Multiple parts of Central Texas, including Kerr County, were shocked by flash floods Friday when the Guadalupe River and others rose rapidly.

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.

Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as more than 173 are missing as rescuers continue a desperate search

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

More than 100 people have been confirmed dead since July 4, when the Guadalupe River in central Texas swelled overnight and triggered flash floods that swept through an area known locally as “Flash Flood Alley.

Texas lawmakers failed to pass a bill in the regular legislative session that would have improved local governments’ emergency communications infrastructure.

When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites known to be in the floodplain.

The older brother of former San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Walker is missing after Texas flooding, along with his wife and their son.