Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as the death toll rises to 120, as rescue operations start to shift to recovery phase

Plans to develop a flood monitoring system in the Texas county hit hardest by deadly floods were scheduled to begin only a few weeks later.

New satellite images released from Maxar Technologies show the destruction of the flash floods that have resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people over the July 4 weekend.Local authorities estimate around 160 people are still missing as Thursday marks the seventh day of the search for victims.

Walston drove from his home to the Center Point Bridge on FM 480 near Highway 27, where he shot video of the river below. He recorded nearly 38 minutes of surging water as it rose over 20 feet, carrying massive cypress trees, debris and even a house.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

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.

Over just two hours, the Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose from hip-height to three stories tall, sending water weighing as much as the Empire State building downstream roughly every minute it remained at its crest. The force of floodwater is often more powerful and surprising than people imagine.

At least 161 people were missing from Kerr County alone, officials said. Several children were among the missing.