Deadly downpours hit Texas, United States with a death toll from the catastrophic floods reaching at least 96 people.

The deadly July 4 flash floods in Texas have prompted a lot of questions and soul-searching: about the failures of early-warning systems, the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Weather Service and disaster programs and the vulnerability of communities around the country to disasters worsened by climate change.

At several points during the hearing, the state emergency management chief directed attention to the role of local emergency managers in disaster response.

Currently, 12 of Texas’ 38 congressional districts are represented by Democrats, including two that cover part of Tarrant County: U.S. House District 33 represented by Marc Veasey of Fort Worth and U.S. House District 30 represented by Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas. (Crockett’s district covers just a sliver of Tarrant County’s eastern edge .)

El Pasoans can testify in upcoming Texas redistricting hearings that may reshape District 16. Online comments and virtual testimony are open now.

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is pushing back on criticisms of the federal response to the central Texas floods that killed at least 136 people

Under questioning from Democrats on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mr. Richardson said FEMA’s response to the Texas floods represented a “model” for “how disasters should be handled.