Professional crisis communicators watched the news conferences with dismay. Deflecting blame is not helpful if politicians want to build trust with the public, they say.

Hours before a massive wall of floodwater barreled down a river in the heart of Texas Hill Country before sunrise on Friday, forecasters with the National Weather Service warned people that dangerous

A week after catastrophic floods in Central Texas, key questions remain unanswered about how state and local officials prepared for and responded to the disaster.