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.

John David Trolinger was in his home’s radio room listening intently early Friday morning as the first water rescues took place on a rising Guadalupe River.

Days after flash floods killed over 100 people during the July Fourth weekend, search-and-rescue teams are using heavy equipment to untangle and peel away layers of trees, unearth large rocks in riverbanks and move massive piles of debris that stretch for miles in the search for the missing 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.

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.

Texas officials are being questioned about warning systems ahead of the deadly floods. As NBC News' Priscilla Thompson reports, Kerr County doesn't have a county-wide siren warning system in place.

Over 35,000 signed a petition urging Kerr County to install flood warning sirens after flash flooding killed at least 100 people on July 4.

In Kerrville and the surrounding towns in Kerr County, Independence Day is one of the busiest times of year as people travel in from around the state to celebrate the holiday. One of the destinations families pick in Kerrville is Jellystone Park on the Guadalupe River.