AccuWeather's Ali Reid reports from Hunt, Texas, where communities are coming together to begin healing as of July 11, after being devastated by flash flooding during the holiday weekend.
00:00Search and rescue teams have not let up, working through the night after catastrophic flooding changed their lives forever.
00:08This morning, our Allie Reed is live in Hunt, Texas, where one of the hardest hit campgrounds is a sobering reminder of the storm's toll and the heroes who emerged in the chaos.
00:19Allie, good morning. I can see the look on your face. I know this has had a huge emotional toll on you as well.
00:25But again, important work you're doing, sharing everybody's stories.
00:30Right, Ari, Bernie, you just got goosebumps in the distance, just behind my shoulder here, the campgrounds of Camp Mystic.
00:39It is the story that has been heard around the world.
00:42We know at least 27 campers and staff have been found, unfortunately, their lives lost in this devastating flood eight days ago now.
00:52That just goes to show you how long and grueling these search and recovery efforts have been.
00:58And we know that there are still a number of campers missing and unaccounted for this morning.
01:04This is a camp that was filled with beautiful, fun memories.
01:09And now, unfortunately, it is, again, that sobering reminder, Ari, that you said that life can change so quickly.
01:17You hear the movement behind me here.
01:19Again, a thing starting very early as of this morning.
01:23Over the past week, I've been reporting on a number of locations.
01:27We bring you live from Hunt, Texas this morning, where we continue to talk about the heroic stories.
01:34I want to show you some video on your screen.
01:36About a mile up the road from where we are now is a place called Hunt's River Inn.
01:40We visited there yesterday and met a couple whose quick thinking saved 130 lives, including an entire family of 30 people who were vacationing together.
01:55When floodwaters rose, 50 of those people climbed onto the roof of a nearby home.
02:01The couple used bedsheets tied together to pull others from the current.
02:05They saved everyone they could, but heartbreakingly, one person of the 130 did not make it.
02:11It was because of quick and critical thinking that many families are alive today.
02:16And here's their story.
02:18I ran down to the office and just told him, you know, he was going to print out a list of everyone that was on property.
02:26And I said, we got to get them out now.
02:29By the time we knocked on the last door, the water was just beat from the buildings.
02:38You know, it was just chaotic and there was no communication.
02:41The rain was so heavy.
02:43I mean, you almost couldn't see the rain was so heavy.
02:48And the only way we knew what was going on is the glimpses of the lightning.
02:53We were just thinking as we watched the water rise and praying that the house didn't break loose from its foundation.
03:00And we have 50 people up there and no flotation devices or anything else.
03:05Just hoping we didn't have to swim for it.
03:07There was a lady who was pregnant.
03:09I mean, we were just happy to see each other's faces.
03:13And it is that kind of bravery that we continue to witness out here.
03:21Neighbors saving neighbors, strangers stepping in and in the face of immense tragedy here.
03:27The Texas spirit is so, so strong.
03:30We bring you back live from Hunt, Texas.
03:33Again, Camp Mystic, the campgrounds directly behind me here.
03:37Now, over my other shoulder, you'll notice a cross.
03:40We'll talk more about that, Ari and Bernie, in the next hour.
03:44A really impactful story.
03:46So many to go around, as we've heard the last couple of days.
03:50You know, Ali, I would be interested to know, because they got people out.
03:53Where did they go?
03:55Did they go up a hill?
03:56Were they running?
03:57Because remember, at that time, we had the thunderstorms.
04:00We cloud the ground lightning.
04:01Right.
04:02It's pick your poison.
04:03Exactly.
04:04But, of course, it's best to get out of there.
04:05So I'd be interested to know where they went to to seek safety.
04:14Yes.
04:15There was a hill not far from where they were.
04:18I mentioned 130 people were saved.
04:21Essentially, that couple that said, okay, you've got two options here.
04:25We either get up on top of a roof or you get and you climb the hill as quickly as possible.
04:30So about 50 of those stayed on the roof.
04:33They all huddled together and held each other tightly.
04:35The other 70 people or so, roughly, ran as quickly as they could up the hill to higher ground.
04:43And thankfully, that hill was high enough where they were able to get above the river.
04:46But there were so many areas, Ari, Bernie, as we know, and people that tried to climb as high as they could.
04:51But it just was not high enough.
04:53So it really just depends on where you were in the area and how lucky you were in that scenario and where that location was.
