Days after devastating floods swept through the Texas Hill Country, the community of Kerrville is still grappling with the damage, loss, and a growing demand for answers.Standing well off the banks of the Guadalupe River,

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.

Many Catholics in the region have been stepping up to help, converging on Notre Dame Parish in Kerrville, located in the hardest-hit community along the Guadalupe River.

FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration, in coordination with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, are opening a Disaster Recovery Center in Kerrville on Thursday, July 10, to help homeowners, renters and business owners impacted by the flooding.

Flash floods surged through in the middle of the night, but many local officials appeared unaware of the unfolding catastrophe, initially leaving people near the river on their own.

Hill Country residents and volunteers on Tuesday continued picking up the pieces that the deadly waterway left behind days earlier.

Employees said they felt a responsibility to reopen The Boat and provide a sense of normalcy for those reeling from the destruction.

Judy Dale has spent decades celebrating the Fourth of July in the Hill Country. This year’s trip turned terrifying when floodwaters forced a middle-of-the-night evacuation.