Harvey causes deadly floods, is set to drop unprecedented rain totals in Texas
Source: Washington Post
HOUSTON — Officials here warned that the deluge in the nation’s fourth-largest city on Sunday will be “beyond anything experienced,” as Harvey pummeled Texas, dropping more than two feet of rain and causing dire flash floods. At least five people have been reported dead as a result of the storm, according to the National Weather Service.
By Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service was predicting that parts of Texas could receive nearly 50 inches of rain, the largest recorded total in the state’s history. Communities in southeastern Texas, already experiencing water so high that it engulfed vehicles up to their car handles, were continually being beaten down by heavy sideways rain.
The flood warnings also came with urgent pleas for residents to be cautious, stay indoors and not attempt to travel flooded roadways. Police and rescue workers implored residents who see floodwaters rising near their homes to make their way to the highest point possible — even if it is a roof — while awaiting rescue. On Saturday night, a woman was found dead by her vehicle, believed to have been trapped during a flood.
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“This disaster is going to be a landmark event,” said Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, speaking to CNN’s “State of the Union.” He said he expects the agency to be working in the area for years as Texas recovers from the storm.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/harvey-delivers-heavy-damage-as-it-batters-texas-coast/2017/08/27/c35ab7c0-8ae6-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html?utm_term=.417c792bc74d
With Trump's controversial moves and Hurricane Harvey, no one is mentioning that Trump was proposing to gut FEMA to build his wall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/us/politics/trump-budget-coast-guard.html
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering deep cuts in the budgets of the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as it looks for money to ratchet up security along the southern border, according to a person familiar with the administration’s draft budget request.
The goal is to shift about $5 billion toward hiring scores of additional agents for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as toward infrastructure to support a crackdown on illegal immigration at the border. A significant portion of the money would go toward erecting a wall along the border with Mexico, one of President Trump’s signature campaign promises.
To fund those efforts, though, the plan would seek significant reductions in other areas, including a 14 percent cut to the Coast Guard’s $9.1 billion budget and 11 percent cuts to both the T.S.A. and FEMA. The three agencies have played high-profile roles in the Department of Homeland Security’s post-Sept. 11 security architecture.
All told, the plan would increase the department’s budget by 6.4 percent, to $43.8 billion, for the 2018 fiscal year, also using savings from other executive branch departments to fund it.
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