Released 911 calls capture minute-by-minute desperation of deadly Texas floods as callers beg for rescue

Kerrville, Texas (CNN) — Heartbreaking pleas for help poured into the Kerrville, Texas, police department’s Telecommunications Center as the deadly catastrophic floods swept across Texas Hill Country in the early hours of July 4.

CNN is listening to the more than 20 hours of 911 calls that were released by the Kerrville Police Department on Friday.

The recordings, uploaded in the order they were received, trace the flood emergency minute by minute, the rising terror of people trapped as water climbed first by the inch then by the foot through homes and cabins.

What begins as a cautious warning quickly escalates into panic, as callers plead for rescue while dispatchers, repeating the same urgent directive to get to higher floors, struggle to keep their voices steady.

“We cannot,” one f