By Jane Ross, Steve Gorman and Maria Tsvetkova KERRVILLE, Texas (Reuters) -The death toll from the July Fourth flash flood that ravaged a swath of central Texas Hill Country rose on Tuesday to at least 109,

Texas Governor Greg Abbott told a news briefing on Tuesday afternoon that at least 161 people are known to be missing after the deadly flooding, noting that searches will persist throughout the Guadalupe River system in the hope of locating anyone else.

Emergency responders kept hope alive as they combed through fallen trees and other debris that littered hard-hit central Texas communities on the fifth day after devastating floods killed more than 100.