A Texas county devastated by deadly flooding earlier this month rejected federal funds in 2021 that could have helped install a flood warning system, with local officials and residents arguing they didn't want to be "bought" by the Biden administration.
As far back as 2016, officials considered a $1 million siren and gauge system to warn both locals and the flood-prone region's many visitors, the Texas Tribune reported. But despite multiple meetings and FEMA grant applications, funding efforts repeatedly stalled, first due to missing mitigation plans, then due to shifting priorities after Hurricane Harvey.
