Texas, flooding
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By all accounts, forecasters provided adequate warning — the problem was communicating the danger to residents.
Even before the Central Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, the state was by far the leader in U.S. flood deaths due partly to geography that can funnel rainwater into deadly deluges, according to a study spanning decades.
The Economist/YouGov poll surveyed nearly 1,680 U.S. adults this week, and 52% blamed lack of government preparation for most of the deaths, mainly centered in Kerr County along the Guadalupe River.
The official tally of storm-related deaths across Texas rose to 131 on Monday as authorities warned of yet another round of heavy rains 10 days after a Hill Country flash flood that transformed the Guadalupe River into a killer torrent.
At least 135 people, including 37 children, died in the torrential downpour over the July 4 holiday weekend. The number of missing people dropped sharply on Saturday.
The president also confirmed that he plans to visit Texas to tour the devastation on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump.
In the survey — which sampled 1,680 U.S. adults — 52% of respondents said that most of the deaths could have been prevented if the government had been more adequately prepared. Twenty-nine percent said the deaths were unavoidable, and 19% said they didn’t know.