At Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas, where officials are grieving the loss of 27 children and counselors, belongings of the young campers were strewn about the flooded floors of a dormitory, while other items, including a pink backpack and a Camp Mystic T-shirt, were found along the bloated Guadalupe River, photos show.

At Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp nestled in the Texas Hill Country, 27 people are confirmed dead, most of them rising third- and fourth-graders. Of the "Bubble Inn" cabin-13 girls and two counselors-10 girls and one counselor have been found dead. Three girls and a second counselor, 19-year-old Katherine Ferruzzo, remain missing.

Without a modern flood warning system, emergency officials monitor four sensors along the Guadalupe River – including one that was knocked out in the

Flash flooding is common enough around the crescent-shaped region from Dallas through the Hill Country, the area earned the nickname "Flash Flood Alley."

Central Texas, with its rocky soil, steep terrain and susceptibility to heavy rain, has been prone to devastating floods over the decades.

In the wee hours last Friday morning, the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes in Hunt, Texas. Like all flash floods, this record-breaking water swell resulted from a large amount of rain that drenched one area over a relatively short amount of time.