REYNOLDS COUNTY, MO — Emergency crews rescued about 20 people in Missouri on Friday after a building collapsed at a campground following widespread flooding and heavy rain in the state.

The campers were on top of a building at the Bearcat Getaway Campground near the Black River, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) south of St. Louis, when it collapsed and they were later rescued from the water, said Sgt. Eddie Young with the Missouri State Highway Patrol at a news conference.

The Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office said emergency responders performed more than 90 water rescues of campers and people in cars after several inches of rain fell overnight and morning across a long swath of central and eastern Missouri.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which increased by 6 to 12 inches as thunderstorms piled into the area one after another, said Matt Beitscher, senior meteorologist at the NWS office in St. Louis.

“It’s a very, very popular recreation spot,” Beitscher said of the affected counties. “So there are campgrounds there. There are places for rafting trips. There are a lot of vulnerable populations that would be susceptible to flash flooding.”

Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency and activated one of the state’s search and rescue teams to help. Several major roads were impassable due to flooding and damage, and a Missouri National Guard helicopter was being used to reach stranded people, Young said.

In Reynolds County, two rescue boats capsized in the flood, but other emergency personnel safely recovered first responders, the sheriff’s office said. A family reunification center has been created.