Even before the Central Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, the state was by far the leader in U.S. flood deaths due partly to geography that can funnel rainwater into deadly deluges, according to a study spanning decades.

Key questions remain unanswered about the actions Texas officials took both before and during the catastrophic July Fourth holiday floods as a painstaking search for victims continues along the Guadal...

Across a wide swath of Texas, the inundated rivers that ravaged communities also tore through farms and ranches.