Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as the death toll rises to 120, as rescue operations start to shift to recovery phase

Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system, including failing to secure roughly $1 million US for a project to better protect Kerr County’s 50,

Over 100 people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to "catastrophic" flooding, the sheriff said.

At least 120 people have died and some 173 people remain unaccounted for statewide, nearly a week after flash floods ravaged the Texas Hill Country.

Kerr County, Texas, lacked a “last mile” warning mechanism that could have saved residents before the deadly floods devastated the area, including a children’s summer camp, killing more than 80 people.

Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016.

As families and search crews sift through debris, mangled trees and toppled vehicles in Kerr County after the catastrophic Fourth of July flooding, authorities are facing growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued.

While search crews and volunteers pushed ahead with recovering those unaccounted for, communities in the devastated Hill Country region are just beginning to grieve those lost over the July Fourth holiday.

"I thought my mom was going to die in front of me," said Taylor Bergmann, a 19-year-old who fought to save the people in his family after the Guadalupe River smashed through their home.

Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.

A "Basic Plan" for emergency response for three Texas counties labeled flash flooding as having a "major" impact on public safety, according to a page on a city website.