At a Wednesday morning press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha declined to answer a question about delayed emergency alerts, saying that an "after-action" would follow the search and rescue efforts. "Those questions are gonna be answered," he added.

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.

Crews are using construction equipment to clear vehicles, trees and homes in a race to locate the 161 people still missing since Friday’s devastating flood.

The search for bodies continued nearly a week after deadly flooding in Texas. With 121 people confirmed dead and at least 161 still missing, officials there are facing scrutiny. The National Weather Service issued several watches and warnings before midnight on July 3,

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.

The number of confirmed deaths from the Texas Hill Country floods rose to 95 in Kerr County on Wednesday, Sheriff Larry Leitha said.

FEMA records show Kerr County officials did not use FEMA’s system to send warnings to phones in the critical hours as the flooding began on July 4.

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.