At least 27 people have died and dozens of children are missing after catastrophic flooding in Texas, with officials warning the casualty count will climb as forecasts call for more rain and the risk of further flash floods in the coming days.

Among those unaccounted for were at least 27 campers from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, officials said at a briefing Saturday. When the unexpected deluge hit Friday, there were about 750 children at the camp, which is about 85 miles northwest of San Antonio in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.

Mystic is one of several youth camps in the area that cater to middle- and upper-class families from Dallas, Houston and Austin who send kids for monthlong getaways at places like Camp Longhorn and Camp Waldemar. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice expressed gratitude to the first responders who had poured into the area, and told journalists that authorities were able to confirm that no other camps have missing children.

“We will not stop until every single person is found,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters. “We’ve got all the resources we need. We’re here for the long haul. Numbers will be changing rapidly, but we will not stop.”

President Donald Trump said in a social media post that federal officials are working with state and local counterparts, and that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was en route to the region. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration for 15 counties affected by the floods.

“Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best,” Trump wrote. “GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!”

The National Weather Service warned of more extreme rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding in parts of the region, and urged people in affected areas to seek higher ground. The extreme weather continued, with the agency saying more than a foot of rain had fallen in some areas overnight into Saturday, and downpours of as strong as 6 inches per hour are possible with the most severe storms.

The flood took Texas officials completely by surprise in a region that was packed with campers enjoying the Fourth of July holiday. Thunderstorms, combined with the remnants of short-lived Tropical Storm Barry, produced much more rain than had been forecast.

The Guadalupe River surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a briefing Friday. The National Weather Service had predicted only 3 to 6 inches of rain in the area.

Officials declined to give a figure for the total number of people missing, in part because so many visitors came to the area to camp during the holiday weekend.

“We just do not have numbers,” Rice said Saturday.

Of the 27 confirmed dead, 18 were adults and nine were children. Officials have evacuated around 850 people, and are using helicopters, boats and drones to search for others in need of assistance. Many roads were washed out, limiting access to some areas.

At Camp Mystic, aging bunks with names of former campers carved in the rafters sat on a slope near the river. Some were washed away by the surging waters.

Its website was overloaded with visitors Saturday, according to an error message. Photos said to be of missing children spread on social media, but officials declined to release names of any of the missing.

President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters spent several summers at Mystic among the live oak trees and cedar brush, and former first lady Laura Bush was a Mystic counselor in college, according to Texas Monthly.

Posts on a Facebook page called Kerrville Breaking News were filled with photos of people and pets said to be missing. One woman said she was trying to locate a 19-year-old counselor at Mystic.

“People need to know today will be a hard day,” said Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring.

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(With assistance from Yi Wei Wong, Shamim Adam, Susanne Barton and Brian K. Sullivan.)

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