The flooding brought the Guadalupe to its second-highest point in history, according to the National Weather Service, which urged people in the affected area to move to higher ground.

As authorities launch one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in recent Texas history, they have come under intensifying scrutiny over preparations and why residents and youth summer camps that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate.

So far, 27 people have been confirmed dead in Kerr County, Texas after severe flooding along the Guadalupe River. Here are photos of the devastation.

Rescuers were searching for more than two dozen girls missing from a summer camp in Texas after a flash flood killed at least 50 people, 15 of them children. The Guadalupe River that runs through the Hill Country in central south Texas rose by 26ft (8 metres) in 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday,