Texas floods latest: Death toll rises to 129 as battered communities face weekend of flash flood risks

Kerr County officials reportedly failed to activate a powerful public alert system that could have saved lives before last week’s devastating flood.

The Washington Post revealed that despite having the technology to turn every mobile phone in the river valley into a loud alarm, local authorities did not deploy it as the Guadalupe River swelled to record levels on July 4, inundating campsites and homes.

The system, which costs nothing, was implemented instead of an expensive siren system that county officials reportedly couldn’t get funding for.

It has also emerged that at Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and counselors perished in the floods, FEMA had removed dozens of buildings from flood hazard maps after an appeal, likely to lower insurance costs and be subject to less arduous regulations, the Associated Press reports.

On Friday, Donald Trump visited Kerrville, Texas, to assess the damage from last week’s devastating flash flooding. The president and First Lady Melania Trump met with rescue workers involved in responding to the disaster.

There have been at least 129 deaths, and more than 160 people are missing, one week later.