Months After Deadly Texas Floods, A Congressman Is Still Looking For Answers

Nearly 2 months aft nan tragic July 4 floods successful Texas that killed much than 130 people, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said he’s still seeking answers to immoderate of nan astir basal questions astir nan national government’s response.

Which emergency officials did nan National Weather Service telephone connected nan nighttime of nan flooding? How precisely did nan agency unit up for nan large wind event? How did vacancies successful cardinal positions astatine nan section National Weather Service office, specified arsenic nan informing coordination meteorologist, impact nan outcome?

In 4 letters to nan National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and successful a 5th to nan Department of Commerce, nan Austin congressman has demanded records that would thief show nan communicative of July 4.

“I’ve ne'er received a written response,” said Doggett, who is accusing nan agencies of stonewalling his inquiries.

The congressman’s push for records highlights gaps successful nan nationalist accounting of what happened that day. In nan contiguous aftermath of nan flooding, independent meteorologists said nan National Weather Service issued timely warnings and that its forecasts were solid, fixed nan limits of modern forecasting technology during flash flood events.

What was little clear past — and remains truthful arsenic of precocious August — was really efficaciously nan agency was capable to scope emergency managers and different stakeholders connected nan crushed erstwhile nan consequence to circumstantial locations became apparent. Reaching the “last mile” is thing erstwhile NWS meteorologists person said suffers erstwhile forecasting offices are short connected unit aliases overworked.

Lloyd Doggett astatine nan U.S. Capitol successful 2024.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

“If they person thing to hide and nan Trump slash-and-burn attack to nan upwind work did not person immoderate effect here, they request to nutrient nan logs,” Doggett said, referring to nan records he has been seeking. “Getting nationalist attraction connected it is possibly nan only measurement to get nan management to respond.”

Neither NOAA nor nan Commerce Department responded to requests for comment.

Doggett sent his first missive to NOAA connected May 20, earlier nan flooding. In nan letter, which was addressed to acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm, Doggett shared concerns astir nan vacancy complaint successful nan Austin/San Antonio upwind forecasting office. That agency oversaw forecasting and connection successful nan areas deed difficult by nan July storms.

“A 22% vacancy complaint astatine nan section NWS jeopardizes nan timeliness of forecasts and warnings connected which nan organization relies,” Doggett wrote, asking really nan agency would header pinch nan unit shortages and if it planned to capable immoderate of nan office’s roles.

After nan flood disaster, Doggett followed up pinch NOAA connected July 8 pinch 15 further questions astir nan agency’s response. Doggett said he received a videoconference gathering connected July 11 pinch Ken Graham, nan agency’s director.

In a missive sent aft nan gathering connected July 11, and again successful a July 24 follow-up, Doggett requested nan agency supply telephone logs, chat logs, radar archives and displacement logs, among different records.

“He said that worldly was easy to provide,” Doggett said, relaying his representation of Graham’s comments during their Zoom meeting. “I’ve been asking astir it ever since and there’s nary bully explanation.”

Executive branch agencies are allowed to respond astatine their discretion to individual members of Congress conducting oversight, according to nan Department of Justice’s mentation of nan law. But executive agencies often voluntarily accommodate legislature requests.

Doggett said he’s hounded NOAA pinch calls and texts, and successful an Aug. 27 missive to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Doggett accused nan Commerce Department of stifling a consequence he believed was prepared by NOAA to reside his questions.

“I person been advised that answers to my inquiries person been prepared, but that these are being withheld by your office,” Doggett wrote. “We person nary grounds of nan NWS’s preparation, communication, and consequence — aliases deficiency thereof — related to nan July 4 flood. The refusal to supply a complete, timely response, suggests nan Administration has thing to hide concerning its handling of this tragedy.”

Doggett said 4 children from Austin were killed successful nan floods and called for an investigation of nan calamity akin to those performed by nan National Transportation Safety Board aft awesome disasters, an thought that has drawn bipartisan support.

“If this had been 27 children being mislaid successful a level crash, we would person NTSB doing a thorough investigation of each facet of state, national and section [actions],” Doggett said. “I don’t spot immoderate denotation of a thorough information of what did and didn’t hap astatine nan national level.”

NBC News has revenge respective Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pinch NOAA, seeking records from nan NWS. Some of these requests could move up records pinch answers to Doggett’s questions, but they person yet to beryllium fulfilled.

One of nan requests, for chat logs and communications betwixt forecasters, was listed arsenic “assigned for processing,” according to nan Commerce Department’s nationalist records website. The agency said different petition — for accusation astir staffing and occupation cuts — would beryllium processed successful batches and released publically on pinch different akin requests astir nan Texas floods.

“We are moving to supply an interim merchandise by nan opening of September, pinch ongoing releases done nan extremity of nan year,” Julia Swanson, nan agency’s FOIA coordinatorc wrote successful an Aug. 18 position update. “To attraction our constricted unit resources effectively, each different FOIA requests person been temporarily tabled truthful that nan NWS FOIA squad tin attraction connected processing Texas flooding requests.”