At least 68 deaths—including the deaths of 21 children—have now been confirmed in the central Texas flash floods, according to the latest update from officials, though dozens of children from a summer camp remain unaccounted for as blame swirls over preparedness and whether residents were properly alerted.

Anguished parents waited for word on the more than two dozen children still missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp.

The death toll now stands at 70 in the wake of torrential rains and the resulting flooding in Texas. By far the greatest number of fatalities occurred in Kerr County, where 59 people are believed to be dead, according to officials, including 21 children.