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.

The 50-foot poles along the San Marcos River have sirens for severe weather, wildfires and tornadoes — and they were put to use last weekend.

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.

Emergency officials are starting to focus on alert systems as they search for answers about how the flash flooding swept away so many.

A small Texas town that recorded no deaths in last weekend’s flood disaster had recently upgraded its emergency alert system — the kind of setup state, county and federal officials

Outdoor weather alert systems are not required by any federal or state law. The choice is left up to local leaders.

Residents say Kerr County's use of CodeRED alerts was sporadic and inconsistent. Local officials have not answered questions about when and how they utilized the system, which has been in place since 2009.

Kerr County had discussed buying such things as water gauges and sirens after previous flood disasters. But as with many rural Texas counties, cost was an issue.