Experts said the NWS did a good job warning about the flooding, but questions remain about whether the cuts played a role.

As the deadly floodwaters in parts of central Texas recede, there are growing questions about how the catastrophic rainfall seemingly caught the area by surprise. Some local officials say the National Weather Service underestimated the extreme rain but the agency says an initial flood watch was issued Thursday afternoon.

Before help could arrive, Texans in hard-hit areas said they tried to save themselves from the deadly floodwaters.

The claim circulated as rescuers searched for people missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River.

It just looked like a bit of drizzle when they went to bed but the trickles of rain over their Texas home turned out to be the start of a nightmare for Jennifer and Jack Hudson, 61.