Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people.

Viral posts promoted false claims that cloud seeding, a form of weather modification, played a role in the devastation. Meteorologists explain it doesn't work that way.

Texas leads the country in flood deaths. Steep hills, shallow soils and a fault zone have made Hill Country, also called "flash flood alley," one of the state's most dangerous regions.

Crissy and Avi Eliashar bought their home in Jonestown, Texas, 13 years ago. They never had a problem with flooding until water washed away their home. Like many victims of the Texas flood, they don’t have flood insurance to help cover the losses.

Flood watches have been issued by the National Weather Service until at least 7 p.m. CT July 6 in Hill Country and along the I-35 corridor. The Weather Prediction Center added that scattered thunderstorms are likely to drop "torrential downpours over sensitive soils across parts of the Texas Hill Country."

At Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas, where officials are grieving the loss of 27 children and counselors, belongings of the young campers were strewn about the flooded floors of a dormitory, while other items, including a pink backpack and a Camp Mystic T-shirt, were found along the bloated Guadalupe River, photos show.

As climate change increases the frequency of environmental disasters, experts say federal cuts could leave California and other states vulnerable in the years ahead.