Montana governor vacationed in Italy while Yellowstone faced catastrophic flooding that caused $29 million in damage

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte's office confirmed that he was on vacation in Italy while the park was ravaged by historic flooding.

The governor and his wife left early Saturday morning for a long-planned personal, private trip to Italy. When severe flooding struck, the governor delegated his authority to the Lieutenant Governor, who worked closely with the governor over the last four days to take swift, decisive action.

The historic flooding, which caused an estimated $29 million in damages to the national park and surrounding areas, began June 13 and led to the evacuate of more than 10,000 park visitors during one of its busiest tourism seasons of the year. There have been no serious injuries or deaths.

After realizing the state's disaster declaration had been signed by the Lieutenant Governor, the social media tag #WhereIsGreg began. The office of the Governor did not say where he was for several days.

The executive director of the Montana Democratic Party told the Los Angeles Times that the candidate kept Montanans in the dark about where he was.

The Republican Governor came back to Montana on Thursday night after he portrayed himself on social media as involved in the official response to the floods.

"Grateful to be back in Montana, the governor looks forward to being on the ground in Gardiner this morning to survey damage and meet with residents and local officials about recovering and rebuilding."

Ted Cruz received scrutiny for similar actions during a weather disaster in his state.

Cruz said the trip was a mistake, but later joked about it. He left for vacation before the flooding happened.

Insider's request for comment was not responded to by the office of the man.