Texas lawmakers are scrutinizing the state’s emergency response to the July 4 floods that killed at least 136 people.

AUSTIN, Texas - The first of several legislative hearings into the Fourth of July flooding took place on Wednesday. The hearing involved a rare joint meeting of House and Senate committees that are trying to determine how to improve disaster planning and response.

Congressional scrutiny comes as Trump administration conducts evaluation of FEMA and works to % identify any shortcomings.

At several points during the hearing, the state emergency management chief directed attention to the role of local emergency managers in disaster response.

The severity of the flash flooding that killed more than 130 people in Texas's Hill Country was difficult to predict, officials said Wednesday.

Testimony will be heard from those in charge of managing rivers as well as emergency managers and first responders about the flash flooding that killed at least 135 people.

MARBLE FALLS — The first breath of the bagpipes rose like smoke into still air. They wailed the notes of “Amazing Grace” as two chestnut-brown horses marched solemnly around the ring of the Marble Falls Rodeo on Friday. In the long shadows of an evening summer sun, dozens of first responders and hundreds of spectators watched in silence.