United States President Donald Trump visited on Friday (11) the Texas region affected by last week’s devastating floods, which left at least 120 dead and more than 100 missing.
“I’ve never seen something like this. (…) I’ve seen a lot of hurricanes, made, and I’ve never seen anything like that. That’s terrible,” said the US president with Texas governor Greg Abbott and local authorities.
Trump’s visit to Kerr County, the most affected by the disaster and where most victims were found, occurs amid growing questions of opposition about the response of local authorities during flooding and the role that the alert system deficiencies had in the tragedy.
The president avoided approaching the issue and focused on praising state and local employees, stating that they did an “incredible job” and acted “as professionals”.
The first lady, Melania Trump, also participated in the visit and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
The disaster, caused by heavy rains that fell July 3 to 4, left more than 161 missing, at least 120 dead and kilometers of destruction in the Hill Country region on the outskirts of San Antonio.
On the day of the tragedy, the accumulated rainfall in the counties of Kerr, Bandera, Tom Green and Kendall was from 127 to 279 millimeters, according to the National Meteorology Service.
More storms are expected in the coming days, informs meteorological service
The National Weather Service of the United States (NWS) warned on Friday to more storms in part of the states of Texas and New Mexico, after recent floods that left more than 100 dead.
The agency reported on the “return of the risk of sudden floods in the southern plains on Saturday, including parts of downtown Texas”, as well as “widespread storms with risk of sudden floods and severe climate” in part of the midwest this weekend.
“A wide ‘light risk warning occurs in most southern plains, including parts of the center and northern Texas, where previous conditions remain sensitive,” said NWS.
The NWS office in Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, predicts that high humidity can raise the “intensity of rain this weekend and next week.”
