Kerr County officials addressed the Fourth of July floods that killed dozens of people during a commissioners’ court meeting on Monday morning.

Kerr County officials now estimate that flood damage from the recent Central Texas disaster could exceed $200 million-and to help cover mounting recovery costs, they may raise property taxes for the first time in years.

That includes an orange cat named Sampson, who disappeared when his family’s house was destroyed. “Samson’s owner did not give up looking for him. The family lost their home in the flood and both family cats were thought to be swept away,” Kerr Pets Alive said in a TikTok post.

Some leaders said they are not prepared to raise taxes for what costs “might” be around the corner as Kerr County rebuilds from the Hill Country floods.

Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.

Mounting evidence shows no state is safe from the flooding that ravaged the Texas Hill Country. Your community could be next.

Many described the river’s rise as a “wall of water.” But to understand just how much water fell, it's helpful to put the numbers in perspective.

Less than 5% of homes in the county's FEMA floodplain had flood coverage, well below the national average. Uptake was even worse in other areas that flooded.