Some 43 people, including 15 children, have been confirmed dead following

flash floods in central Texas

Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued, including some who were clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain in an area around the Guadalupe River, about 137km north-west of San Antonio.

Among the missing were 27 girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp, Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said at a press conference on the evening of July 5, and there may be others beyond that.

“We are kind of looking at this in two ways called the known missing, which is the 27 ... We will not put a number on the other side because we just don’t know,” Mr Rice said.

The disaster unfolded rapidly on the morning of July 4 as heavier-than-forecast rain drove river waters rapidly to as high as 8.8 metres.

“We know that the rivers rise, but nobody saw this coming,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local official in the region.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said eight of the confirmed dead, including three children, had yet to be identified.

The US National Weather Service said the flash flood emergency has largely ended for Kerr County, following thunderstorms that dumped more than 30cm of rain. That is half of the total the region sees in a typical year. A flood watch remained in effect until 7pm local time for the broader region.

Kerr County sits in the Texas Hill Country, a rural area known for rugged terrain, historic towns and tourist attractions.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said an unknown number of visitors had come to th...