Right along one of the Guadalupe River’s bends, the Christian camp Camp Mystic has been a summertime haven for generations of Texas girls.

(Reuters) -Founded by a University of Texas football coach, Camp Mystic where raging floodwaters swept away dozens of girls - killing several and leaving many others missing - was established along the banks of the Guadalupe River in central Texas hill country nearly a century ago "to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere.

As the Hill Country reels from the devastating floods that surged through Kerr County on the Fourth of July, the names of those lost are beginning to emerge. Friday's flood prompted a disaster declaration and a wide-scale emergency response.

Rescuers raced against the clock overnight in their frantic search for more than 20 missing girls from a private Christian camp and anyone else who may have survived the deadly, unprecedented, and catastrophic floods when the Guadalupe River burst its banks in Kerr County.

The death toll from the destructive Texas flash floods rose to 51 Saturday, with hundreds of rescuers combing through water and debris to find missing people, including children from a summer camp. The majority of fatalities were recorded along Guadalupe River basin in Kerr County.