Key positions at National Weather Service offices across Texas are vacant, sowing doubt over the state’s ability to respond to natural disasters as rescuers comb through the flood-ravaged Hill Country.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is asking for answers from federal agencies over the warning systems and subsequent federal response following devastating flooding in Central Texas over the July 4th weekend.

NWS says Flash Flood Warnings were issued on July 3 and early July 4 in Central Texas, giving more than three hours of warning.

Some governors and mayors are concerned over how current or potential cuts to agencies will impact how the government can respond in the future to major weather events.

It’s hard to believe the devastation,' Trump said. 'Trees that are 100 years old just ripped out of the ground. I've never seen anything like this, and I've seen a lot of bad ones.'

Renowned Texas meteorologist Troy Kimmel spoke on Inside Texas Politics about the forecast preceding the deadly flooding in the Hill Country.

The White House is defending the National Weather Service and accusing some Democrats of playing politics in the wake of devastating floods in Texas.

Now Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump’s pick to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees NWS, says that he’ll make “staffing the Weather Service offices a top priority” if he’s confirmed.