At a Wednesday morning press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha declined to answer a question about delayed emergency alerts, saying that an "after-action" would follow the search and rescue efforts. "Those questions are gonna be answered," he added.

In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending.

Plans to develop a flood monitoring system in the Texas county hit hardest by deadly floods were scheduled to begin only a few weeks later.

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 in Kerr County, Texas.

Crews are using construction equipment to clear vehicles, trees and homes in a race to locate the 161 people still missing since Friday’s devastating flood.

Nearly a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.

FOX 4’s Steven Dial rode along the Guadalupe River with the sheriff of Andrews County, located in West Texas, to get his first-hand account of the recovery effort.

Twice, the Texas Division of Emergency Management turned down Kerr County's requests for money to improve flood warnings.