A convenience store flooded by the Caddo River is seen in Glenwood, Ark., on Friday after flash floods swamped campgrounds along a pair of southwestern Arkansas rivers early Friday.

Caddo Gap, Ark. ? Floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour tore through a campground packed with vacationing families early Friday, carrying away tents and overturning RVs as campers slept. At least 16 people were killed, and dozens more missing and feared dead.

Heavy rains caused the normally quiet Caddo and Little Missouri rivers to climb out of their banks during the night. Around dawn, floodwaters barreled into the Albert Pike Recreation Area, a 54-unit campground in the Ouachita National Forest where cars were wrapped around trees and children’s clothing was scattered across campsites.

The raging torrent poured through the remote valley with such force that it peeled asphalt off roads and bark off trees. Cabins dotting the river banks were severely damaged. Mobile homes lay on their sides.

At least two dozen people were hospitalized. Authorities rescued dozens more before suspending their search at nightfall Friday. Crews on helicopters, canoes, ATVs and horses would resume at daybreak today, said Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler.

A call center set up for people to report loved ones who may be missing at the campground received inquiries about 73 people Friday, said Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Chad Stover.

“We haven’t confirmed if they were at the campsite, but people have called because they believe a loved one may have been there and they can’t locate them,” Stover said late Friday. “As we begin search and rescue operations tomorrow morning, it will give us a better idea of how many people we may be looking for.

“And we still consider it a search and rescue operation for a little while longer.”

Campground visitors are required to sign a log as they take a site, but the registry was carried away by the floodwaters.

Marc and Stacy McNeil of Marshall, Texas, survived by pulling their pickup truck between two trees and standing in the bed in waist-deep water. They were on their first night of camping with a group of seven, staying in tents. The rain kept falling, and the water kept rising throughout the night, at one point topping the tool box in the back of the truck.

“We huddled together, and prayed like we’d never prayed before,” Stacy McNeil said. They were able to walk to safety once the rain stopped.

A candlelight vigil in front of a Methodist church in the nearby town of Langley drew about 40 people Friday night who prayed and sang the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.”

Pastor Scott Kitchens, a visiting pastor from the neighboring town of Athens, said he had talked with victims’ families for much of the day. One woman described losing her 6-year-old child to a torrent of floodwater.

“I’ve had tragedy in my life,” Kitchens said, “but I have nothing to compare this to.”

At one point, Gov. Mike Beebe said the death had climbed to 20. But Beebe’s office later revised that figure to 16, saying he had relied on an erroneous figure after talking to an emergency worker at the scene.

Still, authorities agreed the death toll could easily rise. Forecasters had warned of the approaching danger during the night, but campers could easily have missed those advisories because the area is isolated.