MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for Texas overnight to unlock assistance funds for the flood-stricken state, the White House said.
Rescuers use drones to search for 14 missing amid #Texas, #Oklahoma floods http://t.co/dELDGU7ukP #TexasFlood #flood pic.twitter.com/FFHqD5hDRv
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"The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Texas and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding beginning on May 4, 2015, and continuing," the White House said in a statement as quoted by CNN.
A storm system stretching from Mexico to central United States has triggered severe floods that have taken the lives of at least 41 people over the past five days, according to the channel. They include 21 people in Texas, 14 in Mexico and six in Oklahoma.
Texas has broken a 2004 record of rain, with an average of 7.54 inches having fallen over the state this month.
