Young brothers swam for their lives to survive Texas flooding at Camp La Junta: ‘We had one choice'
Piers and Ruffin Boyett were fast asleep at Camp La Junta in Hunt, Texas, when they awoke at 4 a.m. Friday as the fierce storm raged, causing the waters of Guadalupe River to swell to 26 feet in 45 minutes.
'The flood started getting bigger,' younger brother Piers recounted to local KSAT on Saturday.
Advertisement
'We had bunk beds in our cabins and [the water] was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice — and we had to swim out of our cabin.'
Brothers Piers (left) and Ruffin (right) Boyett were forced to flee their cabin at Camp La Junta — by swimming out.
KSAT.com
The brothers, both wearing Camp La Junta T-shirts, recalled a terrifying scene.
Advertisement
'I had a first-hand view of the flood,' Ruffin said. 'The cabins were flooding and the walls, they broke down.'
'All of the campers in those cabins had to go up on the rafters and wait there until they could swim out,' Ruffin added.
Ruffin told the outlet that he was the first person to wake up in his cabin, and that his counselor was asleep as the waters continued to rise.
Advertisement
'He woke up like, 'What? We're flooding!'' Ruffin said of his counselor.
Devastation along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas.
REUTERS
The boys were able to find safe quarters after swimming out — sheltering in 'cabins on hills' at their camp for 17 hours.
'No one died, we're thankful for that,' Ruffin said, patting his brother on the back.
Advertisement
'On the way here, we saw some of the other camps destroyed. Obliterated,' the elder brother said in disbelief.
Camp La Junta is one of many youth camps in Kerr County — which experienced unprecented flooding early Friday morning. Forty-three people have died — 28 adults and 15 children, officials said in a Saturday night update.
Camp Mystic, a Christian summer retreat for girls, saw at least four campers killed and as many as 23 girls still unaccounted for, according to local officials.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
At least 350 are dead and 200 remain missing following devastating flash flood: 'Like it was the end of the world'
At least 350 are dead and 200 remain missing following devastating flash flood: 'Like it was the end of the world' The death toll in northwest Pakistan continues to rise after torrential rain sparked flash flooding over the weekend. The most recent deluge comes amid an exceptionally wet monsoon season driven by an overheating planet. At least 350 people died after weekend flash flooding pounded northwest Pakistan, with similar monsoon weather causing at least another 13 deaths in northern China this week, according to Reuters reports. The catastrophic flooding triggered landslides and swept entire homes into swollen, rapidly flowing rivers. Around 100 people were rescued from rooftops in Pakistan as the waters rose quickly around their homes, according to the Associated Press, per PBS News. Rescue crews are still searching for over 200 people who are still missing in and around the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday's flash floods, according to Reuters. "I heard a loud noise as if the mountain was sliding. I rushed outside and saw the entire area shaking, like it was the end of the world," said one resident from the Buner district who survived the event, per Yahoo News. "I thought it was doomsday. The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face." Reuters reported that the flooding was caused by a cloudburst, which causes massive rain in a short period of time. Our warming world has supercharged heavy monsoon rain in Pakistan this summer, worsening urban flooding that affected vulnerable communities, according to World Weather Attribution. Researchers from leading institutions form the core of WWA, working closely with local scientists to share expertise on climate data, weather patterns, modeling techniques, and the effects of extreme events. Those researchers recently completed a study on another devastating flood that impacted northern Pakistan in July. "Historical trends associated with global warming in observational datasets show the 30-day maximum rainfall over the study region is now approximately 22% more intense than it would have been in a climate that had not warmed by 1.3°C, due to the burning of fossil fuels, and, to a smaller extent, deforestation," concluded WWA researchers. The flooding during the monsoon season of 2022 ranks among the worst on record for Pakistan. The country received more than three times its average rainfall in August, the wettest August in more than 50 years. More than 33 million people were impacted, 1.7 million homes were destroyed, and nearly 1,500 people were killed as a result of flooding that summer. A WWA study of that event also concluded that our overheating planet increased the extreme monsoon rainfall that caused so much devastation. Do you think your city has good air quality? Definitely Somewhat Depends on the time of year Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian and social welfare services throughout Pakistan, reports that there have been close to 700 deaths from flooding across the country since June 26 this summer. "Families affected by the floods are in desperate need of urgent relief to survive these difficult days," said the AKFP in their request for aid. "They require shelter tents and tarpaulin sheets to protect themselves from the rain, mosquito nets to stay safe from dengue and malaria, and blankets to shield children and the elderly from the cold." The AKFP website offers several ways to donate to the ongoing recovery efforts in Pakistan. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
At least 350 are dead and 200 remain missing following devastating flash flood: 'Like it was the end of the world'
At least 350 are dead and 200 remain missing following devastating flash flood: 'Like it was the end of the world' The death toll in northwest Pakistan continues to rise after torrential rain sparked flash flooding over the weekend. The most recent deluge comes amid an exceptionally wet monsoon season driven by an overheating planet. At least 350 people died after weekend flash flooding pounded northwest Pakistan, with similar monsoon weather causing at least another 13 deaths in northern China this week, according to Reuters reports. The catastrophic flooding triggered landslides and swept entire homes into swollen, rapidly flowing rivers. Around 100 people were rescued from rooftops in Pakistan as the waters rose quickly around their homes, according to the Associated Press, per PBS News. Rescue crews are still searching for over 200 people who are still missing in and around the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday's flash floods, according to Reuters. "I heard a loud noise as if the mountain was sliding. I rushed outside and saw the entire area shaking, like it was the end of the world," said one resident from the Buner district who survived the event, per Yahoo News. "I thought it was doomsday. The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face." Reuters reported that the flooding was caused by a cloudburst, which causes massive rain in a short period of time. Our warming world has supercharged heavy monsoon rain in Pakistan this summer, worsening urban flooding that affected vulnerable communities, according to World Weather Attribution. Researchers from leading institutions form the core of WWA, working closely with local scientists to share expertise on climate data, weather patterns, modeling techniques, and the effects of extreme events. Those researchers recently completed a study on another devastating flood that impacted northern Pakistan in July. "Historical trends associated with global warming in observational datasets show the 30-day maximum rainfall over the study region is now approximately 22% more intense than it would have been in a climate that had not warmed by 1.3°C, due to the burning of fossil fuels, and, to a smaller extent, deforestation," concluded WWA researchers. The flooding during the monsoon season of 2022 ranks among the worst on record for Pakistan. The country received more than three times its average rainfall in August, the wettest August in more than 50 years. More than 33 million people were impacted, 1.7 million homes were destroyed, and nearly 1,500 people were killed as a result of flooding that summer. A WWA study of that event also concluded that our overheating planet increased the extreme monsoon rainfall that caused so much devastation. Do you think your city has good air quality? Definitely Somewhat Depends on the time of year Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian and social welfare services throughout Pakistan, reports that there have been close to 700 deaths from flooding across the country since June 26 this summer. "Families affected by the floods are in desperate need of urgent relief to survive these difficult days," said the AKFP in their request for aid. "They require shelter tents and tarpaulin sheets to protect themselves from the rain, mosquito nets to stay safe from dengue and malaria, and blankets to shield children and the elderly from the cold." The AKFP website offers several ways to donate to the ongoing recovery efforts in Pakistan. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future? By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) -During last month's deadly floods in Beijing, rural hotel owner Cui Jian and his guests spent the night stranded on a rooftop in torrential rain before rescuers battled through metre-high mud and silt to get to them the next day. Beijing's mountainous northern Huairou district and neighbouring Miyun district received a year's worth of rain in a single week, triggering flash floods that devastated entire villages and killed 44 people in the deadliest flood since 2012. The authorities' most serious weather warning came too late for most villagers in Huairou, who were already asleep by the time it was issued. "In the past, they closed scenic areas and campsites, evacuated tourists and relocated villagers. If you warn people in time, good, but if not, it's a natural disaster," said Cui, whose 10 properties in the same Huairou district village, which he had spent 35 million yuan ($4.87 million) renovating, were submerged. The floods exposed weaknesses in the rural emergency response infrastructure for Beijing, whose urban core is surrounded by several rural districts. But they also revealed how historically-dry Beijing, home to 22 million people, remains insufficiently prepared for what experts say will be an increasingly wet future. The Chinese capital has experienced three deluges since 2012 that forecasters said could only happen once every 100 years, and climate experts warn there is a growing risk of disasters on a previously unthinkable scale. Chinese experts are increasingly calling for city planners to prioritise "ecological resilience" given the disastrous effects of climate change. "The current understanding of the climate crisis and its future challenges is insufficient, which naturally leads to insufficient deployment and planning," said Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary-General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. China's ministries of housing and environment, and the Beijing city government, did not respond to faxed requests for comment. While two Beijing districts devastated by floods in 2023 have issued long-term reconstruction plans prioritising "climate-adaptive city construction" and proposing measures to improve rural flood control systems and upgrade infrastructure, the vast majority of recently-commissioned infrastructure projects in the capital do not prioritise climate adaptation in their plans. A Chinese government database showed only three Beijing infrastructure projects in the past five years whose procurement tenders mentioned "ecological resilience", while several hundred tenders mentioning "climate change" were mostly related to research projects at state scientific institutes in Beijing. Ecological resilience refers to measures such as restoring natural river embankments, reducing the use of concrete and other hard materials and excessive artificial landscaping, as well as increasing biodiversity, according to Zhou. In a shift away from decades of breakneck urbanisation that propelled China's economic growth, a top-level urban planning meeting in July emphasised building "liveable, sustainable and resilient" cities. Mid-July is typically when northern China's rainy season starts, but this year it had its earliest start since records began in 1961, while several Beijing rivers experienced their largest-ever recorded floods. Citywide rainfall in June and July surged 75% from a year earlier, official data showed. This is due to the "significant northward expansion of China's rain belt since 2011" linked to climate change, the director of China's National Climate Center told state-owned China Newsweek, marking a shift towards "multiple, long-term, sustained cycles of rainfall" in the traditionally arid north. 'SPONGE CITIES' China's policymakers have taken some steps to combat urban flooding. "Sponge city" projects have been underway across the country since 2015, transforming concrete-laden megacities with hidden drainage infrastructure such as permeable asphalt pavements, sunken rain gardens and modernised sewage systems. The concept, originating in China, refers to mimicking a sponge's ability to absorb and release rainwater. In Beijing, recently-built projects include flood control pumping stations, riverside parks and manmade lakes. China spent more than 2.9 trillion yuan ($403.78 billion) on more than 60,000 "sponge city" infrastructure projects in 2024, according to official data. Authorities aim to have covered 80% of urban areas in all cities by 2030, although many provinces and major cities are behind schedule. In Beijing, new "sponge city" projects worth at least 155 million yuan have begun this year, according to a Chinese procurement tender database. Currently, 38% of Beijing's urban areas meet "sponge city" standards, media reports say. But experts say such initiatives cannot help in Beijing's rural fringes because the mountainous landscape makes villages, usually built at the foot of steep hillsides and lacking emergency response infrastructure, more vulnerable to secondary disasters such as landslides. Current "sponge city" standards are also based on historical precipitation data and are poorly-equipped to deal with extreme rainfall, said Yuan Yuan, Greenpeace East Asia's climate and energy campaigner. Future contingency plans must also consider ensuring pre-emptive evacuation of residents and improving early warning systems, in particular identifying vulnerable populations with limited mobility, she added. In the recent Beijing floods, 31 elderly residents of a nursing home in Miyun were among the dead. They had not been included in evacuation plans and were trapped in the rising waters. "It's necessary to rationally plan the infrastructure needed by local communities and ... coordinate risk response plans and countermeasures, to create an integrated system to minimise future losses," Yuan said. ($1 = 7.1813 Chinese yuan renminbi) Solve the daily Crossword
