The early warnings and alerts from the National Weather Service didn’t indicate a catastrophic flood was on its way.

Eight-year-old girls at sleep-away camp, families crammed into recreational vehicles, local residents traveling to or from work. These are some of the victims.

Religion and the river are constant Kerr County touchstones. As residents lean on their faith, they grapple with their relationship to the water.

Walston drove from his home to the Center Point Bridge on FM 480 near Highway 27, where he shot video of the river below. He recorded nearly 38 minutes of surging water as it rose over 20 feet, carrying massive cypress trees, debris and even a house.

Satellite images show the damage left behind after floodwaters rushed through Camp Mystic, Camp La Junta and other summer camps on July 4.

In what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," the terrain reacts quickly to rainfall steep slopes, rocky ground, and narrow riverbeds leave little time for warning.

The Guadalupe River has risen to catastrophic levels in the same area three times in the past century, impacting camps and campers each time.

Rain rushing to the Guadalupe took it from a depth of less than 8 feet to 37.5 feet, a deluge with as much volume as an aircraft carrier over five minutes.

It took just 90 minutes for the river to rise more than 30 feet. A look at the historic flood levels now etched into Central Texas history.

Towler’s grandfather bought the property in Texas Hill Country in the 1930s, and she’s lived through many floods in her 70 years, losing a canoe or