Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives before last week’s devastating flood.The Washington Post revealed that despite having the technology to turn every mobile phone in the river valley into a loud alarm,

KERRVILLE, Texas, July 8 (Reuters) - The death toll from the July Fourth flash flood that ravaged a swath of central Texas Hill Country rose on Tuesday to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris looking for scores of people still missing.

Flooding has been at the top of Texans’ minds this week, but this is not the first time that the need for flood-related measures has come up among local officials.

In the Austin area, 12 people are still missing and 16 are known to have perished after rain swept away homes along rivers and creeks.

As hope for finding survivors dims, questions swirl around whether Camp Mystic's emergency plan was adequate. Texas doesn't approve or keep copies of such plans; camps are required to show only that they have plans in place.