Historic Texas flood leaves 161 missing and 96 dead. Rescuers battle harsh conditions, as communities grapple with heartache and aid reaches survivors.

A memorial service was held in Kerr County, Texas on Friday to honor the victims and those still missing from flooding that recently struck the region.

A Kerrville-area river authority executed a contract for a flood warning system that would have been used to help with emergency response, local officials said.

Texas officials are being questioned about warning systems ahead of the deadly floods. As NBC News' Priscilla Thompson reports, Kerr County doesn't have a county-wide siren warning system in place.

Kerr County and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority have tried several times to get funding to upgrade flood alerts on the river, dating back to 2016.

Twice, the Texas Division of Emergency Management turned down Kerr County's requests for money to improve flood warnings.

The number of people reported missing in Kerr County, Texas, as a result of last week’s flash floods continues to soar. Authorities say search teams combing through the debris and destruction there are looking for more than 160 people who disappeared in the raging waters.

The same region of Texas that experienced catastrophic, deadly flooding over the Fourth of July weekend also experienced massive flooding in the past. A 1987 flood in Kerr County resulted in the death of 33 people,