State and local officials in Texas have come under scrutiny over the lack of sirens in place to warn people of impending flash flooding.

In the days after the devastating flood that killed dozens in Central Texas, local officials have deflected direct questions about preparations and warnings in advance of the storm that struck July Fourth.

As the death toll climbs in central Texas from catastrophic flooding over the holiday weekend, many are wondering if the tragic event could have been prevented and who is to blame.  President Trump has declared a major disaster for the state of Texas following flood waters that have claimed more than 100 lives so far.

Camp Mystic, the summer haven torn apart by a deadly flood, has been a getaway for girls to make lifelong friends and find “ways to grow spiritually.”

"Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River," the camp said in a statement.

Three days after cataclysmic floods tore through a stretch of the Texas Hill Country, officials have confirmed the deaths of 27 children and counselors who had been missing from a girls’ summer camp.

A search for Texas flood survivors intensified as Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for nearly two dozen Texas counties.

Local officials warned the number of dead will likely rise and were due to give an update on Sunday morning, as search and rescue teams raced to find 27 girls missing from a camp near the Guadalupe River,

Rescuers were searching for more than two dozen girls missing from a summer camp in Texas after a catastrophic flash flood killed at least 43 people, 15 of them children. The Guadalupe River that runs through the Hill Country in central south Texas rose by 26ft (8 metres) in just 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday,