Over 100 people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to "catastrophic" flooding, the sheriff said.

When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites known to be in the floodplain.

Kerr County and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority have tried several times to get funding to upgrade flood alerts on the river, dating back to 2016.

Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016.

We had to carry the kids out because they couldn’t get in the water. It was very deep outside. We were trying to keep them calm because they’re scared, they’re

Kerr County, Texas, lacked a “last mile” warning mechanism that could have saved residents before the deadly floods devastated the area, including a children’s summer camp, killing more than 80 people.

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.

A "Basic Plan" for emergency response for three Texas counties labeled flash flooding as having a "major" impact on public safety, according to a page on a city website.