Recordings provided to CBS News showed first responders asking for an emergency alert to be sent, but dispatchers delayed because they needed special authorization.

A Kerrville-area river authority executed a contract for a flood warning system that would have been used to help with emergency response, local officials said.

While searches continue their pain-staking work, holding out hope, of finding some survivors. Kerr County officials face mounting questions about whether enough was done to get people out before the flood came in.