The catastrophic Central Texas floods have claimed at least 121 lives and left 173 missing, as a report reveals that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system.

Over 12,000 volunteers have already assisted in Kerr County, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

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.

In the days after the devastating flood that killed dozens in Central Texas, local officials have deflected direct questions about preparations and warnings in advance of the storm that struck July Fourth.

There are questions over why oversight was eased at Mystic Camp as it expanded in a hazardous floodplain, the AP reported.

The reporter said that several families were angry because they felt that alerts for the flood did not go out in time.

Experts suggested that more data and education are needed as Texas and the rest of the country build in known flood plains.