US floods kill 24, leave 20 children missing and 700 stranded

Storms and floods that hit the Guadalupe River in the US state of Texas on Friday (4) killed at least 24 people, left 20 children attending a summer camp missing and another 700 stranded, US authorities said.

Kerr County, 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of San Antonio, declared a state of emergency due to the rains. County Administrator Dalton Rice said the storm came without warning and officials did not have time to issue evacuation alerts to affected residents.

"Even the radar couldn't predict what happened. It happened in less than two hours," Rice told reporters. County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the death toll, which includes children, was expected to rise. Thousands of people were without power.

The state government called in rescue workers to search for the 20 missing girls. They were part of a group of 700 children who were attending the Christian camp for girls, Camp Mystic, near the Guadalupe River, which overflowed in the early hours of the morning.

The other children are out of danger but remain stranded on the camp grounds, police said, because roads are inaccessible. Camp Mystic is without power, water and internet.

The Guadualupe River rose 26 feet (8 meters) in 45 minutes, local authorities said. Firefighters deployed hundreds of volunteers, 14 helicopters and drones to search for stranded people and rescue the children from Camp Mystic.

Storms are expected to remain intense in the coming days. Since Thursday (3), the Kerr and Hunt regions on the Guadualupe River have received 170 millimeters of rain. The Donald Trump administration has activated the Coast Guard and the Federal Disaster Response Agency.

According to the New York Times, Camp Mystic is over a hundred years old and is one of the most traditional Christian camps in Texas, offering a summer camp for girls as young as nine years old.

According to the camp's website, "Camp Mystic aims to provide girls with a comfortable, Christian environment in which they can develop self-esteem and character."