Rescue teams scoured the swollen banks of the Guadalupe River on Saturday, deploying by land, air, and water in a frantic effort to locate more than two dozen people still unaccounted for following catastrophic flash floods that swept through central Texas the day before.

Authorities confirmed at least 51 fatalities, including 15 children. Kerr County bore the brunt of the tragedy, recording 43 deaths, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha. Additional fatalities occurred in Travis (4), Burnet (3), and Kendall (1) counties, officials said.

Among those dead or missing were children attending Camp Mystic, a well-known Christian summer camp for girls. While many were rescued in dramatic efforts led by counselors and first responders, the scope of loss is still unfolding.

One mother, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the harrowing ordeal her daughter endured. The girls were jolted awake by thunder early Friday and soon noticed emergency lights outside.

A truck arrived to evacuate the cabins, but it filled quickly. Left behind, the girls from her daughter’s cabin were led through swiftly moving ankle-deep water to the camp’s recreation hall. The current was so strong it tore flip-flops from their feet.

Once inside the large hall which features a second-story balcony the counselors calmed the girls by leading them in songs as floodwaters rose to about 10 feet.

Eventually, the waters receded, leaving behind thick mud. One camper recalled being grateful for her Crocs, which kept her feet protected.

The girls were later airlifted to safety and reunited with their families at a nearby elementary school serving as a reunification point.

Among the evacuees were two daughters of Rep. August Pfluger Caroline and Juliana he revealed in a social media post.

Tragically, not all campers made it out. Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh of Mountain Brook, Alabama, and nine-year-old Janie Hunt of Dallas were among those confirmed dead. Janie, a great-granddaughter of oil magnate William Herbert Hunt, had been attending the camp with six cousins, all of whom survived.

Another young victim's family expressed their sorrow online, writing: “We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.”

Adult casualties have also been reported. Jane Ragsdale, director and co-owner of Heart O’ the Hills summer camp, perished despite the camp being closed at the time. Bobby Martin, 46, and his wife Amanda, 44, from Odessa, Texas, were also swept away while camping along the river. According to Bobby’s father, their grandson and the boy’s girlfriend who were with them remain missing.

The tragedy deepened further with the loss of 27-year-old Julian Ryan. Trapped inside his trailer with family members as waters rose rapidly, Ryan broke a window in desperation, cutting his arm severely. His fiancée, Christinia Wilson, and mother, Marilyn Ryan, said he bled heavily while awaiting rescue that never came. With water up to their necks, Julian reportedly told his fiancée, “I love you. I’m so sorry,” before succumbing.

While modern technology has improved weather forecasting and emergency alert systems, the speed and intensity of the storm overwhelmed both residents and authorities.

The National Weather Service had issued a general flood watch Thursday for the Hill Country, warning of possible intense storms and flash flooding with projected rainfall of 5 to 7 inches. However, certain areas saw far more up to 15 inches in isolated bursts over the river plain, far exceeding forecasts.

Early Friday morning, as most residents were still asleep, the weather service escalated its warnings, issuing a rare “particularly dangerous situation” alert around 5:34 a.m. for Kerr County, urging immediate evacuation to higher ground. Despite this, it remains unclear how widely the alerts were received. Some locals later said they had heard the alerts but assumed they were routine.

In Hunt, a river gauge showed water levels jumping from 7 feet at midnight to more than 29 feet by 4 a.m. the second-highest level on record, according to NOAA.

Emergency officials acknowledged they were unprepared for such an extreme event. “The amount of rain that fell was never in any of those forecasts,” said W. Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Department of Emergency Management.

Dalton Rice, Kerrville’s city manager, noted that overnight mass evacuations in a region with many low-lying, flood-prone roads could have led to even more deaths. “You could go into a mass panic... which could be even more deadly by having vehicles swept away,” he said.

Camps were instructed to seek higher ground and await rescue. Response units from various agencies mobilized swiftly. By Saturday afternoon, more than 850 people had been rescued hundreds by helicopter. One woman was airlifted from a tree roughly 20 miles downstream from where she’d been camping.

As search operations continued, officials admitted the chances of finding additional survivors were slim. Still, hope remained.

“Our hope and prayer is that there are still people alive out there,” Kidd said. “And we are actively searching for them.”