‘I don't think I'll ever forget': Camp Mystic counsellor on devastating moment after deadly Texas flood
The death toll from the catastrophic flooding has surpassed 100 people, as rescuers continued their grim search for those swept away by torrents of water.
Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counsellors who were staying at the Christian youth summer camp, which abuts the Guadalupe River. The all-girls camp in Kerr County was housing about 750 people when the floodwaters struck, with the river surging by up to nine metres above its usual level.
One counsellor, Holly Kate Hurley, said she was woken at about 1.30am to 'rain … coming through our windows'.
'I woke my girls up, told them to close the windows and then the power just went out, all the fans turned off, running water didn't work,' the 19-year-old told Fox News.
'In the morning, they gathered all the counsellors that were at Cyprus Lake and they told us that two of the cabins with the seven-year-old girls were wiped away and all these girls were missing.
'And we went back to our cabins and tried to keep up good spirits with these young girls. I think I was just in shock.'
Ms Hurley also recalled the heartbreaking moment her campers were reunited with their families.
'Seeing little girls run to their parents and just hug them and cry, and also just seeing some parents who were looking for their little girls and they weren't there … That's just a sight I don't think I'll ever forget,' she said.
Callie McAlary, who was rescued from Camp Mystic, described the harrowing ordeal over the weekend to Fox News.
'We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm. One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water's coming up,' the 16-year-old camp attendee said.
'And you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety. And luckily, my cabin was one of the few cabins that did not get water, but the cabins in front of us did get some water.'
In an effort to protect herself and prepare for the worst-case scenario, the teen put a name tag on her body in the middle of the night.
'I put on my name tag because I was scared that if water was coming out next to other cabins that our cabin might be next,' she said.
'And I just put it on just for safekeeping … in my head I was saying, 'If something does happen, and I do get swept away, at least I'll have my name on my body'.'
Ms McAlary said she was holding on to hope that the rest of her friends and all those who are missing are found soon.
'I really hope those kids that are missing are found. I knew a lot of those kids and a lot of those kids the night before hugged me before we all went to bed,' she said.
'And it's hard to think about that one minute they were hugging me and the next minute they could be gone.'
Sisters heartbreaking final text to parents
Two sisters killed in the floods were found with 'their hands locked together', grieving family members said as they continue to search for the girls' missing grandparents.
Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11, died while on a family trip in Casa Bonita, a gated community in the town of Hunt that was struck by the devastating deluge early on Friday morning, The New York Post reported.
The rushing water woke the girls' father, RJ Harber, around 3.30am, his sister Jennifer told KLOU, and the rain was pounding so hard outside that it was nearly impossible to hear the water pouring through their cabin door.
Around the same time, Brooke texted Mr Harber and her maternal grandparents 'I love you', Jennifer wrote on a GoFundMe for the family.
Mr Harber and his wife, Annie, shattered a window and clambered outside in a desperate bid to reach their daughters, who were staying in a separate cabin.
But the raging waters prevented them from reaching the other structure. In a last-ditch effort, the couple hurried to another neighbour's house and woke the family up to borrow their kayak and paddle through the flood. The waters, however, were too rough, and the parents wound up being rescued along with five surviving neighbours, Jennifer wrote.
When the sisters were found 12 hours later and 15 miles away, 'their hands were locked together,' Jennifer told KLOU.
Forecasters have warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground, complicating recovery efforts involving helicopters, boats, dogs and some 1750 personnel.
'There is still a threat of heavy rain with the potential to cause flooding,' Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement on Tuesday, with the number of victims expected to rise still.
President Donald Trump confirmed he planned to visit Texas this Friday, as the White House slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems.
'Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved life, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
She said the National Weather Service (NWS), which The New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued 'timely and precise forecasts and warnings'.
Mr Trump has described the floods that struck in the early hours of last Friday as a '100-year catastrophe' that 'nobody expected'.
The President, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.
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