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

President Donald Trump met with victims' families and surveyed the damage of catastrophic floods that struck the state one week ago.

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.

HAMPTON ROADS — On July 4, a flash flood along the Guadalupe River overwhelmed the Texas hill country region of Kerr County. The river surged to almost 30 feet in under an hour, leading to a major rush of water. At the heart of the storm was Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls.

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.

Satellite images show the damage left behind after floodwaters rushed through Camp Mystic, Camp La Junta and other summer camps on July 4.

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.

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.

Plans to develop a flood monitoring system in the Texas county hit hardest by deadly floods were scheduled to begin only a few weeks later.