KERRVILLE, Texas, July 8 (Reuters) - The death toll from the July Fourth flash flood that ravaged a swath of central Texas Hill Country rose on Tuesday to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris looking for scores of people still missing.

President Donald Trump spoke with first responders and officials in central Texas today after meeting with grieving families and surveying damage from the catastrophic floods that killed at least 129 people.

Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people.

A 20-month-old toddler has died in last week’s flooding that devastated Kerr County in Texas, according to the child’s family.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough tore into Texas officials for ignoring “very clear signals” about their antiquated flood warning system. As the death toll from catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River last weekend continues to climb,