Plans to develop a flood monitoring system in the Texas county hit hardest by deadly floods were scheduled to begin only a few weeks later.

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.

FOX 4’s Steven Dial rode along the Guadalupe River with the sheriff of Andrews County, located in West Texas, to get his first-hand account of the recovery effort.

As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort — a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out.

The flooding brought the Guadalupe to its second-highest point in history, according to the National Weather Service, which urged people in the affected area to move to higher ground.

Miriam "Holly" Frizzell of Abilene was remembered for her vibrant life and love of the normally tranquil Guadalupe River.

The flooding created financial peril for many small businesses owners. Now they are cleaning up and working to get back on their feet.

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.

The Fourth of July started with heavy storms hitting Kerr County overnight, causing the Guadalupe River to rise significantly.