Two teenage counselors who worked at Camp Mystic have spoken about how they reacted as they realized the camp was under threat from the deadly Texas floods.
At least 104 people have been killed due to flash flooding that has devastated central Texas, in particular communities near the Guadalupe River.
The river overflowed after one month’s worth of heavy rain fell in just a few hours, resulting in the waters rising to levels of 26 feet.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, the disaster has proven to be particularly heart-wrenching as many young children have been reported missing, including those from a summer Christian Camp, named Camp Mystic.
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Authorities have already confirmed the deaths of some of the children from the camp, and noted that some remain unaccounted for.
Two surviving counselors who were at the camp when the floods impacted the area, Silvana Garza and Maria Paula, have spoken about their heartbreaking experience and that they had to consider a very morbid possibility.
Over the weekend, Maria spoke to Mexican news outlet NMas and explained that she and Silvana wrote names on themselves and the children in the event they got separated and their bodies needed to be identified.
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Maria said, as per the New York Post: "Us as counselors, we started to write our names on our skin, anywhere that was visible. We did the same for the girls, wrote their names anywhere that was easy to see."
The pair also spoke of putting on a ‘happy face’ not to alarm the children they were caring for.
Silvana said: "At the time, we started to prepare our girls because we thought we were also going to be evacuated.
"We told them to pack a bag, to pack their favorite stuffed animal. We didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated or not. We were just waiting.”
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Camp Mystic has so far confirmed that 27 campers and counsellors have lost their lives, and issued a new statement on their website about the floods.
The message reads: "Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counsellors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe river. Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly."
It continued: "We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.
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"We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level.
"We ask for your continued prayers, respect and privacy for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us."
Topics: News, Texas, Texas floods, US News, Weather
Gerrard Kaonga