It’s a mystery to me why they weren’t taking proactive steps to move structures,” said Syracuse University associate professor Sarah Pralle.

At a Wednesday morning press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha declined to answer a question about delayed emergency alerts, saying that an "after-action" would follow the search and rescue efforts. "Those questions are gonna be answered," he added.

FEMA records show officials in Kerr County, Texas, did not use FEMA's system to send warnings to phones in the hours as the flooding began on July 4.

FEMA let Camp Mystic operate in 100-year flood zone despite deadly warnings for years: ‘Particularly disturbing’ - Federal regulators repeatedly granted appeals to remove Camp Mystic’s buildings from their 100-year flood map,

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.

Kerr County applied again in 2018, when more federal funding became available after Hurricane Harvey. But meeting minutes indicate that Texas’ emergency authority again did not approve it.

Local officials in Kerr County continue facing public scrutiny after days of seeming to deflect questions about their preparedness and response to the July 4 flash flood that left dozens dead.