Residents say Kerr County’s use of CodeRED alerts was sporadic and inconsistent. Local officials have not answered questions about when and how they utilized the system, which has been in place since 2009.

During a press conference with officials of Kerr County, Texas, reporters asked tough questions about the handling of the flood emergency system.

Kerr County, where dozens of people—many of them children—died in this weekend's catastrophic flooding, knew flash floods were a danger in the area—but its application for a grant to improve its flood warning system was rejected by the Texas Division of Emergency Management in both 2017 and 2018,