Roberto Marquez, an artist from Oak Cliff, uses river debris to create a healing space for families grieving flood losses in Kerr County.

President Donald Trump suggested the tragic loss of life that occurred in Texas as a result of historic flooding could have been mitigated if the county had “bells... or something, go off.” In an interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on her Fox News show,

The catastrophic Central Texas floods have claimed at least 121 lives and left 173 missing, as a report reveals that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system.

Over 12,000 volunteers have already assisted in Kerr County, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

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.

In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending.

The reporter said that several families were angry because they felt that alerts for the flood did not go out in time.

Trump lauded local officials amid mounting criticism that they failed to warn residents fast enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way.