Professional crisis communicators watched the news conferences with dismay. Deflecting blame is not helpful if politicians want to build trust with the public, they say.

The National Weather Service urged people to avoid travel if a flash flood warning was in place for their area.

Matthew Rafferty was scouring the flooded riverbanks of Texas Hill Country last weekend when he stumbled on a mud-soaked baby quilt.

Conspiracy theories tried to “explain” the flooding from Tropical Storm Chantal and other earlier storms. The more outlandish they are, the more they seem to catch on.

Dozens of extreme heat advisories and flash flood warnings across the central and southeast U.S. have been issued by the National Weather Service.

Lindsey McLeod McCrory’s 8-year-old daughter, Blakely, was attending Camp Mystic when she was killed in the devastating floods that hit Central Texas. McCrory remembers her daughter in an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown.

Two massive disasters this year — the Texas floods and Los Angeles firestorms — are leading some to grapple with the question of how to get officials and the public to care and take action.

Julia Hatfield, a songwriter who survived the July 4 floods by fleeing her RV park, says more help is needed in Kerrville.

The Hill Country has a hold on the hearts of many Texans, meaning the suffering caused by the disaster is reaching as far as the region’s appeal.