Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says one of the state's elite K-9 units is heading to central Texas to aid in search and recovery efforts following the devastating floods.

The catastrophic Central Texas floods have claimed at least 121 lives and left 173 missing, as a report reveals that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system.

This part of Texas Hill Country is known for flash floods. Why were so many people caught off guard when the river turned violent?

K ERR COUNTY, Texas ( NewsNation) — The manager of Kerr County ’s historic Hunt Store says she has “no doubt” the community icon will be rebuilt after being destroyed in recent flooding.

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.

In the days after the devastating flood that killed dozens in Central Texas, local officials have deflected direct questions about preparations and warnings in advance of the storm that struck July Fourth.

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.

Crews are using construction equipment to clear vehicles, trees and homes in a race to locate more than 170 people still missing since Friday’s devastating flood.

New audio reveals what Kerr County first responders were hearing and acting on during the critical first few hours of the devastating floods. | Click to listen

For nearly a century, Texas’s Camp Mystic has been a beloved summertime hub of joy for generations of girls across the state. Located along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, the all-girls Christian camp is famous for hosting presidents’ daughters and for its years-long waitlist.