Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte vacationed in Italy as Yellowstone crushed by

“The governor departed early Saturday morning to Italy with his wife for a long-planned personal, private trip,” his office said in a statement Friday after Gianforte had returned. “When severe flooding struck, the governor delegated his authority to respond to the disaster to Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras with whom he worked closely over the last four days to take swift, decisive action.”

The governor’s office added that Gianforte was “grateful to be back in Montana” and that he planned “to survey damage and meet with residents and local officials about recovering and rebuilding.” Gianforte appeared at a briefing in the town of Gardiner on Friday.

As Montana reeled from floods, Gov. Gianforte was nowhere to be found

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Saturday.

Heavy flooding coursed through the region and swept away homes, bridges and roads. Montana National Guard soldiers have been deployed throughout the Yellowstone region, and the Red Cross is operating evacuation centers across the area.

The flooding — a mix of torrential rain and snow melt in the southwestern corner of the state — especially affected Yellowstone National Park, from where about 10,000 visitors were evacuated and at least 88 more were airlifted by the Montana National Guard from campsites and surrounding towns. No deaths or serious injuries were reported near the park, a beloved tourist attraction that covers 2.2 million acres.

The unpredictable onset of water caused dramatic river rises that shattered century-old records. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed this week that the flooding along the Yellowstone River was a 1-in-500-year event. The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Mont., rose six feet between Sunday and Monday to its highest level on record, several feet above the previous high mark noted in 1918.

In maps, photos and videos, see the full force of Yellowstone’s floods

Gianforte declared a statewide disaster on Tuesday in an effort “to help impacted communities get back on their feet as soon as possible.” Then, on Wednesday, some in Montana began to wonder why Juras, the lieutenant governor, had signed the state’s formal request to President Biden for major disaster relief “on behalf of Gov. Greg Gianforte.”

That’s when the governor’s office began receiving repeated questions on Gianforte’s whereabouts. Outlets such as the Montana Free Press ran stories with…