Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued after a sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain across the region.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

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.