LONDON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The catastrophic flash floods that struck central Texas on July 4 have become one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming more than 100 lives and leaving over 160 people missing.

While U.S. officials denied any governmental responsibility, international experts said the catastrophe has highlighted significant and persistent weaknesses in America's disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, and institutional response.

As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe under climate change, experts warn that without comprehensive investment in early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and science-based policy, such tragedies may become the "new normal."

WARNING CHAIN BREAKS: "LAST MILE" COMMUNICATION FAILURE

The tragedy has exposed what international experts call the "last mile" problem in disaster communications - the critical gap between when warnings are issued and when vulnerable populations receive and act upon them.

This downpour appears to have been well forecasted by multiple agencies worldwide, several hours in advance. Warnings were issued, but the systems do not seem to have been in place to deliver information quickly enough to those in harm's way. Hannah Cloke, professor of the University of Reading, emphasized that "an alert system is a chain of human communication, and if one person in any part of the chain doesn't respond as they should to take action, the system runs the risk of failure."

Recordings of radio traffic reviewed by CBS News reveal that a firefighter, about an hour into the flood response at 4:22 a.m., asked a dispatcher if the CodeRED system could be activated.

"The crux of this disaster is a failure of the last mile of communication," said Tom Fahy, the legislative director of a National Weather Service union. "The forecasts went out, they communicated the forecasts, they disseminated the watches and warnings. And the dilemma we have is there was nobody listening at 4 o'clock in the morning for these watches and warnings."

SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS OVERLOOKED, WEAKENING DISASTER RESPONSE

Despite persistent skepticism from the Trump administration regarding climate change, the scientific community has long warned that a warmer, wetter climate is making extreme weather events like floods both more frequent and more destructive.

"There has been an explosion in extreme weather in recent years, including more devastating flash floods caused by slow-moving, wetter storms that dump exceptional amounts of rain over small areas in a short time," said Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London. "Such events will only become more commonplace as the global temperature continues to climb, driven by carbon dioxide emissions that still top 40 billion tonnes every year."

Yet, the U.S. government has significantly reduced funding for climate research and cut positions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS).

According to Scientific American, key NWS offices serving the hardest-hit Texas communities have been operating with critical vacancies, including the absence of warning coordination meteorologists - positions essential for translating forecasts into actionable plans for local authorities.

The Guardian quoted Samantha Montano, professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, as saying: "This is what happens when you let climate change run unabated and break apart the emergency management system - without investing in that system at the local and state level."

LONG-TERM INVESTMENT FAILURES LEAVE COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Kerr County, which was at the heart of the disaster, had considered installing a flood warning system eight years ago but abandoned the plan due to a lack of state funding.

Experts stress that emergency response alone is not enough to address climate risk. Systematic, long-term approaches to flood resilience are needed. The tragedy in Kerr County highlights the social vulnerability and chronic underinvestment in infrastructure and emergency management that left communities exposed.

The Texas floods "need to be reviewed, both from a forecast and warning perspective and from a decision support perspective," said former National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini. ■