The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema)’s acting administrator, David Richardson, was largely unreachable after deadly flooding swept through Texas in July, according to a new report. That meant the agency could not deploy search-and-rescue resources as quickly as possible. The federal agency had already faced criticism for its slow response to the disaster in which more than 130 people died. Fema reportedly did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance hotline after the flooding.