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

Most summers, Kerrville, Texas, draws crowds for its July 4 celebration. This year, the streets are filled with emergency responders.

Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump will travel to Texas on Friday to meet with first responders, families affected by the recent deadly July 4 floods, and local officials, according to a White House official.

During his first weekend back in the White House, Trump again visited North Carolina to scope out Helene damage and toured the aftermath of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. But he also used those trips to sharply criticize the Biden administration and California officials.

Flash floods last week in Texas caused the Guadalupe River to rise dramatically, reaching three stories high in just two hours.

Flash floods surged through in the middle of the night, but many local officials appeared unaware of the unfolding catastrophe, initially leaving people near the river on their own.

Volunteers combing through debris piles from the devastating Central Texas flooding had to sniff out decaying bodies in the “chaotic” initial days of the search-and-rescue efforts.

Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of youth campers and others in Kerr County,