Amid staggering loss, hundreds gathered in mourning and prayer at a Wednesday night vigil for the victims of the July Fourth floods.

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

Officials in flood-stricken central Texas on Wednesday again deflected mounting questions about whether they could have done more to warn people ahead of devastating flash flooding that killed at least 119 people on July 4.

Early on the morning of July 4, the Guadalupe River in central Texas overflowed its banks, causing catastrophic flooding. As of July 9, at least 111 people had died, and homes and businesses along the river were washed away in the affected parts of Texas Hill Country,

Kerr County officials said Wednesday that their priority is to continue to search for missing people and get families closure as recovery efforts continue across Hill Country following the deadly floods.

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 of youth campers and others in Kerr County,

Search teams persisted in sifting through debris in Texas Hill Country on Wednesday as hopes of finding more survivors dimmed five days after flash floods tore through the region, killing at least 110 people,

Officials are being pressed about their response and whether there could have been a better warning system.