India, July 8 -- The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has risen to more than 100, with 27 of the victims being young girls who were staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River. Most of the fatalities occurred in Kerr County, while other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Williamson, Kendall, and Tom Green counties.

As search-and-rescue teams continue wading through swollen rivers in a desperate search for the missing, questions are mounting about whether more could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

On the night of Friday, July 4, as much as 10 inches (25 cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours in central Kerr County. Around 4 a.m. local time, the Guada...