Texas floods: search continues with dozens dead and missing

Hundreds of rescuers searching for those missing in devastating floods including girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian youth camp

• Texas continues grim flood recovery

Questions have arose as to why the severity of the flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many officials by surprise.

Here is an extract from a story by my colleagues Oliver Milman, José Olivares and Robert Mackey who have looked into the preparations for the flood and examined how federal policy may have impacted local projection capabilities:

Officials defended their preparations for severe weather and their response but said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was, in effect, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.

One National Weather Service (NWS) forecast this week had called for only 3-6in (76-152mm) of rain, said Kidd, of the Texas division of emergency management.