Texas flooding updates: Over 130 dead as flash flood threat increases in Texas

Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths.

Over 130 people are dead from the devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths, including 36 children. President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration for the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the ground there.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing.


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FEMA maps underestimated risk in catastrophic Texas flood, data shows

The risk of the catastrophic flooding that struck Texas Hill Country as people slept on July 4 and left at least 120 dead was potentially underestimated by federal authorities, according to an ABC News analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency data, satellite imagery and risk modeling.

Some of the youth camps and recreational areas most devastated by the extreme weather were established on land designated by the FEMA as "special flood hazard areas" or in the river's floodway, making them especially vulnerable to the July 4 flash floods that exceeded some federal estimates for a worst-case scenario.

At some points, water extended for hundreds of feet outside the Guadalupe River's banks and beyond FEMA estimates, according to satellite data. First Street, a risk modeling company, told ABC News that the company believes that more than double the 8 million homes nationwide that are designated by FEMA to be in flood zones are actually at risk, finding that government models are outdated and fail to consider extreme weather events.

Read more here.

-ABC News' Kerem Inal, Peter Charalambous and Gaby Vinick


Trump to head to Texas after catastrophic flooding

President Donald Trump travels to Texas on Friday amid growing questions about how local officials responded to the devastating floods, as well as questions about the federal response -- including FEMA's fate -- that he has so far avoided.

Trump's visit comes a week after heavy rainfall caused the Guadalupe River in Kerr County to rise 26 feet in less than an hour, killing at least 121, including dozens of children at the nearby Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic.

He and first lady Melania Trump will visit flood-affected areas, according to a statement from the first lady's office.

Read more here.

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler


Trump calls for alarms after deadly Texas floods

President Donald Trump expressed support for flood alarms in Texas while also praising the work being done by those responding to the flood disaster in the state.

The president made the comments in an interview with NBC on Thursday.

"After having seen this horrible event, I would imagine you’d put alarms up in some form, where alarms would go up if they see any large amounts of water or whatever it is," Trump said.

"But the local officials were hit by this just like everybody else," he added.

As questions swirl surrounding the timeline of who was notified about the flooding and if more could have been done, during a news conference this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott punted on reporters’ questions about emergency notifications.

When asked who is to blame, Abbott said, "That is the word choice of losers."

Responding to Abbott's comments, Trump said, "It’d be easy to blame them. I wouldn’t blame them."

The president continued, saying, "I think from the standpoint of the future, you’d have to have some kind of an alarm and lighting system, maybe."

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie


Noem says alert went out from National Weather Service, but doesn't mean it was heard

As questions swirl surrounding the timeline of who was notified about the flooding when, and if more could have been done, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an alert from the National Weather Service was sent to people in the flood zone -- but she said that doesn’t mean that people heard it.

"That is for local officials to determine what their alert system is," Noem told "Fox and Friends."

Noem said the new posture from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to allow state and localities to make decisions on what is best for their communities.

Gov. Greg Abbott has scheduled a special legislative session for later this month to focus on, in part, improving warning systems for flood conditions.

-ABC News’ Luke Barr