FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Photos from the camp show the chaos caused by the floods, as blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other items were covered in mud...
Hundreds of rescue teams are searching for missing people in central Texas after flash floods killed 51 people, including 15 children.
The hardest-hit area is Kerr County, where 43 people have died and where 27 children remain missing from a Christian youth camp located along the Guadalupe River.
"The work continues and will continue until everyone is found," promised Larry Leitha, the Kerr County sheriff.
Victims have also been confirmed in other parts of the state, including Travis County and Tom Green County.
Multiple flash flood warnings remain in effect through the weekend in central Texas.
So far, about 850 people have been rescued.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had signed an expanded state of natural disaster declaration to boost search efforts.
He said officials would be relentless in ensuring that "every person who was a victim of this event is found," adding that "we will stop when the job is done."
Officials said a search and rescue mission, not a recovery effort, is now being undertaken.
They said rescue teams were going up and down the Guadalupe River to find people who may have been swept away by the floods.
US President Donald Trump said his administration is working closely with local authorities to respond to the emergency.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the federal government would send the Coast Guard to assist in the search.
Weather forecasters have warned that central Texas could face more flooding this weekend.
The bulk of the rescue operations have been focused on a large, all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic, located along the banks of the Guadalupe River.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told the BBC's Radio 4 PM program that many of the 27 missing girls were "under the age of 12."
Photos from the camp show the chaos caused by the floods, as blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other items were covered in mud.
Many of them were asleep when the river level rose more than 8 meters in less than an hour in the early hours of Friday.
In an email to parents of about 750 campers, Camp Mystic said that if they have not been contacted directly, their child has been found.
More details about the children who lost their lives are starting to emerge. Some of them were as young as 8 years old. It has also been confirmed that sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, who were 13 and 11 years old, are among the dead.
Dozens of campers who were vacationing over the July 4th weekend also went missing.
Lorena Guillen, whose home and restaurant were destroyed, had 28 recreational vehicles on her land near the river. She told the BBC News Channel that she heard the screams of a family of five.
"They were drowning," Guillen said, adding "they were holding onto trees to save themselves. But rescuers couldn't get to them."
At the Arcadia Live theater in Kerrville, parents were reunited with their daughters who had been staying at Camp Waldemor.
Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of the children's church and school district were among the dead and missing girls.
"Camper families are living every parent's worst nightmare," she said.
Jonathan and Brittany Rojas visited their relatives' home, which was completely destroyed.
They told the BBC that the mother and a baby in the family remained missing. A teenage boy, Leo, survived after clinging to barbed wire, escaping the strong current.
Another resident, Anthony, found his apartment full of mud and debris. His personal belongings could not be salvaged, except for a box containing childhood photos and a baby blanket.
"I lost everything I owned," he told the BBC. / Adapted from Pamphlet /
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