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.

Over 12,000 volunteers have already assisted in Kerr County, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

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.

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.

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.

A stretch of chain-link fence along the Guadalupe River in the Texas town of Kerrville has become a focal point for the community's grief.