Austin, July 8 -- The Democratic Party is pushing for an investigation into the staff cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) as the death toll from flash flooding in central Texas has reached 104.
The US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday asked a government watchdog to immediately "open an investigation into the scope, breadth, and ramifications of whether staffing shortages at key local NWS stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding."
Key forecasting and coordination positions at two NWS offices in central Texas were vacant when the flooding happened early on morning, Schumer was quoted by a New York Times report as saying.
"These are the experts responsible f...