Over just two hours, the Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose from hip-height to three stories tall, sending water weighing as much as the Empire State building downstream roughly every minute it remained at its crest. The force of floodwater is often more powerful and surprising than people imagine.

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.

FEMA staff have also been answering phones at a disaster call center, where, according to one agency official, callers have faced longer wait times as the agency awaited Noem’s approval for a

Renee Smajstrla, a 8-year-old straight-A student from Ingram, Texas, who had played a role in her school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” was one of the victims who died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, her family said.

The Hardins are not the only South Florida family who lost loved ones in the central Texas floods. The twin 8-year-old granddaughters of Miami childhood education advocate David Lawrence Jr. died in the floods. Hannah and Rebecca were among the girls staying at Camp Mystic.

Kerr County officials say they are still focused mainly on the search for survivors with hundreds still missing and weren't yet examining how the emergency response unfolded.

Arnold Duke joins The Lead

Up to 18 inches of rain fell between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, 2007, triggering flash floods that are still considered some of Minnesota's worst. It killed seven people and caused $179 million in damages, mostly in Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties.