The Fourth of July flooding had an outsized effect not just on the Hill Country but also on rain-starved Texas cities like San Antonio and Austin.

Heavy rain poured over parts of central Texas, dumping more than a month's worth of rain for places like San Angelo.

There's no sense in finger-pointing over whether or not alerts went out fast enough in Texas, said Landry. As she sees it, preparing for the weather comes down to knowing the landscape where you live and planning out what to do if disaster strikes. "You have to be aware and prepared," she said.

Kerr County officials have for years talked about the need for a more robust flash-flood warning system, including sirens that would reach people in places with no cell service. But in the absence of that expensive infrastructure, they adopted IPAWS — which cost them nothing — as a way to alert more people by phone.

Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as the death toll rises to 120, as rescue operations start to shift to recovery phase

At least 24 people are dead after heavy rain lashed Texas, leading to "catastrophic" flooding. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said emergency responders remained in a search and rescue posture, hours after the flooding along the Guadalupe River inundated nearby areas.

It has been a week since catastrophic flooding in Texas Hill Country. At the time of writing the death toll exceeded 120 people with roughly 170 missing. As the tragedy unfolds, important questions are being raised about the lack of a real-time warning system,

As a climate scientist who calls Texas home, I can tell you that the Hill Country of Texas is no stranger to flooding. Meteorologists often refer to it as “Flash Flood Alley” because of its steep terrain, shallow soils, and its history of sudden and intense rainfall.

"As the community begins to rebuild, we remain committed to standing beside them in the days and weeks to come."

NASA’s high-altitude WB-57 aircraft took off from Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston on Tuesday, and will conduct aerial surveys using its DyNAMITE (Day/Night Airborne Motion Imager for Terrestrial Environments) sensor.