URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — It’s been three days and flash floods are still affecting the Texas Hill country outside of San Antonio. More than 104 victims have been reported and that number is expected to rise—while dozens are still missing in the area around the Guadalupe River.

While first responders are still trying to save lives — experts at the U of I say better response steps need to be developed to prevent future loss of life.

I got a chance to meet with a Professor of Engineering who researches flash flooding. She helped walk me through why flash floods are so deadly — why this one hit so fast — and what can be done to keep people the next time weather turns severe.

“The flash floods that we’re talking about are unique because they happen within 3 to 6 hours at the most.” said Environmental Engineering Department Head Ana Barros.

The latest just hit Texas’s Hill country last Friday. Peak water levels hit 36 feet in some areas. At this hour officials say more than 104 people are dead and dozens more are missing. Barros says these inland floods are different than those on the coast.

“They are very fast, and they usually happen in very small headwater basins.” said Barros, “And what that means is that all the rainfall is converted into runoff very fast.”

Barros explains these basins are like cups. And when the water overflows out of them down hilly areas — the water picks up speed having a devastating effect. Some critics are blaming the National Weather Service forecast — saying it didn’t predict the amount of rain the region saw.

“But that’s not really relevant because when you know that you have so much rainfall falling in a specific area, you’re going to get the flash flood.” said Barros.

She points out another difficulty in trying to predict flash flooding specifically.

“In the case of flash floods risk is actually spatial, meaning that over a given region, a flash flood could happen anywhere at any given time, but will not necessarily happen everywhere.” said Barros.

Going forward — Barros says improving the alert systems may be the answer. She says while weather prediction models aren’t perfect — they provide solid precipitation numbers up to two days in advance.

“Then with that information, we can actually predict where floods might happen and with that then inform citizens and provide them with tools so they can get out soon enough.” said Barros, “Oftentimes the limitation is that people don’t know where to go. They receive a warning, and they actually don’t have a plan. So, we need to have plans for these events.”

People in central Illinois are stepping up to help victims in Texas. The First Presbyterian Church of Gibson City is donating five-thousand dollars to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program called “Out of Chaos — Hope”. The funds will go to the Texas Hill Country flooding relief effort.