Rescue teams from four states were ready to help Texas respond to the deadly flood last week, but delays from the federal government prevented them from arriving on-scene for a week, CNN reported.
Teams from Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and Missouri were mobilized in the wake of the flood about four days after the fast-rising Guadalupe River waters claimed the lives of over 120 people, according to the outlet. It took the teams between four and four-and-a-half hours to dispatch from their respective states. Their first day of work was on July 11, a full week after the flood began.
The event underscores previous reporting from CNN that found the initial response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency was delayed by three days after the flood. CNN found the delay was caused by a new rule implemented by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that requires her to sign off on expenditures exceeding $100,000.
Noem refuted the claims during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday.
“Those claims are false, they’re from people who won’t put their name behind those claims, and those call centers were fully staffed and responsive, and this was the fastest, I believe, in years, maybe decades, the FEMA has been deployed to help individuals in this type of a situation,” Noem said.
One of the Trump administration’s goals is to shutter FEMA and require states to bear the financial burden for natural disaster cleanup efforts. In June, Trump said he planned to “phase out” FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season, The Guardian reported.
Texas Democrats Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Rep. Greg Casar slammed the delays in a joint statement to CNN.
“While many facts are still unclear in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, we are concerned about its implications for FEMA’s ability to respond to emergencies and natural disasters in the future and to effectively carry out its search and rescue functions, as well as subsequent recovery efforts,” the two lawmakers said.