After a tragedy, records from local archives can help us understand how a community understands itself. Here’s some of what we learned following the devastating July 4 flooding in Texas.

The threats come amid public scrutiny over whether more could have been done ahead of the July 4 storm, which has claimed at least 132 lives.

Texas officials and Hill Country leaders knew the risks of flooding along the Guadalupe. Warnings went unheeded, flood warnings, river gauges and sirens unfunded — and more than 130 Texans died.

Kerr County officials, who have come under increasing scrutiny for their actions as the Guadalupe River began to flood, eventually sent text-message alerts that morning to residen

A "Basic Plan" for emergency response for three Texas counties labeled flash flooding as having a "major" impact on public safety, according to a page on a city website.

The number of people reported missing in Kerr County, Texas, as a result of last week’s flash floods continues to soar. Authorities say search teams combing through the debris and destruction there are looking for more than 160 people who disappeared in the raging waters.