{"id":2456083,"date":"2025-07-06T12:42:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T16:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-democrat-seeks-answers-on-missing-key-weather-personnel-as-flood-deaths-rise-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T12:43:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T16:43:37","slug":"texas-democrat-seeks-answers-on-missing-key-weather-personnel-as-flood-deaths-rise-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-democrat-seeks-answers-on-missing-key-weather-personnel-as-flood-deaths-rise-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Democrat seeks answers on \u2018missing key\u2019 weather personnel as flood deaths rise &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-democrat-seeks-answers-on-missing-key-weather-personnel-as-flood-deaths-rise-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2456083&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro has raised concerns about key personnel vacancies in the National Weather Service (NWS) following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/severe-flooding-hits-indonesian-capital\/\" title=\"Severe ... hits Indonesian capital\">severe flooding<\/a> in central Texas that resulted in significant loss of life. The flooding has left at least 59 people dead, including many children, and several others missing, prompting a call for accountability regarding the NWS&#8217;s ability to prepare communities for such disasters. <\/p>\n<p>Castro pointed out that the Trump administration had previously cut hundreds of jobs at the NWS, leading to a lack of critical staff in the Houston office and the Austin-San Antonio area. While he refrained from directly linking the staffing shortages to the lack of preparedness for the recent flooding, he emphasized that having the right personnel is essential in preventing tragedies. He suggested that the situation warrants further inquiry and noted that not having sufficient staff is detrimental in emergency situations. <\/p>\n<p>The implications of these staffing cuts are significant, as they hinder the NWS&#8217;s ability to effectively analyze and predict severe weather events, which could <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >potentially save lives<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Texas Democrat seeks answers on &lsquo;missing key&rsquo; weather personnel as flood deaths rise<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2152077\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joaquin-castro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joaquin Castro<\/a> (D-TX) commented on key vacancies in the National Weather Service following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3463680\/texas-floods-deaths-girls-missing-rescuers-search-survivors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">deadly flooding<\/a> in central <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has cut <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3339032\/federal-workers-warn-safety-threat-weather-noaa-layoffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">hundreds of jobs<\/a> at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-storm-expected-to-hit-east-coast-mid-atlantic\/\" title=\"Major storm expected to hit East Coast, Mid Atlantic\">weather service<\/a>, though Castro, whose district includes San Antonio, where much of the flooding occurred, said he could not &ldquo;conclusively&rdquo; say if a lack of key staff was to blame for residents&rsquo; lack of preparedness in the flood zone. The congressman did, however, say vacancies were not ideal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3463719\/jason-smith-calls-for-reforms-cbo-big-beautiful-bill-analysis\/\">Jason Smith calls for &#8216;reforms&#8217; to the CBO amid recent &#8216;big, beautiful bill&#8217; analysis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3462159\/congress-records-four-broken-six-months-hakeem-jeffries\/\">Congress breaks four records just six months after arriving in Washington<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3456228\/congress-insider-trading-attempt-ban-members\/\">Congress tries to ban insider trading by its members<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies. When I say we ought to do everything possible to help prevent a tragedy. &hellip; That&rsquo;s part of what I mean,&rdquo; Castro said.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/noaa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> office in Houston remains without its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/hgx\/office_staff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">top three management positions<\/a> due to federal layoffs, with the Austin-San Antonio office also missing a &ldquo;warning coordination meteorologist.&rdquo; Some lower-level personnel at the weather service have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3429255\/national-weather-service-commences-rehires-after-layoffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">rehired<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-spike-in-florida-coronavirus-cases-despite-no-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"No Spike in Florida Coronavirus Cases Despite No Mask Mandate\">recent weeks<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why there is an incredible value to the National Weather Service is because, on most days, obviously, you&rsquo;re not going to have a tragedy like this,&rdquo; Castro said. &ldquo;But when you have flash flooding, you know there is a risk that you won&rsquo;t have the personnel to do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way, and it could lead to tragedy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Castro said he did not want to say &ldquo;conclusively&rdquo; that missing personnel was what led to the devastation, but said it &ldquo;should be investigated&rdquo; and that &ldquo;not having enough personnel is never helpful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3420069\/hurricane-season-what-to-know-cuts-to-weather-agencies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>HURRICANE SEASON STARTS JUNE 1. HERE&rsquo;S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CUTS TO WEATHER AGENCIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At least 59 people, including 21 children, have died in Kerr County, Texas, as a result of the flood, and 11 girls and a counselor at a summer camp remain missing.<\/p>\n<p>Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/atrupar\/status\/1941853009442402664?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> he believed some weather warnings went out &ldquo;by locals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2152077\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2152077\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro questions &#8216;missing key&#8217; weather staff amid rising flood fatalities. He noted vacancies in the National Weather Service after severe flooding in central Texas, attributing job cuts during the Trump administration. While he couldn&#8217;t definitively link staffing shortages to residents&#8217; unpreparedness, he emphasized that having fewer personnel is not beneficial. At least 59 people have died due to the floods, including children, and some remain missing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2456084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/castro-flood-nws.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4912,58513,52276,3694,3832],"class_list":["post-2456083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrat","tag-flood-deaths","tag-missing-personnel","tag-texas","tag-weather"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/castro-flood-nws.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2456087,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456083\/revisions\/2456087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}