(NewsNation) — Recovery efforts in central Texas continue Wednesday in the aftermath of deadly floods over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
At least 119 people have been confirmed dead across six counties, and more than 170 are still missing after flash flooding spurred on by massive rainfall, according to Nexstar affiliate KXAN.
The National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio issued a flood advisory for western Kerr County and far southwestern Gillespie County, including Hunt, until 8 p.m. CT.
As of Wednesday night, 96 were dead in Kerr County alone. Of those, 60 were adults and 36 were children. More than two dozen have yet to be identified.
An estimated 161 people remain missing in Kerr County, including five children and one counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, officials said Wednesday.
“The recent numbers reported break my heart. And they break the heart of everyone up here, everyone who has been working since July 4,” said Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. on Wednesday.
“I want you to know … in that emergency operations center, there’s not little silos of departments and agencies. They’re working as one team, with one goal: to find the missing and bring them home,” he added.
Searchers last made a live rescue on Friday, the same day early-morning floods inundated the state’s Hill Country, police said Tuesday.
Flooding response timeline ‘will be reviewed’: Kerr County sheriff
In the aftermath of the floods in central Texas, many eyes have turned to the National Weather Service and its protocols for weather warnings.
The NWS, which has 122 offices across the country, has said it issued timely alerts in advance of the deadly floods on July 3 and accelerated them around 1 a.m. on July 4. It acknowledged forecasts are only one facet of a response and that local law enforcement must be able to interpret those warnings, communicate them to the public and help communities prepare for safety.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that a timeline of the flooding, warnings issued and disaster response “will be reviewed, you have my word.”
He added that everyone involved “promptly responded” as flooding unfolded.
“When or if necessary, if improvements need to be made, improvements will be made,” Leitha said, later adding that “we’re not going to hide from anything.”
Tragedy ‘could have been so much worse’: Police
Kerrville Police Department Community Services Officer Jonathan Lamb recounted the first hours of flooding, when officers realized areas that don’t typically flood were going to.
In that first hour, Lamb said authorities evacuated more than 100 homes, rescued more than 200 people and went door-to-door waking people up.
“I don’t know how many lives our KPD team saved in an hour in Kerrville, but I know that this tragedy, as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse,” Lamb added.
Camp Mystic’s disaster plan approved 2 days before Texas flooding
The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding “procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster” as recently as July 2.
The regulations included instructing campers on what to do in the event of an evacuation and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counselor.
The Texas Department of State Health Services told KXAN it does not maintain copies of those plans, but camps are required to post plans clearly in every building.
“DSHS reviews the camp’s emergency plans onsite during their annual inspection for the correct elements listed in the Texas Administrative Code,” the DSHS spokesperson added.
NewsNation’s Rob Taub, Alex Caprariello and the Associated Press contributed to this report.