HUNT, Texas (KTRK) — Crews from various regions are aligning along the main highway through Hunt, Texas, in a concerted effort to locate over 170 individuals still missing after the devastating Fourth of July flood.
The storm moved in Friday morning before the sun came up.
Lee Pool, the chief of the Hunt Volunteer Fire Department, reported that he immediately initiated a “code red” to the sheriff’s department upon recognizing the gravity of the situation, indicating a critical emergency.
“I heard my radio start buzzing sometime after three in the morning, and the word ‘flood’ was mentioned,” Pool recounted. “So I jumped into my truck and headed straight to the station.”
On his drive to the fire station, Pool said he encountered rapidly rising water and ended up trapped. He said he tried to turn around and go home, but could not make it. He abandoned his truck and went on foot to higher ground.
“If I can’t take care of myself, I can’t take care of others,” Pool said. “So you feel helpless because you know there are going to be people that need help. I saw a car float by that had people in it. I mean, it’s bad. It’s bad.”
Pool said he does not know what happened to the people in the car. When asked if that has stuck with him, he said, “Of course. Of course.”
Since then, Pool has been working nonstop, alongside a team of volunteers, coordinating search teams and collecting and distributing donations.
Mitzi Silber is one of the volunteers working alongside Pool.
“Everybody knows somebody that was hurt,” Silber said while fighting back tears.
She said the fire department has received an incredible amount of donations from families and churches across the state and beyond.
“A friend of mine was in here (Tuesday),” Silber said. “She was in shock. She didn’t have a clue, so I just started piling things in a bag.”
On Wednesday, a family showed up to pick up supplies. They said they had to sit on the roof of their home to escape the water and wait for rescue.
The search teams and volunteers who are from Kerr County, like Pool and Silber, said the work they are doing is deeply personal.
“I lost a teacher friend and his wife and children,” Pool said. “It’s horrible. I’m grieving like everybody else. I have my time, so I have my moments, and I think everyone’s going to go through this process. We have funerals coming up.”
“My grandson goes (to school) across the street,” an emotional Silber said. “Those were the campers. Those little girls from Mystic, a lot of them, went over there. Second graders. So yeah, it will be ongoing for a long time.”
Officials said Tuesday night that more than 170 people are still unaccounted for. Homes, cars, and structures as small as porta potties are being searched for victims and marked with an X afterward.
Kerr County officials are asking residents not to pick up debris until it can be searched.
Pool said it is going to be hard when the official searches end if all of the victims have not been identified.
“That’s hard,” Pool said. “It’s hard, and our push is to find everybody. That’s where everybody’s heart is. We want to find everybody.”
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