If you live in Central Texas, flash flood warnings are part of life. Nowhere is that truer than the 150-mile stretch of land that sits on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Warnings happen often. Floods themselves are rare.

But on July 4 at 3 a.m., four months’ worth of rain fell within hours, rapidly saturating the dry Hill Country soil and swelling creeks into violent torrents.

The Guadalupe River that snakes through downtown Kerrville averages a depth of just 1.65 feet. But between 5:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. that day, it surged from two feet to 34 feet, becoming a literal wall of water that swept through Kerr County communities.

As of this morning, the flash floods have claimed more than 100 lives. Hundreds of families spent Independence Day searching through debris for missing loved ones. Among the dead is Jeff Wilson, a teacher at my hometown school district, Humble ISD. (His wife, Amber, and son, Shiloh, are still missing.)

The dead include 27 children from Camp Mystic, a storied girls’ Christian summer camp.

It’s impossible to look at the pictures of these girls, or to read of children like Brooke and Blair Harber. The sisters—11 and 13 years old—were found with their hands locked together.