Deadly floods could be new normal as Trump guts federal agencies, experts warn
Cuts and chaos instigated by Trump come as threat from extreme weather grows due to human-caused climate crisis.
Nina Lakhani and Oliver Milman
Tue 8 Jul 2025 05.00 EDT
The deadly Texas floods could signal a new norm in the US, as Donald Trump and his allies dismantle crucial federal agencies that help states prepare and respond to extreme weather and other hazards, experts warn. More than 100 are dead and dozens more remain missing after flash floods in the parched area known as Texas Hill Country swept away entire holiday camps and homes on Friday night in what appears to have been another unremarkable storm that stalled before dumping huge quantities of rain over a short period of time, a phenomenon that has becoming increasingly common as the planet warms.
It remains unclear why the early warning system failed to result in the timely evacuation of Camp Mystic, where 700 girls were camped on a known flood plain on the Guadalupe River, but there is mounting concern that the chaos and cuts instigated by Trump and his billionaire donor Elon Musk at the National Weather Service (NWS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) may have contributed to the death toll.
This is the exact kind of storm that meteorologists, climate scientists, emergency management experts have been talking about and warning about for decades at this point, and theres absolutely no reason that this wont happen in other parts of the country. This is what happens when you let climate change run unabated and break apart the emergency management system without investing in that system at the local and state level, said Samantha Montano, professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
It takes a lot of money, expertise and time to eliminate risk and make sure that agencies are prepared to respond when a flood situation like in Texas happens. And if you eliminate those preparedness efforts, if you fire the people who do that work, then the response will not be effective. Fema was created in 1979 by Jimmy Carter precisely because states were struggling to cope with major disasters and works closely with state and local government agencies to provide resources, coordination, technical expertise, leadership and communication with the public when they cannot cope alone.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/texas-deadly-floods-could-be-new-norma