Kerrville, Texas - President Donald Trump arrived Friday in Texas as questions swirled over the authorities' response to devastating flash floods that have left at least 120 people dead, including dozens of children.

The Republican leader and First Lady Melania Trump flew by helicopter to the Hill Country of central Texas to meet with first responders, families, and local officials a week after a rain-swollen river swept away houses, camp cabins, recreational vehicles, and people.

As they touched down in Kerrville, a city in the worst-affected Kerr County, where at least 96 people are confirmed dead from the historic flooding, they were greeted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

"We're going to be there with some of the great families" of flood victims, Trump told reporters before leaving the White House, calling the disaster a "terrible thing."

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The search for more than 170 missing people, including five girls who were at summer camp, entered the eighth day as rescue teams combed through mounds of debris and mud.

But with no live rescues reported this week, worries have swelled that the death toll could still rise.

Trump has brushed off questions about the impact of his cuts to federal agencies on the response to the flood, which he described as a "100-year catastrophe" that "nobody expected."

On Thursday, Homeland Security Department head Kristi Noem defended the immediate response as "swift and efficient."

Later that day, with Texas officials facing questions about why emergency evacuation messages to residents and visitors along the flooding Guadalupe River reportedly were delayed, in some cases by several hours, Trump expressed support for a flood warning system.

"After having seen this horrible event, I would imagine you'd put alarms up in some form, where alarms would go up if they see any large amounts of water or whatever it is," Trump told NBC News in a telephone interview.

"But the local officials were hit by this just like everybody else," he said.