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.

At least 119 people have been found dead in nearly a week since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the river and flowed through homes and youth camps in the early morning hours of July 4. Ninety-five of those killed were in the hardest-hit county in central Texas, Kerr County, where the toll includes at least three dozen children.

A retired nurse, her son, and a family friend say they were lucky to survive last week's flash floods in Texas that killed more than 100 people, including many summer campers.

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 Houston Texans were the first to announce their donations on Saturday, July 5, with more coming throughout the week. The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL Foundation joined the Texans on Sunday, July 6, with each contributing $500,000 in a $1.5 million total donation.

Well, it could take months for Texas families to experience some form of closure as more than 170 people remain missing, nearly a week after those deadly floodwaters rushed in the Texas Hill Country on July 4 as four months of rain fell in just two days over central Texas.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

The Texas Hill Country has been notorious for flash floods caused by the Guadalupe River. Here's why the area is called "Flash Flood Alley."

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 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,