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 120 people have been found dead in nearly a week since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the river and flowed through homes and youth camps in the early morning hours of July 4. Ninety-six of those killed were in the hardest-hit county in central Texas, Kerr County, where the toll includes at least three dozen children.

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.

With more than 170 still missing, communities must reconcile how to pick up the pieces around a waterway that remains both a wellspring and a looming menace.

Officials in Texas are facing mounting questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm’s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed more than 100 people, including 27 children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp.

Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic’s emergency plan just two days before devastating floods killed over 27 people, mostly children, at the Texas summer camp