President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, traveled today to Central Texas to visit sites along the Guadalupe River where last week’s catastrophic flooding killed more than 120 people.

The president met with survivors of the disaster and praised emergency workers for their rescue efforts. He has described the flooding as an unavoidable act of nature — “a hundred-year catastrophe” — and said that only a “very evil person” would question the federal government’s response. But local, state and national officials have faced intense scrutiny over preparedness.

At the direction of Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, FEMA instituted a policy requiring all expenses over $100,000 — including the deployment of search-and-rescue teams — to be approved directly by Noem. Questions have been raised about whether Noem’s decision contributed to delays in emergency relief.

By many accounts, the National Weather Service acted appropriately as it issued increasingly urgent warnings, but Trump’s weather-service cuts could complicate future forecasts. And my colleagues identified at least three occasions in recent years when officials in the hardest hit area had sought funding for a flood warning system but were rebuffed by the state.

For more: Our reporters in Texas talked to survivors who were at an R.V. park that was devastated by the floods. Eric Steele, 32, received a call from his sister pleading for help when her camper was carried away by the water. There was nothing he could do.