A Kerrville-area river authority executed a contract for a flood warning system that would have been used to help with emergency response, local officials said.

As of 6:25 p.m. on Wednesday, 96 people — 60 adults and 36 children — are dead after Hill Country flooding, Kerr County officials said.

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

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 in Kerr County, Texas.

Nearly a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.

Twice, the Texas Division of Emergency Management turned down Kerr County's requests for money to improve flood warnings.

Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.

As flood water rose rapidly on the Guadalupe River in Texas early on July 4, there was no outdoor siren or warning alarm to alert people to the danger.Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, a top local government official,