Camille Santana tragically lost her life during the Fourth of July floods that swept through Central Texas. Three other members of her family remain missing.

Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as the death toll rises to 120, as rescue operations start to shift to recovery phase

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.

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.

At least 110 people are dead and dozens are still missing after devastating flash floods slammed Texas Hill Country, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River, which rose rapidly early Friday morning to the height of a two-story building.

Flash flooding is common enough around the crescent-shaped region from Dallas through the Hill Country, the area earned the nickname "Flash Flood Alley."

Over just two hours, the Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose from hip-height to three stories tall, sending water weighing as much as the Empire State building downstream roughly every minute it remained at its crest. The force of floodwater is often more powerful and surprising than people imagine.

At least 161 people were missing from Kerr County alone, officials said. Several children were among the missing.