They Gutted Weather Warnings Before the Flood (And Counting on Us Not to Notice)
The episode elucidates the alarming correlation between the recent cuts to weather services and the catastrophic flooding that afflicted Texas, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 51 lives. We delve into the significant staffing reductions within the National Weather Service, where 600 meteorologists were eliminated, a decision that has rendered forecasting capabilities dangerously inadequate.
This episode scrutinizes the implications of such austerity measures, particularly during an unprecedented hurricane season, and highlights the crucial failures in warning systems that underestimated rainfall by a staggering margin. As we reflect on these harrowing events, we emphasize the urgent need for accountability from political leaders who have systematically weakened the institutions designed to safeguard lives. Our discussion serves not only to inform but also to galvanize action to restore and protect the integrity of life-saving infrastructure in the face of future disasters.
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Takeaways:
- The episode elucidates the critical connection between weather service cuts and the catastrophic Texas flooding, emphasizing the consequences of administrative decisions.
- We examine how the underfunding of meteorological services directly contributed to the inadequacy of storm predictions during a pivotal weather crisis.
- The discussion highlights the systemic weakening of institutions tasked with public safety, drawing parallels with authoritarian practices as outlined in Timothy Snyder's 'On Tyranny'.
- The podcast underscores the imperative for accurate weather forecasts and the dire ramifications when governmental budget cuts prioritize financial efficiency over human life.
- We stress the importance of defending institutions like the National Weather Service, which are essential for providing reliable information independent of political influence.
- The episode calls for collective action to restore funding and staffing to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, advocating for public engagement in protecting vital services.
Transcript
Welcome to Democracy Spark Rapid response updates, where headlines meet history.
Speaker A:I'm Bonnie Ross with Democracy Spark.
Speaker A:We break down the events that don't just make news, they challenge democratic norms and connect them to the authoritarian patterns outlined in On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder.
Speaker A:Today we are focusing on the connection between weather service cuts and the deadly Texas flooding.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:The same understaffed weather service that failed to predict the full scope of Texas flooding is now responsible for keeping the entire Eastern Seaboard safe.
Speaker A:This comes during what forecasters predict will be an above normal hurricane season.
Speaker A:At least 51 people are confirmed dead from flash floods that swept through Texas Hill country in the pre dawn hours of July 4th.
Speaker A:Search and Rescue operations are still ongoing.
Speaker A:Weather warnings were issued, yet they drastically underestimated the threat.
Speaker A:Officials forecast 4 to 6 inches of rain.
Speaker A:Instead, 15 plus inches fell in just hours.
Speaker A:Actual rainfall was 150 to 275% more than predicted.
Speaker A:This created a wall of water that surged down the Guadalupe river while families slept children at summer camps, elderly residents in RV parks, families celebrating the holiday weekend.
Speaker A:Here's the timeline that reveals the Just six months before this disaster, the Department of Government efficiency eliminated 600 meteorologists and weather forecasters from the National Weather Service and noaa.
Speaker A:The Austin San Antonio weather office responsible for the failed forecast lost key personnel to early retirement incentives.
Speaker A:Nearly half of all weather Service offices now operate with dangerous staffing shortages.
Speaker A:And to this I say, oh hell no.
Speaker A:These families deserved accurate warnings that matched the actual threat.
Speaker A:The meteorologists and forecasters who issued those warnings are dedicated professionals doing heroic work with deliberately weakened resources.
Speaker A:They're working punishing schedules, covering multiple offices, trying to protect lives with skeleton crews and reduce data.
Speaker A:The responsibility lies with Trump and his administration, who eliminated 600 of their colleagues six months before the deadliest weather season in years.
Speaker A:This isn't about weather prediction being imperfect.
Speaker A:It's about systematically weakening the systems that keep families alive.
Speaker A:When you eliminate the people whose job is to provide accurate warnings, then those warnings fail catastrophically.
Speaker A:That's not coincidence, that's consequence.
Speaker A:This is how institutions get destroyed.
Speaker A:First you destroy them, then you blame them when they fail.
Speaker A:Here's what they don't want us to focus on.
Speaker A:While families grieve and exhausted meteorologists work around the clock.
Speaker A:With inadequate resources, specific officials are deflecting blame onto the weather service for inaccurate forecasts, Texas Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd told reporters.
Speaker A:The forecast did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.
Speaker A:Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said the storm dumped more rain than what was forecasted.
Speaker A:Governor Greg Abbott, standing alongside DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, allowed Noem to dismiss the warning failures as problems with ancient technology that Trump is working to upgrade.
Speaker A:They want us to blame the technology and the forecasters, not the politicians who weaken their capacity to do the job.
Speaker A:Meanwhile, President Trump, whose administration eliminated 600 weather professionals just months before this disaster, expressed sympathy and pledged federal aid.
Speaker A:Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy, trump posted on Truth Social.
Speaker A:The hypocrisy is staggering.
Speaker A:Trump's administration weakened the very systems designed to prevent such tragedies, then offers prayers and aid when those systems fail catastrophically.
Speaker A:Abbott, who just three weeks ago expressed full confidence that Texas could handle disasters without federal assistance, now requests federal aid for the very disaster that federal cuts helped create.
Speaker A:Let me walk you through the deliberate sequence.
Speaker A: January: Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:Even though three weeks ago blessed Trump's plan to move FEMA to the states, eight weather offices nationwide can no longer operate around the clock.
Speaker A:Critical weather balloon sites that provide essential atmospheric data have been shut down.
Speaker A:The remaining meteorologists are working dangerous schedules trying to cover for eliminated colleagues.
Speaker A:As one former weather service director warned, you can only ask people to work 80 hours or 120 hours a week for so long.
Speaker A:They may be so bleary eyed they can't identify what's going on on the radar.
Speaker A:Texas isn't an isolated incident.
Speaker A:It's a preview of what happens when you deliberately weaken life saving infrastructure right before you need it most.
Speaker A:Every American deserves weather warnings that accurately reflect actual threats.
Speaker A:Whether you're in Texas, Hill country, on the Carolina coast or anywhere extreme weather strikes.
Speaker A:You deserve meteorologists who aren't working dangerous schedules because their colleagues got eliminated for political points.
Speaker A:You deserve forecasting systems with complete data, not systems missing critical information because monitoring stations were closed to save money.
Speaker A:We deserve leaders who understand that weather forecasting isn't government waste.
Speaker A:It's life saving infrastructure that protects families, farmers and entire communities.
Speaker A:We deserve the truth about what happened and why not.
Speaker A:Officials gaslighting about ancient systems while search and rescue operations continue.
Speaker A:Here's what we got.
Speaker A:We got deliberate cuts to the systems that protect American lives marketed as efficiency.
Speaker A:We got overworked forecasters trying to predict deadly weather with reduced data and exhausted staff.
Speaker A:We got warnings that underestimated the threat during a critical overnight emergency when every minute mattered.
Speaker A:We got heroic meteorologists blamed for failures created by the politicians who weakened their resources.
Speaker A:We got families swept away because Trump's administration chose budget cuts over public safety.
Speaker A:We got children who died at summer camps because Trump decided weather forecasting was wasteful spending.
Speaker A:We got a preview of what happens when you treat life saving infrastructure as expendable and the human cost continues to unfold.
Speaker A:FEMA is next.
Speaker A:Just like noaa, FEMA is also being gutted.
Speaker A:Texas will need help and it will not be there to fully meet the need.
Speaker A:Both Trump and Abbott will not own their statements.
Speaker A:Trump announced, we want to bring it down to the state level.
Speaker A:While disaster relief funds would be distributed directly from the White House, Abbott's office expressed full confidence that the Texas Division of Emergency Management will be able to swiftly take action when disaster strikes.
Speaker A:That was just three weeks ago.
Speaker A:Then immediately requested federal aid when this disaster hit.
Speaker A:As Texas recovers from this flood, watch for this exact talking point.
Speaker A:FEMA's response was inadequate.
Speaker A:They'll use this Texas disaster caused by gutting the weather service to attack another gutted American institution.
Speaker A:FEMA Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny provides essential guidance for defending the institutions that protect our lives and democracy.
Speaker A:Note that resistance is always guided by lesson 20 be as courageous as you can.
Speaker A:We are not all positioned to take each of these actions, but consider what of these you can give in your circumstances.
Speaker A:Know that for every action of resistance you engage in, you are also representing those who are not able to stand up due to vulnerability, ability or means.
Speaker A:Defend institutions the Weather Service represents exactly the kind of professional, non partisan institution that authoritarians target because it provides trusted information independent of political narratives.
Speaker A:How to resist?
Speaker A:Contact your representatives Demanding full restoration of NOAA and National Weather Service funding and staffing support organizations like the American Meteorological Society that advocate for professional meteorology.
Speaker A:When officials blame weakened institutions for failures, call it out publicly on social media, in letters to editors at town halls.
Speaker A:Believe in truth.
Speaker A:They want you to believe that eliminating 600 weather professionals and had nothing to do with forecast accuracy, that this was just an unfortunate natural disaster.
Speaker A:How to resist Share the timeline when people discuss the Texas tragedy, add the context about the Doge cuts.
Speaker A:Support independent journalism that investigates these connections.
Speaker A:Refuse to let them separate cause from consequence.
Speaker A:Investigate the administration hopes we won't connect their systematic destruction of federal agencies to real world consequences when those agencies fail during crises.
Speaker A:How to resist Research which weather service offices in your area have been affected by cuts?
Speaker A:File Freedom of Information act requests about staffing levels and budget reductions.
Speaker A:Ask local meteorologists how cuts have affected their operations.
Speaker A:Be calm when the unthinkable happens.
Speaker A:They count on disasters to overwhelm our capacity to think clearly about cause and effect.
Speaker A:How to resist when the next weather disaster strikes?
Speaker A:Immediately ask Were the warning systems fully staffed?
Speaker A:Did they have the resources they needed to be effective?
Speaker A:Don't let crisis be used to hide accountability for institutional destruction.
Speaker A:As we resist these attacks on life saving institutions, we must especially protect vulnerable community members who depend most on early warning systems.
Speaker A:Check in on the elderly, disabled individuals, people without cars or financial resources to evacuate quickly, and immigrant communities who may fear seeking help.
Speaker A:Their lives depend on systems that work when disaster strikes.
Speaker A:Texas families trusted that the warnings would be accurate.
Speaker A:That trust was betrayed by Trump and his officials who chose political points over public safety.
Speaker A:We can honor the victims by ensuring it never happens again, by defending the institutions that keep all of us safe when the storms come.
Speaker A:For your action resources, check out the description of this audio.
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Speaker A:Literally just minutes of your time to help those in this fight.
Speaker A:Our efforts are inspired by lesson eight from On Tyranny.
Speaker A:Stand out.
Speaker A:The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken and others will follow.
Speaker A:This is Bonnie, the founder of Democracy Spark, and I invite you to stay loud and stay kind.
Speaker A:Thank you for listening.
