Multiple urban search and rescue teams from across the country that responded to the deadly floods in central Texas told CNN they were not deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency until at least Monday evening — days after any victim had been found alive.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not answer thousands of calls made to its disaster assistance line after deadly flooding in Texas, documents reviewed by the New York Times show. A person "briefed on the matter" who spoke to the Times anonymously said this was because the agency fired hundreds of contractors at call

On July 5, a day after the devastating floods in Texas, FEMA's disaster assistance line received 3,027 calls and answered 99.7% of them, according to documents seen by the New York Times. The documents show,

The homeland security secretary said a report that thousands of calls to a disaster hotline went unanswered because of staffing cuts was “false.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been exerting more direct control over the agency, which President Donald Trump has talked about "getting rid of."

The Homeland Security chief denied that a memo she issued in June requiring her to approve FEMA expenditures over $100,000 caused the agency to move more slowly.