People awoke from water rushing around them during the early morning hours of July 4, all along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. Residents were seemingly caught off guard, but warnings had been issued days and hours before floodwaters began carrying away homes,

With hundreds confirmed dead or still missing, questions remain about the local response to flood warnings. Meanwhile, lawmakers will weigh measures to mitigate future disasters.

In the wake of last week’s catastrophic floods in the Texas Hill Country, on Friday Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency