New human settlements constructed in recent years have made the waterway more hazardous, UT-Arlington civil engineering professor says.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.

Many Catholics in the region have been stepping up to help, converging on Notre Dame Parish in Kerrville, located in the hardest-hit community along the Guadalupe River.

Also: San Antonio mourned the victims in a Travis Park vigil; UTSA said one of its teachers died in the Guadalupe River flood; Kerrville officials said a privately owned drone collided with a helicopter conducting search and rescue operations.

Before hundreds of first responders and volunteers from around the country came to help, it was the local residents of Texas Hill Country who faced down a deadly wall of water along the Gaudalope River and witnessed terrifying scenes.

Local businesses and vacationers are picking up the pieces after devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

The organizations working together to help the flood victims said that 'no additional in-kind donations (clothing, food, supplies) are needed in Kerrville.' They said the best way to help is with monetary donations.

Follow along for developments on the July Fourth floods along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County and Central Texas.

As floodwaters from the Guadalupe River begin to recede, the emotional and physical toll on Hill Country residents is only just beginning to show.

RickRay Robertson points to a makeshift cross that withstood the July Fourth Kerrville flooding, despite being lodged only 10 inches into the ground. That faith reminds him to stand strong. And by sharing his story, it's allowing him to heal.