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.

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.

Local officials in Kerr County continue facing public scrutiny after days of seeming to deflect questions about their preparedness and response to the July 4 flash flood that left dozens dead.

As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort — a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out.

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.

Miriam "Holly" Frizzell of Abilene was remembered for her vibrant life and love of the normally tranquil Guadalupe River.

Texas authorities said Tuesday 87 people died in Kerr County as a result of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River on the Fourth of July. Five girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic remain missing, the officials said.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz joined Kerr County officials Monday during a news conference to update the public on the rescue and recovery efforts in Central Texas following the catastrophic flash flooding.