A Kerrville-area river authority executed a contract for a flood warning system that would have been used to help with emergency response, local officials said.

At least 120 people have been killed and 173 others are missing as Texas officials deflect questions over the state’s response to the catastrophic flash floods.Kerr County remains at the center of the disaster after the Guadalupe River burst its banks on Friday.

Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of youth campers and others in Kerr County,

Meteorologists say the Texas Hill Country is frequently hit with floods, although some officials and residents were caught off guard by the catastrophic storms, which killed more than 100 people over the holiday weekend.

Newly released satellite images reveal catastrophic damage caused by the Hill Country floods along the Guadalupe River.

With more than 170 still missing, communities must reconcile how to pick up the pieces around a waterway that remains both a wellspring and a looming menace.

The most powerful thing that I can do, is come up here and intercede with prayer for these families, that are hurting beyond what anyone can ever imagine."