The grim task of searching for the scores of people missing from the devastating flood that struck Texas Hill Country nearly a week ago is taking an agonizing toll on searchers.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.

Most summers, Kerrville, Texas, draws crowds for its July 4 celebration. This year, the streets are filled with emergency responders.

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.

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.

Before and after satellite images reveal the catastrophic impact the Texas flood had on parts of Kerr County closest to the Guadalupe River.

A Mobile couple visiting their son and his family in Texas are among those still missing. Their daughter-in-law's body was found on Tuesday

The Guadalupe River in Texas surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes. It caught everyone off guard - What began as a routine flood developed into a deadly disaster, with the death toll now in triple digits