "the Biden set-up", referring to his Democratic predecessor.

"But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either," he added. "I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe." 

As a technologically advanced nation, the US has performed poorly in responding to major flood disasters, failing to prevent or mitigate devastation, with its disaster relief standards falling far short of what is expected of a developed country, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

This tragedy exposes serious flaws in US' emergency management: On the one hand, government agencies have long been negligent, leading to systemic failures in disaster response; on the other, poor coordination between federal and local authorities has resulted in delayed relief efforts, Li said.


Drastic cuts to scientists and disaster relief agencies significantly have weakened response capabilities, while the Democratic administration's handling of the Los Angeles wildfires proved equally dismal, Li noted.

A series of ferocious wildfires erupted on January 7 and roared across the Los Angeles area, killing at least 29 people, and destroying thousands of structures. A city official in Los Angeles described the night of January 7 as "one of the most devastating and terrifying" that she had seen in her corner of the city, NBC News said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-wildfires-what-we-know-palisades-eaton-los-angeles-rcna188239

The root cause of such structural issues lies in the US political system — it does not genuinely serve the safety and well-being of the public but instead favors the wealthy and privileged. Failures in disaster response demonstrate that the US government system is fundamentally designed to serve elite interests, Li said.

Besides, "natural disaster response should serve as a litmus test for a government's commitment to public welfare, yet US' performance reveals the fundamental flaws in its political design," the expert said.