Officials at Camp Mystic, the summer camp that was devastated by the weekend’s flash flooding, have confirmed that 27 campers and staff members have died.

The camp’s operators wrote on its website, “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly.”

The search for those who are still missing continues, CNN reported.

“We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us,” the statement continued.

The camp was described on its website as “a private Christian summer camp for girls. Established in 1926, Mystic is nestled among cypress, live oak, and pecan trees in the hill country of west-central Texas on the banks of the beautiful Guadalupe River. Mystic is located near the geographical center of Texas, 18 miles northwest of Kerrville. The staff at Mystic strives to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem.”

In less than two hours, water from the river rose 26 feet as the campers slept, The Associated Press.

The AP said that the region is “naturally prone to flash flooding” because the land is made up of packed, dry dirt that allows the water to pour across it instead of being soaked up.

The storm that swamped the area dumped most of the 12 inches of water in the “dark early morning hours,” the AP reported. A flood watch notice was sent Thursday afternoon, with the National Weather Service issuing an urgent warning at 4 a.m.

Camp Mystic was not told to evacuate and was not alerted to the danger before 4 a.m. on July 4, with officials saying that people may end up ignoring alerts when there are too many flooding warnings or forecasts don’t turn out as severe as expected, the AP reported.

“We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm. One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water’s coming up,” camper Callie McAlary, 16, said, according to Fox News.

“And you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety. And luckily, my cabin was one of the few cabins that did not get water, but the cabins in front of us did get some water.”

“We heard one second, it was really bad thunder. I woke up to a big giant sound of thunder and lightning striking,” McAlary said, according to Fox News. “We heard one of the campers run in and say, ‘Hey, our cabin is flooding.’ I knew some girls slept on trunks that night, some girls had to share beds, some girls slept on floors because they couldn’t go back to their cabin because it was so flooded in three cabins.”

Survivors said the flood was a “pitch black wall of death” and that they had no warning of the impending flooding. Officials are calling it a “100-year flood” that they didn’t expect to have water levels as high as they were when looking at historical records. Kerry County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives next to the Guadalupe River, said, “nobody saw this coming.”

At least 82 people are confirmed dead and 41 people are still missing, including 10 campers and a counselor from Camp Mystic, CNN reported.

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