KERRVILLE, Texas — Scenes of devastation stretched along Texas’ Guadalupe River Saturday morning, the day after a “deadly flood wave” pushed a 20-foot surge of water several miles down the river, leaving at least 24 dead and dozens more still missing, including several girls from a summer camp.

And local officials said the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster declaration for more than a dozen counties in the Texas Hill Country.

According to Texas authorities, nearly 300 people have been rescued, but the exact number of those needing help is unknown because of the many parks and recreational areas along the Guadalupe River and water levels are still running high.

“This is a catastrophic flooding event in Kerr County,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.

Among those still missing are 23-25 children who were attending a summer camp. A letter to parents from Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls located 18 miles from Kerrvile in Hunt, said they had experienced “catastrophic level” floods. While two of the groups have been fully accounted for, the letter stated “if your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified.”

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Abbott says the state has deployed more than 1,000 state responders and more than 800 vehicles and equipment, and more than 15 state agencies are currently responding to the flooding threat across the state.

“It’s catastrophic, the damage that we’re already seeing,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Bayne Forney said as she stood along the damaged river bank in Kerrville on Saturday morning. “Even though the water has been receding, we’re now seeing a lot more of that damage opening up. Just behind me is the foundation of what used to be a home. The entire home was swept away. All that is left is the foundation and the front porch. That’s it. It’s a scene we’re seeing all across this town… it’s just devastating.”

‘We didn’t know the flood was coming’

Those along the river had little indication of the upcoming destruction or much time to act. A cluster of thunderstorms sat parked over the region Thursday night into early Friday morning, dumping 12-15 inches of rain in just hours around San Angelo and triggering a Flash Flood Emergency. Mason reported 15.60 inches while San Angelo registered 12.72 inches.

Heavy rains crawled to the south and east, eventually pouring 5-8 inches of rain across the Guadelupe River basin, sending torrents of water downstream.

“Automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned in issuing their Flash Flood Emergency Friday morning. “Flash flooding is already occurring. This is a Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale. This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!”

WHAT FLOOD WATCHES, FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCIES MEAN

River gauges showed incredible rises in water levels along the Guadalupe. The surge measured 20 feet in just an hour at Kerrville and nearly 27 feet in Comfort, Texas in just 45 minutes, taking the river from normal levels to historic levels not seen in nearly a century before many had time to react.

“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said during a late Friday morning press conference. “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”

The torrential rains led to damaging flooding in other nearby counties. San Angelo in Tom Green County reported a 2-mile-wide area of town that had been “greatly affected” by catastrophic flooding. Their emergency dispatchers received over 100 calls for help and water rescues in just an hour early Friday morning. The town of Brady in McCulloch County also reported numerous water rescues.

Slow-moving storm still wreaking havoc

While the rains subsided in Kerr County on Saturday morning, the storm is still dumping life-threatening amounts of rain in central Texas.

Three-hour radar loop.

(FOX Weather)

Flash Flood Emergencies were in effect Saturday morning for parts of Burnet, Williamson and Travis Counties, just north of the Austin area. Another 5-12 inches of rain fell in the area overnight, with rain falling at rates of 3-6 inches per hour, the National Weather Service in Austin said. Another 2-5 inches of rain was likely on Saturday morning.

Much like Friday’s warnings, the NWS is urging people to seek higher ground as the storms present a “particularly dangerous situation.”

And slow-moving thunderstorms with heavy rains remain in the forecast for Central Texas Saturday. While the storms had drifted east on Saturday morning, there are some indications more thunderstorms could return to the hard-hit areas later Saturday, with some areas under threat of another 3 inches of rain or more.

Texas Flood Alerts.

(FOX Weather)

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has the area in a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk, and Flood Watches remain in effect in Central Texas into Saturday evening.

Worst flooding in the region in 38 years

The latest catastrophic event is similar to flash flooding that impacted the region more than 35 years ago.

Slow-moving thunderstorms in mid-July 1987 caused significant flooding along the Guadalupe River, which resulted in the deaths of around a dozen people, with dozens of others injured.

The crests of the Guadalupe River exceeded those levels on Friday.

Heavy rain fell through the morning Saturday inundating Burnet County and parts of western Travis, Williamson counties.

AUSTIN, Texas — First responders across Central Texas spent the early hours Saturday scrambling to rescue dozens of people from rising floodwater, primarily in Burnet County along with western Travis and Williamson counties.

The heaviest rain fell near Bertram and Burnet, where a foot or more was measured in Lower Colorado River Authority rain gauges. The Emergency Management Coordinator for Burnet County, Derek Marchio, told KVUE they had conducted 25 water rescues all before 8 a.m. Saturday.

Marchio also said U.S. highways 29 and 281 – major corridors through the county – were impassible due to flooding, along with many other roads.

His advice to residents was simply to stay home, and not to attempt to get out on the roads.

KVUE Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski also talked to sources in Austin Travis County EMS. They also reported dozens of water rescues, many of which were along Cow Creek, west of Lago Vista. Crews have found remnants of mobile homes that appear to have been carried downstream, but they are uncertain whether the homes were occupied when they were swept away.

Parts of FM 1431 between Cedar Park and Marble Falls were flooded Saturday morning as well. KVUE crews hit a road block just east of Jonestown, where Big Sandy Creek was flowing over the highway.

In Williamson County, emergency management officials have advised residents of mobile home parks along the San Gabriel River east of Georgetown to evacuate. Those include Riverside, Shady River, and Goodwater.