Hunt (United States) (AFP) - Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 27 people – with more rain on the way.

“So far, we’ve evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time,” said Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, adding that nine children were among the dead.

Addressing a press conference, Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said hundreds of people were taking part in rescue operations, which included ones conducted aerially by helicopter.

“One thing I want to tell you and assure y’all is that we will not stop till every single person is found,” said Leitha.

The flooding began Friday as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.

The National Weather Service warned of more extremely heavy rain and “locally catastrophic” flash flooding to come in the region, located northwest of San Antonio.

In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe River was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris.

“It rained in a day what it usually rains in a year,” said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61.

“The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so,” he added. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.”

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.

- ‘Still missing’ -

On Saturday, city official Rice said 27 children from the Camp Mystic Christian summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were enrolled at the camp.

US media reported that two of the missing girls were dead, citing their families.

The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was a picture of disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings scattered across buildings.

The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.

“I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it, we were in Kerrville all day at the emergency stations,” he said.

He pointed to the cabin where his daughter was meant to be, and said he had found some of her belongings within.

The Heart O’ The Hills summer camp, located about a mile away from Camp Mystic, confirmed on Saturday that its director Jane Ragsdale was among the dead.

- ‘Boots on the ground’ -

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a disaster declaration to boost resources for counties in the region, and President Donald Trump has promised federal support.

Rice said rescuers were facing “very difficult” conditions.

“We did start boots on the ground operations about 8:00 am (1300 GMT) this morning,” he said, warning residents not to launch their own searches.

Rice added that it was not known how many people may have been visiting the popular camping area, and declined to give an overall figure for how many people were missing.

State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area, which includes campgrounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads impassable.

Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the flash flood caused by heavy overnight rain of up to 12 inches – one-third of Kerr County’s average annual rainfall.

Governor Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

“It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this,” Reyna said.

“Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people’s houses and you know, it’s just crazy,” she added.

Martinez said Friday’s flooding was some of the worst he had ever seen.

“There is a saying here that there’s a flood every hundred years,” he said. “We had it. We’ve never seen anything like that and hopefully we won’t ever see it again.”

With rescuers fanning out across the region, Joe Herring, the Kerrville mayor, urged the community to come together.

“People need to know today will be a hard day. It will be a hard day,” he said, his voice breaking.

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