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.

While Kerr County officials say they didn’t know how bad the July 4 flooding would be, it warned residents nearly eight years ago to “be flood aware” about the ongoing potential

SAN ANTONIO — Five days after the waters of the Guadalupe River rose and overwhelmed much of Kerr Country on July Fourth, search and recovery efforts continue as the community picks up the pieces of one of the state's worst natural disasters in years.

KERR COUNTY, Texas — Kerr County leaders debated the issue of installing emergency sirens along the Guadalupe River nearly a decade ago, but one former official said there was pushback from some residents.

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.

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.

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.

KERRVILLE — As the massive search for flood victims entered its seventh day, local officials on Thursday said the death toll in Kerr County has risen to 96. Officials have recovered 96 bodies in Kerr County as of 8 a.m. Thursday, with 60 of those adults and 36 children, said Jonathan Lamb, a spokesman with the Kerrville Police Department.

The flooding created financial peril for many small businesses owners. Now they are cleaning up and working to get back on their feet.