A swift-moving flood that swept through the Hill Country of Texas on Friday, killing at least 27 people and leaving many more missing, was a flash flood.

At least 24 people have died and about 20 children are missing after a catastrophic flash flood in Texas. The Guadalupe River that runs through Hill Country in central south Texas rose by 26ft (8 metres) in just 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday, according to officials, bursting its banks and damaging roads and property.

The death toll from sudden floods in the Texas Hill Country rose to 24 Friday night, officials said, as the search for more than 20 people missing from a girls summer camp continued through the night.