President Donald Trump is touring the devastation left by flash flooding in central Texas amid growing questions about how local officials responded to the crisis as well as questions about the federal response -- including the fate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- that he has so far avoided.

The first weather emergency alert sent by the National Weather Service with urgent language instructing people to "seek higher ground now" was sent at 4:03 a.m. local time.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration from suggestions that the delayed warning residents received during the tragic flash floods in Texas this week were insufficient.