At least 81 dead in Texas floods as more rain expected

The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 81 on Sunday, including 28 children, as the search continued for girls missing from a summer camp.

With dozens still missing across the state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that flash flooding could continue to pose a danger in some regions over the next few days, as "more heavy rainfall" is expected.

U.S. President Donald Trump sent his condolences to the victims and said he would likely visit the area on Friday.

One of the most devastating impacts of the flooding occurred at Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian girls' summer camp, where 10 campers and one counselor were still missing, according to Larry Leitha, sheriff of Kerr County in Texas Hill Country.

"It was nothing short of horrific to see what those young children went through," said Abbott, who noted he toured the area on Saturday and pledged to continue efforts to locate the missing.

The flooding occurred after the nearby Guadalupe River broke its banks following torrential rainfall in central Texas on Friday, the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some found clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38 centimeters of rain across the region, about 140 kilometers northwest of San Antonio.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was activated on Sunday and is deploying resources to first responders in Texas after Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and planes are assisting in search and rescue efforts.

The disaster has raised questions about whether cuts to the federal workforce under the Trump administration, including at the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, contributed to a failure to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm.

Trump's administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA Director Rick Spinrad told Reuters.

Spinrad said he did not know whether those staffing cuts directly affected the lack of advance warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but noted that such reductions would inevitably degrade the agency's ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts.

Trump pushed back when asked on Sunday whether federal government cuts had hampered the disaster response or left key vacancies at the National Weather Service during his administration.

"That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden setup," he said, referencing his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

He declined to answer a question about FEMA, saying only, "They're busy working, so we'll leave it at that," Trump said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees both FEMA and NOAA, said a "moderate" flood watch issued on Thursday by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall. She said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system.

Joaquin Castro, a Democratic U.S. congressman from Texas, told CNN's State of the Union program that fewer personnel at the weather service could pose serious risks.

"When you have flash flooding, there's a risk that if you don't have the personnel ... to do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way, it could lead to tragedy," Castro said.

(With input from agencies)