Kerr County, Texas, lacked a “last mile” warning mechanism that could have saved residents before the deadly floods devastated the area, including a children’s summer camp, killing more than 80 people.

Flash flood alley is a curved-shaped region about 300 miles long and 50 miles wide in central/south-central Texas, extending from north of Dallas to southwest of San Antonio. Its location, weather patterns, and geology often combine to create devastating floods.