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House subcommittee scrutinizes FEMA response to Texas floods and timing of search-and-rescue deployments
Summary
Witnesses and members clashed over whether FEMA prepositioned urban search-and-rescue teams ahead of deadly Texas flash floods, with Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson defending agency coordination while members said delays likely cost lives.
Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee he had visited Kerr County and seen the devastation from early July flash floods, and that FEMA worked closely with Texas emergency managers and regional officials to bring resources to bear.
The subcommittee's ranking member, Representative Stanton, sharply disputed Richardson's account and questioned whether the agency fulfilled its statutory duty to anticipate needs and act proactively. "For the first 48 hours, the most critical window for search and rescue, he never visited the National Response Coordination Center," Stanton said, adding that the administrator "was missing in action" and that his delay "likely cost lives."
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