Texas floods live updates: At least 121 dead as Trump heads to hard-hit county where Camp Mystic is located

Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought gaggled with reporters in the White House driveway this morning and discussed FEMA and the response to the floods in Texas.

“FEMA has $13 billion in its reserves right now to continue to pay for the necessary expenses,” Vought said of that agency before adding that “the president has said to Texas, anything it needs it will get.”

He continued that, at the same time, “we also want FEMA to be reformed. We want FEMA to work well…the President is going to continue to be asking tough questions of all of his agencies.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to depart the White House at 9:30 a.m. ET and arrive in Kerrville, Texas, at 12:20 p.m. per the White House schedule.

After touring the flood-damaged areas and meeting with the families of some of the victims, they will participate in a roundtable with first responders and local officials at 2:10 p.m.

The Trumps will depart for the president’s golf club at Bedminster, New Jersey, about an hour later.

Trump is set to be joined by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Senator John Cornyn, and Senator Ted Cruz.

At least 121 people are dead and 173 are missing in central Texas after the Guadalupe River swelled last Friday, causing destructive flash flooding throughout Kerr County.

Now, before-and-after satellite images of several sites throughout Kerry County show the devastation caused by the floods as crews embark on a seventh day of search and rescue efforts.

Katie Hawkinson has more:

Hundreds of pets have been displaced by the central Texas flash floods that swept away cars, homes and killed more than 120 people.

Animal advocacy nonprofit Wings of Rescue airlifted 117 cats and dogs to safety on Thursday, bringing them to Meacham Airport in Fort Worth from shelters in flooded San Angelo and San Marcos.

The group says it has rescued a total of 242 animals since the July 4 floods.

Best Friends Animal Society has reportedly rescued about 130 cats and dogs from shelters.

Austin Wildlife Rescue said that it has taken in over 200 wild animals in the days

After months of threats to dismantle FEMA, the Trump administration has reportedly shelved the plan (for now).

As Donald Trump prepares for his trip to flood-ravaged Texas, a senior White House official told The Washington Post that no official action is being taken to wind down FEMA.

According to the official, the changes at the agency will likely amount to a “rebranding,” shifting the spotlight to state leaders as the drivers of disaster response.

“You’re already seeing the theory” of the administration’s new approach “taking place in Texas,” the official said.

There were many flash flooding warnings in Kerr County at the start of the July 4 weekend, but those alerts didn’t reach some of the campers and residents who didn’t have cellphone service, who had silenced notifications, or who didn’t have their phones with them.

Emergency alerts are sent out by several agencies on various platforms, but they often do not reach those in danger. Excessive warnings can also cause alert fatigue, leading some to turn off notifications and increase their risk during emergencies.

Flash flooding events can be difficult to predict and broad warnings may be ignored if the dangerous conditions aren’t clearly communicated.

Gustaf Kilander has more:

Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz is calling for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be investigated over the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “delayed” response to the Texas floods.

In a letter to the top lawmakers on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday, the Florida lawmaker slammed Noem’s new “cost-control” policy that requires the DHS secretary to approve all expenses over $100,000.

Moskowitz said that it “stripped FEMA of its ability to act in real time and delayed every major aspect of response.”

Read the full letter here:

As Texas lawmakers face scrutiny over allegedly neglecting flood warning systems, Donald Trump is expected to receive a briefing from several of the state’s top officials.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ted Cruz are expected to fly to their state with the president aboard Air Force One as he heads to survey flood damage in Kerr County.

First Lady Melania Trump will join the president in a roundtable with first responders and local officials in Kerrville. They are also expected to meet with relatives of those killed by the floods.

Trump is also expected to do an aerial tour of some of the hardest-hit areas.

A week after catastrophic flash floods swept through Central Texas, first responders are still sifting through debris to find the missing and recover the dead.

The Independent’s maps reveal the extent of devastation. In the hardest-hit region, Kerr County, authorities revealed 36 children were among the 96 victims in the flood-ravaged county.