A stretch of chain-link fence along the Guadalupe River in the Texas town of Kerrville has become a focal point for the community's grief

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.

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.

Officials in Kerr County, where the majority of the deaths from the July 4 flash floods occurred, have yet to detail what actions they took in the early hours of the disaster.

The organizations working together to help the flood victims said that 'no additional in-kind donations (clothing, food, supplies) are needed in Kerrville.' They said the best way to help is with monetary donations.

A retired nurse, her son and a family friend say they were lucky to survive last week's flash floods in Texas that killed more than 100 people, including many summer campers.

Without a modern flood warning system, emergency officials monitor four sensors along the Guadalupe River – including one that was knocked out in the

NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky was born and raised in Kerrville, Texas, and has been covering the devastating flooding in the region. His mother, Karen, and stepfather, Michael, had to evacuate their home on July 4th only to return to find the body of a young girl in the trees.