I don’t think the cuts or NWS is to blame. It seems they did their job even being short-staffed. I’ll go as far as saying Trump is right in this respect (he’s lucky that the cuts didn’t lead to there being no warning at all, in which case we have a different situation).
This will end up being a local problem. Trump will blame Texas, and Abbott will shift responsibility down the chain of command. At the local level, leaders will cry “Act of God” and hope voters buy that, or continue the rhetoric of, “Well, they didn’t tell us it would be THAT bad.” They’re already deploying both of these strategies.
No, Trump’s only right that the Feds did their job. Even considering his deep cuts, they got the watches and warnings out to people. And thank goodness they did, as that undoubtedly saved lives.
DOGE is terrible. Trump is lucky in a sense that those cuts did not result in no warnings going out, at all. I can only hope that voters in Texas punish the elected officials responsible for not coordinating on the ground. In a broader sense, I hope they see that it could have been much worse and that what Trump is doing will make things worse.
In many ways, this is COVID all over again. 2018 -- Trump fires the entire Pandemic Response Team -- the people tasked with marshaling experts and resources to keep the likes of Bird Flu, Swine Flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, etc. from becoming widespread, global events. And then poof -- look what happens when those resources are gone? To protect Dear Leader's feelings and political footing, the MAGA movement rallied to become "anti-vaxx". Texas is just the canary in the coal mine as we move into hurricane season with drastically reduced resources. I can only imagine the preventable deaths that we'll see in the coming months. MAGA is already discussing "false alarm fatigue" as a reason why local officials were so slow to act. Think about that for a moment. People get safely evacuated -- ride out a storm... safely -- and return home to find their home is still there, and for all that, they're upset?. I ran the math on how well Trump did among Christians in Texas. Those people voted to "own the Libs" and make "other people" suffer -- and look what happens -- they suffer too. But they'll never admit a mistake and will only double down in Blind Faith to the false prophet. Beyond NOAA, NWS, and FEMA -- Trump also dismantled the CIA and FBI who more often than not, intercept and foil terrorist acts. What's the line going to be when 9/11 happens again?
It is too early to assign blame for the response to the flood in Texas, although there remain some facts. The NWS issued a watch in the afternoon, followed by a warning in the early morning hours. From there, it was the responsibility of local leaders to act.
It sounds to me like locals did not take the warning seriously, perhaps because the area sees flooding from time to time. What I’m reading on that sounds like, “Yeah, but they didn’t issue a super-code-red warning.” As far as I can tell, the NWS did their job. At the same time, a tropical storm hit us here in NC. Where I live, within 24 hours we went from a 100% chance with heavy rains, to a 25% chance of light rain and wind, to… nothing. While areas east of us experienced the opposite. That is not the fault of the NWS, who provide their best estimates at the time, and modify as events unfold.
I do not like blaming climate change for this, as that is wrong. Yes, for future planning, it means we need more people and resources to handle the unpredictability aspect, and investment in technology to make forecasts better. But weather has always been unpredictable in this way, especially rainfall amounts.
Time will tell if Texans accept the Will of God argument. This will be the default argument if it turns out that local authorities did not take the warnings seriously enough, which will probably be enough to placate MAGA Christians. It is also not likely that Trump will join in on blaming his own Federal government.
Texas floods: a preventable disaster?
Don't give them the space to avoid accountability for those cuts. Fuck 'em. Hang this around their necks forever.
Is Elon Musk going to end the GOP?
Elon has money, but little power and even less ability to follow through. He'll never save anyone from anything.
Even Republicans are now warning of dictatorship
I forgot about Jeff Flake but I like the way he writes.
I don’t think the cuts or NWS is to blame. It seems they did their job even being short-staffed. I’ll go as far as saying Trump is right in this respect (he’s lucky that the cuts didn’t lead to there being no warning at all, in which case we have a different situation).
This will end up being a local problem. Trump will blame Texas, and Abbott will shift responsibility down the chain of command. At the local level, leaders will cry “Act of God” and hope voters buy that, or continue the rhetoric of, “Well, they didn’t tell us it would be THAT bad.” They’re already deploying both of these strategies.
At the risk of getting a lot of backlash, if it was an “Act of God”, how could this happen at a ‘Christian’ girls camp?
That depends on whether a person believes an “Act of God” is even a real thing.
It sounds to me as if NWS managed to get the alerts out, but the failure was in not getting those alerts out to those who needed to know.
So trump was right and no one takes the blame? That's your 2¢?
Are you on the right Substack?
No, Trump’s only right that the Feds did their job. Even considering his deep cuts, they got the watches and warnings out to people. And thank goodness they did, as that undoubtedly saved lives.
DOGE is terrible. Trump is lucky in a sense that those cuts did not result in no warnings going out, at all. I can only hope that voters in Texas punish the elected officials responsible for not coordinating on the ground. In a broader sense, I hope they see that it could have been much worse and that what Trump is doing will make things worse.
In many ways, this is COVID all over again. 2018 -- Trump fires the entire Pandemic Response Team -- the people tasked with marshaling experts and resources to keep the likes of Bird Flu, Swine Flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, etc. from becoming widespread, global events. And then poof -- look what happens when those resources are gone? To protect Dear Leader's feelings and political footing, the MAGA movement rallied to become "anti-vaxx". Texas is just the canary in the coal mine as we move into hurricane season with drastically reduced resources. I can only imagine the preventable deaths that we'll see in the coming months. MAGA is already discussing "false alarm fatigue" as a reason why local officials were so slow to act. Think about that for a moment. People get safely evacuated -- ride out a storm... safely -- and return home to find their home is still there, and for all that, they're upset?. I ran the math on how well Trump did among Christians in Texas. Those people voted to "own the Libs" and make "other people" suffer -- and look what happens -- they suffer too. But they'll never admit a mistake and will only double down in Blind Faith to the false prophet. Beyond NOAA, NWS, and FEMA -- Trump also dismantled the CIA and FBI who more often than not, intercept and foil terrorist acts. What's the line going to be when 9/11 happens again?
Good point!
It is too early to assign blame for the response to the flood in Texas, although there remain some facts. The NWS issued a watch in the afternoon, followed by a warning in the early morning hours. From there, it was the responsibility of local leaders to act.
It sounds to me like locals did not take the warning seriously, perhaps because the area sees flooding from time to time. What I’m reading on that sounds like, “Yeah, but they didn’t issue a super-code-red warning.” As far as I can tell, the NWS did their job. At the same time, a tropical storm hit us here in NC. Where I live, within 24 hours we went from a 100% chance with heavy rains, to a 25% chance of light rain and wind, to… nothing. While areas east of us experienced the opposite. That is not the fault of the NWS, who provide their best estimates at the time, and modify as events unfold.
I do not like blaming climate change for this, as that is wrong. Yes, for future planning, it means we need more people and resources to handle the unpredictability aspect, and investment in technology to make forecasts better. But weather has always been unpredictable in this way, especially rainfall amounts.
Time will tell if Texans accept the Will of God argument. This will be the default argument if it turns out that local authorities did not take the warnings seriously enough, which will probably be enough to placate MAGA Christians. It is also not likely that Trump will join in on blaming his own Federal government.