A major flood event also struck the Texas Hill Country in July of 1987 after a series of 17 thunderstorms moved slowly, in succession, over the headwaters of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. Anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain fell on the flood-prone areas, now deemed “Flash Flood Alley,” according to a National Weather Service report.

As of 6:25 p.m. on Wednesday, 96 people — 60 adults and 36 children — are dead after Hill Country flooding, Kerr County officials said.

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.

Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016.

The recent disaster has some thinking back to a similar tragedy almost 40 years ago that occurred in the same month and nearly the same place.

SAN ANTONIO — Five days after the waters of the Guadalupe River rose and overwhelmed much of Kerr Country on July Fourth, search and recovery efforts continue as the community picks up the pieces of one of the state's worst natural disasters in years.

The Guadalupe River in Texas surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes. It caught everyone off guard - What began as a routine flood developed into a deadly disaster, with the death toll now in triple digits

It took just 90 minutes for the river to rise more than 30 feet. A look at the historic flood levels now etched into Central Texas history.