Kerr County, where dozens have died, does not have a flood warning system. The first warning came Thursday afternoon, shortly after 1 p.m. Meteorologists for the National Weather Service in New Braunfels predicted up to 7 inches of rain would fall in the flood-prone Texas Hill Country, which includes Kerr County, in the early morning hours on Friday the fourth. As the frantic search limped into a third day, grief-stricken Texans are asking if meteorologists and local officials did enough to prevent the catastrophe. Questions have emerged over whether federal job cuts by the Trump administration hobbled the weather service, and why Kerr County lacked an emergency response system.

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