Two massive disasters this year — the Texas floods and Los Angeles firestorms — are leading some to grapple with the question of how to get officials and the public to care and take action.

A study puts the spotlight on Texas as the leading U.S. state by far for flood-related deaths, with more than 1,000 of them from 1959 to 2019.

Over 130 people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to "catastrophic" flooding, the sheriff said.

By all accounts, forecasters provided adequate warning — the problem was communicating the danger to residents.

More than a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.

Eight-year-old girls at sleep-away camp, families crammed into recreational vehicles, local residents traveling to or from work. These are some of the victims.

The Economist/YouGov poll surveyed nearly 1,680 U.S. adults this week, and 52% blamed lack of government preparation for most of the deaths, mainly centered in Kerr County along the Guadalupe River.

In the survey - which sampled 1,680 U.S. adults - 52% of respondents said that most of the deaths could have been prevented if the government had been more adequately prepared. Twenty-nine percent said the deaths were unavoidable, and 19% said they didn't know.

The deaths of children at Camp Mystic show a heartbreaking failure of local, state and federal government to invest in people, prepare for disasters.

This has played out on social platforms as well, prompting some liberal commentators to speak out against the dehumanization of Texas communities. Political trolling online is nothing new, but its spillover into blaming victims and survivors of disaster is a dangerous new low.

Rescuers recovered the bodies of missing Mobile couple and their granddaughter after being swept away in deadly Texas flood. What we know.