Roberto Marquez, an artist from Oak Cliff, uses river debris to create a healing space for families grieving flood losses in Kerr County.

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.

Former Kerr County Commissioner Tom Moser said in 2016 their flood warning system was "marginal at best." Still, the county couldn't get grants for sirens.

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