Texas lawmakers failed to pass a bill in the regular legislative session that would have improved local governments’ emergency communications infrastructure.

The first weather emergency alert sent by the National Weather Service with urgent language instructing people to "seek higher ground now" was sent at 4:03 a.m. local time.

Early Friday morning, heavy rainfall in central Texas set off flash floods, causing the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in less than an hour and reportedly killing at least 89 people—including many girls at a summer camp.