KERR COUNTY, Texas – More than 75 people have died due to flooding in the Texas Hill Country, and the death toll continues to rise.
On Monday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said of the 75 who died, 27 are children.
Leitha said Saturday more than 850 people have been rescued so far.
>> Who remains missing after flood waters swept through Texas Hill Country
One Kerr County resident, Bill Washam, shared what he saw and experienced from his vantage point, approximately two miles west of Ingram.
Washam said the weather rattled his windows and home overnight.
“The thunder was just, like, sledgehammers hitting the roof. It was unreal,” Washam said. “It was rocking us out of bed, and the rain was just relentless.”
Washam assumed that Friday’s weather event would include some flooding, but he said he didn’t expect what he later experienced.
Washam said he lived in the area during another tragic event: the flash flood that killed 10 children who attempted to flee the rising Guadalupe River in July 1987.
“Now that (July 1987 event) was the largest flood ever. (It) washed away those kids in Comfort and the buses and they had helicopter rescues and all that,” Washam said. “So, I was here for that one, and this (Friday’s flooding) is worse.”
Washam told KSAT that he wasn’t able to get an assessment of what happened until the rain let up some and there was enough light outside.
“I could see right over the roof of my cousin’s house, which is at the base of the hill, and all I saw was water moving at unbelievable speed,” Washam said. “Floating trees, kayaks, all kinds of stuff going down the river. It’s just a horrifying scene.”
Washam said he is not aware of anyone whose life has not been accounted for. He did share that a relative’s home was not as fortunate as his.
“I know one of my other cousins lives out near Camp Stewart, right on the river,” Washam said. “It washed away his RV bus. His neighbor came over and knocked on the door and got him out. A little while after he got out, it washed it away, and it’s wrapped around a tree. Thank God he got out of there.”
Washam also said other residents a few miles away from him were rescued before those homes were lost.
What startled Washam the most about the severe weather is the timing: Fourth of July weekend.
“The fact that it was the Fourth of July, when most people are camping and putting things down by the water — and closest to the water," Washam said. “The most dangerous possible scenario just happens the night before the Fourth, when the most people are here.”
‘I could hear screams’
The HTR Texas Hill Country Campgrounds and Blue Oak RV Park were situated next to each other along the Guadalupe River. Friday’s flooding wiped out the majority of the cabins and RVs that once sat there.
Julia Hatfield and her husband lived in an RV further away from the river. The couple woke up around 4 a.m. Friday to screams and water rushing quickly toward them.
“As we were rushing out, I could see all the RVs were gone and cabins were floating by,” Hatfield said. “I could hear screams and even saw a child get swept away. Thankfully, he survived.”
The campground was full of people for the Fourth of July weekend. She lost her RV but said she’s thankful to be alive.
‘No idea what’s ahead’
Steph Smith, 74, who rents a cabin in the Hill Country, said the water flooded her home, leaving it muddy and slippery.
She said she managed to get out of the house in the dark with her dog and cat, eventually getting to a phone.
Smith said the floodwaters left two inches of “slime” inside her home, making it dangerous to enter and get any of her belongings.
“I have no help,” Smith said. “Homeless, basically ... I have no idea what’s ahead.”
‘Oh my God, we’re floating’
The memories of going away to summer camp typically last a lifetime. For brothers Piers and Ruffin Boyett, their memories at Camp La Junta, located on State Highway 39 in Hunt, Texas, will carry a new meaning.
The brothers said it was difficult for them to sleep overnight.
“I couldn’t sleep because of the lightning,” Ruffin Boyett said.
“People were screaming that there was a flood,” Piers Boyett said. “There was a lot of water.”
The campers, including the Boyett brothers, swam to safety. They went to another cabin on higher ground before they were put on a bus and driven away from the Guadalupe River.
“Some cabins, like, flooded,” Piers Boyett said. “It flooded away, but nobody died (at the camp).”
“No one died,” Ruffin Boyett said. “We are thankful for that.”
‘Holy s---’: Kerrville husband, wife share their story of survival
Scott Weldon, a homeowner who lives along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, survived the flooding by clinging to a bush after the water started rising.
“I had no idea that something like this could happen, and then, holy s---,” Weldon said. “Stuff started to hit the walls, and my wife jumped up, looked out the back porch and saw it was the river.”
Weldon said the water rose so rapidly that, in the moments he went to grab his keys to move his truck, his belongings were already underwater.
“My truck, my Jeep, my four motorcycles, my kayak, golf cart all pretty much like, ‘Who knows where?’” Weldon said.
He said his friend told him that his flood insurance had been removed from the policy a few weeks ago without reason.
The insurance company “canceled us for no apparent good reason. Just randomly did it.”
Weldon said he and his wife escaped by jumping out of their home and ended up three houses down. They cling onto a bush in a hedge row to save themselves.
After approximately 20 to 30 minutes, rescue crews arrived just in time to help the couple and take them to safety.
“We, just, we survived,” Weldon said.
‘Overwhelming’
Irma Cantu, a neighbor of Weldon, said they live a couple of houses over. Fortunately, their home is safe.
They were able to evacuate quickly enough. She said the feeling is overwhelming.
“A feeling of sadness, because, I mean, even the people that were here were expecting this to happen,” Cantu said.
‘I need to survive’
Like many Hill Country residents, Christian Fell didn’t get much sleep on Friday morning.
He fell asleep around 1 a.m., but the sound of thunder awakened him again two hours later.
“Originally, I thought someone broke into the house because I had no idea there was going to be a storm, or even, like, a flood,” Fell said. “So, when I got up to go look and see what was going on, my feet hit the floor, and there was water up to my ankles, at that point.”
He said he then called his mother, who told them to find higher ground.
“By that point, everything was floating. There was nothing to get on top of,” Fell said. “So, I had to swim through a window and hold on to the meter box outside of the house.”
Fell said he stood on the metal box for nearly three hours. He said he had only one thing on his mind while he stood on the metal box.
“I need to survive,” Fell said. “There’s nothing really else that I’m thinking about. After I got off the phone with 911 for the last time, I kind of realized that I needed to save myself.”
‘Absolute chaos’ in Kerrville
Louis Amestoy, a journalist with the Kerr County Lead, discussed the deadly Fourth of July weekend flood on Friday with KSAT 12 anchors Myra Arthur and Stephania Jimenez.
“It’s been absolute chaos here, quite frankly,” Amestoy said. “You hear nonstop sirens going down Sidney Baker (Street in Kerrville) all day today. You see trucks moving up and down the highways here with boats from the Texas Game Wardens.”
Fourth of July celebration at Arcadia Live canceled
The site of a planned Fourth of July celebration has now become a place where loved ones are reunited following a catastrophic flood in Kerr County.
A Fort Worth family had a child in a camp located in Kerr County. While they were assured their son’s camp was safe, they saw some disturbing storm video from the area that caused them to make the more-than-four-hour trek to the Hill Country.
Because of closed roads, the parents said they haven’t been able to see their son yet.
“We heard directly from the camp counselor that everyone’s safe, that they’ve been fed and that they’re in good spirits,” the father told KSAT. “We just got another text message, just maybe 10 minutes ago, that said that they’ve airdropped food and water.”
Sheriff’s deputies go door-to-door in Bandera County
Bandera County sheriff’s deputies were going door-to-door on Friday night, instructing residents to leave the area immediately, due to the rising Medina River.
Residents were told they could leave their rigs behind if necessary, but it was emphasized that they must evacuate for safety reasons.
One woman expressed gratitude for the timely evacuation order, which allowed her to leave safely during daylight hours.
People remaining on the upper levels are busy securing belongings and preparing to evacuate, if necessary.
‘This will forever change the landscape of our lives’
A Kerrville woman, who was staying in a home on Cade Loop in Ingram, reflected on the impact of the devastating Hill Country Flood.
Amy Maroney described herself as lucky because her home was dry, but said that her power was knocked out during the flood.
Maroney said she was collecting rainwater to be able to flush the toilets in the home.
Family of 33, others survive Hill Country Floods on hotel roof
David Fry was vacationing with 33 family members at the River Inn Resort when the storm hit.
“This area has been very near and dear to our families for a long time,” Fry said.
The room where Fry’s aunt and uncle stayed had one wall completely torn off.
Mother Nature created devastating images, giving the appearance of time standing still.
Swim trunks were left hanging on a hook outside a room. A set of dominoes was left out waiting for the next game. A DVD was on the ground near a set of mailboxes along the side of the only road in and out of town.
Water rose more than 25 feet in roughly 45 minutes early Friday morning.
“That’s when we went through banging on doors, just trying to notify as many people as possible and get them out and push them up to the road,” Fry said. “A couple of vehicles had already been lost off the roadway to fast water.”
Fry’s family said they had no choice but to climb up on the roof of the building, hoisting each other up.
Fry saved his family and others at the hotel, as well as people stranded in homes across the street.
They all survived.
“You know, it was, it was very, very close call and have we been 10 or 15 minutes later. Yeah, we’ve been too late,” Fry added.
‘I called 9-1-1, nothing happened’
Diana Smith found herself in an incredibly dangerous situation as water surrounded her home.
“I just screamed. I called 9-1-1. Nothing happened. And I screamed ‘God, I don’t know what to do,’” Smith recalled.
“I open the front door and it sweeps both my dogs (in) different directions and I’m panicking thinking, ‘Now what the hell am I gonna do?’” Smith continued. “I said a prayer when I was standing on my porch. Both my parents are deceased. And I said, ‘Mom, Dad, God, help.’”
Smith and her two dogs jumped into a kayak to ride out the storm.
“I don’t know what to think. I think I’m still in shock,” Smith said.
Hot meals delivered on a trolley
Many across Texas and the nation have wondered how they could help those affected by the Hill Country floods.
One man from Kyle, Texas, decided to hit the road in an unusual vehicle to provide assistance.
Michael McKenzie said he partnered with Mercy Chefs to deliver hot meals after feeling called to serve those affected.
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