Climatewire | Texas knows that it is not prepared for floods.
But the State has done little to address the risk, and it is unlikely that the federal government under President Donald Trump helps Texas cover the cost.
The threat was underlined last week when the waters of floods devastated the center of Texas, killing more than 100 people, including More than two dozen children and personnel In a Riverside summer camp. Around 160 people were still missing until Tuesday night, according to Texas Public Security officials.
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Officials have promised to take measures, and state legislators plan to meet on July 21 for a special legislative session that aims to strengthen the emergency response of Texas.
However, the last disaster is not the first time that Texas deals with massive victims of an flood event. The next Statehouse session is not the first time that Texas has tried to address the risk of flooding.
The lack of significant progress highlights the challenge of preparing for natural disasters, such as floods and forest fires, climate change worsens. And reinforces the risk of changing more of that responsibility to the states, as proposed by the Trump administration.
“Hopefully this tragic event opens everyone’s eyes,” said Marie Camino, director of Government Affairs of Nature Conservancy in Texas.
Texas has faced devastating floods before, including 2017, when Hurricane Harvey threw more than 48 inches of rain in Houston and other communities of the Gulf coast. The storm left dozen dead and caused more than $ 125 billion in damages.
In response, state legislators in 2019 created the Texas Flood Infrastructure Fund and began planning projects to control high water around the State.
The fund, supervised by the Texas Water Development Board, has identified $ 54 billion in flood control needs in Texas. But legislators have so far dedicated only $ 1.4 billion to solve them.
The lack of funds can be attributed to two factors, observers say.
The first is ideological. Texas Republicans, who control the state mansion and the governor, are great believers in fiscal conservatism. Therefore, there is no land of enthusiasm to finance important government projects.
There is also a practical concern.
Before the legislators were willing to compromise money to flood projects, they wanted to ensure that the plans to address each river basin in the state were written.
Otherwise, there is a risk that a project in a city simply direct the flood waters to other communities, said state senator Charles Perry, who presides over the Senate committee on water, agriculture and rural affairs.
“We created this very detailed and very elaborate basin planning, where each basin would coordinate with all the municipalities and cities from top to bottom to ensure that, as the water from a place moves, it is not only throwing it in the next place,” he said.
Texas legislators have recently tried to direct more money to effort.
This spring, legislators approved a plan that would dedicate up to $ 500 million annually over the next 20 years to flood projects. But the proposal must first obtain the support of Texas voters in a state referendum, now scheduled for November.
Texas Greg Abbott governor and other state officials have described the plan as a “Texas” size commitment to water infrastructure and flood prevention.
Perry said money could help address the legislature approach again and out again to finance flood projects. “It’s a game change,” Perry said. “It will be significant.”
Even if the voters approve the proposal, there is another capture. Legislators have talked about the use of state money as coincidental funds for federal subsidies, and that seems less likely under the Trump administration.
Earl this year, Trump canceled a subsidy program That helps states, tribes and local communities to prepare for natural disasters. The president has also ceased to approve the risk of risk mitigation assistance, which help states to recover from disasters and harden their communities against future calamities.
“Before the current administration, a planning assumption could be that these state funds could be used in concert with federal mitigation and infrastructure money so that state and local funds go further,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the State Food Planning Association Association.
“Given the direction of the administration at this point, it is probably a logical question to ask whether or not that will be enough,” Berginnis added. “It doesn’t seem like there will be federal funds to match that.”
The risks will continue to increase with global warming, scientists say. That means that events such as floods last week will become more frequent.
“The sudden flood events of torrential downpours and thunderstorms are actually something that I think we have significantly underestimated as a danger in a heater climate,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of Water Resources of California, in a YouTube live talk Mondays. “These are precisely the types of events that will increase the most, and in fact they are already, and much faster than” ordinary “precipitation events.”
It is still not clear how state legislators will address emergency management when they meet at the end of this month. According to state law, the governor establishes the agenda for special sessions, and Abbott has not announced its intentions.
Perry said he is working on a bill that would allow some of the state water funds to flow into the emergency response equipment. The legislators considered a bill this spring that would have paid the warning sirens and other communication teams, but rejected it for their cost.
But state leaders are aligning to take action. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who supervises the state Senate, said on Monday in Fox News that the warning sirens in flood -prone areas would be a priority, after the news reports showed that Kerr County officials considered the idea but resisted cost.
Abbott and the president of the House of Representatives, Dustin Burrows, toured Kerr County on Tuesday by helicopter and talked to journalists in Hunt, one of the cities devastated by flood.
Burrows said he is receiving calls from members of the House of Representatives from all over the State who wish to help, and Abbott promised results.
“We want to make sure that when we finish that session, we end up making sure that these communities are better, more resistant and have the resources they need for the next chapter of their lives,” said Abbott.
Reprint of E&E news With permission from politician, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.
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