Tragedy has struck in Texas with scores dead in massive floods. Sadly, flooding deaths are not uncommon in the U.S. Flooding has caused an average of more than 125 deaths per year in the United States over the past few decades, according to the National Weather Service, and flash floods are the nation’s top storm-related killer.

When the precipitation intensified in the early morning hours Friday, many people failed to receive or respond to flood warnings at riverside campsites known to be in the floodplain.

HUNT, Texas (AP) — Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles in the search for more than 160 people believed to be missing in the flash floods that laid waste to state’s Hill Country.

According to local authorities, at least 109 people died on July 4 and 5, most of which were swept up in floodwaters from campgrounds along the Guadalupe River. That’s just shy of the 118 deaths reported as a result of Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Camp Mystic has deep roots with Texas politicians, including former first lady Laura Bush, who worked as a counselor there, and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent his daughters there.

The devastation in Texas Hill Country isn't the first time Americans have mourned the victims of deadly floodwaters.

Fred Barrett, a descendant of Harrison Barrett, said the use of the name Barrett Station is reminiscent of a "discriminatory history."

The floods that devastated Texas’ Hill Country over the weekend is likely to result in hefty human and economic tolls.