HORRIFYING pictures show the aftermath of the Texas floods at Camp Mystic, where dozens of girls and counselors died after being swept away by the rising waters.
At least 90 bodies have been recovered since deadly rains flooded the Guadalupe River outside San Antonio over the July 4 holiday weekend.
One of the worst-hit areas was Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp located dangerously close to the flooding shores, which was overwhelmed when the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.
Ten girls and a counselor attending the camp are still missing. They make up a heart-wrenching portion of the 41 people who are unaccounted for across the state.
What we know so far…
Chilling photos of the flooding aftermath at the camp show piles of abandoned sleeping bags strewn across the cabins.
Bunkbeds were left askew by the rushing waters, and everything inside the buildings was covered with layers of mud and sediment.
Survivors of the tragedy have started to open up about the chaotic mission to escape the waters after being surprised by the flash floods early Friday morning.
Glenn Juenke, a security guard at the camp, said that he had to throw girls on top of floating mattresses to save them from drowning.
But despite witnessing the death and destruction, he said he was struck by the “courage and faith” shown by the young girls.
“Each of those sweet girls [were] cold, wet, and frightened – but they were also incredibly brave,” he told CNN.
“They trusted me, and we leaned on each other through a long, harrowing night together inside their cabin.”
The camp’s director was among those who lost their lives after desperately trying to save young girls in a heartbreaking final act.
Dick Eastland and his wife, Tweety, were the third-generation of their family to manage the camp, having bought it in 1974.
Eastland’s grandson, George, revealed his grandpa had died when the water crashed through the walls of the cabins.
“If he wasn’t going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way—saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,” he wrote on Instagram.
“That’s the kind of man my grandfather was. He was a husband, father, grandfather, and a mentor to thousands of young women.
“Although he no longer walks this earth, his impact will never fade in the lives he touched.”
Eastland, who had previously fought brain cancer, was found dead near his car, as reported by the San Antonio Express News.
Tweety, meanwhile, was found safe at the family home.
Paige Sumner, a family friend, has led the tributes to the camp director.
She said the girls at the camp looked up to Eastland as if he was a “father figure,” in an op-ed to the Kerrville Daily Times.
“Dick and Tweety were also role models in their loving relationship,” she penned.
“When we looked at them, they were still that much in love.”
Callie McAlary, a 16-year-old camper, described the terrifying moment she realized that this wasn’t a normal thunderstorm.
“One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water’s coming up,” she told Fox News.
Callie said that she watched in horror as girls rushed across the campgrounds to try to get into cabins that weren’t being filled with water.
“It was really bad thunder,” she said.
“We heard one of the campers run in and say, ‘Hey, our cabin is flooding.’
“I knew some girls slept on trunks that night, some girls had to share beds, some girls slept on floors because they couldn’t go back to their cabin because it was so flooded in three cabins.”
As the water rose in the middle of the night, Callie said she decided to put a name tag on her body in case her cabin was “next.”
“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.'”
Callie’s family is from Texas, but they now live in Virginia.
Her parents said that they wanted to send her to Camp Mystic so she could stay in touch with her roots.
Tara Bradburn, Callie’s mother, said that she was overwhelmed by how much the staff did to try and protect the girls.
“What the men and the staff and the Eastland family did to try and help everyone that they could – they are heroes,” she told Fox News.
“And those young girls and those young counselors that our young girls were under for the summer were remarkable and were brave and were strong and saved so many children.”
As of Monday afternoon, five million were still under flood warnings in Texas with fears 10 inches of rain could fall in some parts of the state.
Governor Greg Abbott said officiala aren’t expecting anything “to the magnitude of what was seen in Kerrville” but said there’s still a threat of more flash flooding events.
Slow-moving showers are creeping across the region with warnings expected to stay active into Monday evening.
As the fourth day of searches comes to a close, brave crews refuse to give up hope that survivors are waiting to be saved.
“We will never presume they’re dead,” Jake Stovall, the founder of Gulf Search and Rescue, told CNN and vowed to keep working the scene for up to 15 days.
Legislators across the US are directing rescue crews to help search for more survivors.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed he’s sending water rescue crews and was “happy to step up.”
“Texas has helped us when we’ve had different issues throughout the years,” he said at a news conference.
Meanwhile, Nebraska is sending a 45-member search and rescue team with two canine teams and boats.
President Donald Trump is also expected to visit the flood site on Friday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would be investigating the “once in a generation national disaster” and urged everyone to “remain vigilant.”
While central Texas recovers from the devastating floods, tropical storm Chantal also dumping rain on North Carolina and moving up through the northeast.
Residents in central parts of the southern state were left stranded and waiting for rescue crews to save them from their flooded homes after the storm hit on Monday.
At least 10 inches of rain poured onto parts of North Carolina, leaving some drivers trapped on the roads and highways shut down, according to the New York Times.
