After hours of waiting and praying in the attic, the water stopped rising and the family was rescued. A first responder helped Matteson, wearing a navy and pink floral dress and quilted white jacket, into the back of a car. Her family survived. Their home was not so lucky.

The deadly Texas floods have brought the state's approach to land approvals, especially in flood-prone areas, under more scrutiny.

At least 27 campers and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic during the devastating Texas floods. Some are still missing.

When too much rain falls for the ground to absorb, it runs downhill, pulled by gravity into streams, creeks and rivers.

Catastrophic flooding struck central Texas on Friday as the Guadalupe River surged by more than 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes, causing widespread devastation and forcing mass evacuations in Texas Hill Country. At least 80 people have been killed in the floods while others remain missing or displaced and more than 850 people required rescuing.

The search for the missing continues in Texas following a holiday weekend deluge that killed at least 82 people.

Search crews continued the grueling task of recovering the missing as more potential flash flooding threatened Texas Hill Country.

It’s discouraging that during this time when we have such a loss of life, and so many people’s lives have turned upside down, that people are playing politics with this,” Noem told NBC's Kristen Welker.