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Guest Essay

By MaryAnn Tierney

Ms. Tierney has worked in emergency management for over 25 years, and was acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

When a flash flood inundates your town or a wildfire devours your neighborhood, you expect the federal government to show up — fast, focused and fully mobilized. That expectation underpins our national resilience. But today, that system is cracking. The help Americans rely on in their darkest hours is in danger of arriving late, underpowered or not at all.

The early morning of Friday brought a fresh reminder of what is at stake. At least 81 people, including 28 children, died in catastrophic flooding in Central Texas that occurred following record rainfall. In just four hours, the amount of rain that typically falls over four months fell — upward of 15 inches in some parts of the region — triggering flash floods that swept away cars, washed out roads and submerged parts of a summer camp and entire neighborhoods. Emergency responders carried out desperate water rescues as rivers surged beyond their banks.

The devastation struck a region still reeling from earlier flooding this spring, which........

© The New York Times