During a pitch-black night, residents merely five miles away from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, witnessed the menacing approach of a lethal flood wall. This terrifying sight, lit only by lightning flashes, was headed straight for the girls’ Christian camp.
The flood that hit the Hill Country in the early hours of July Fourth resulted in over 100 deaths, with almost twice that number reported missing. Camp Mystic confirmed that 27 of its campers and counselors were among the deceased, according to their latest updates on Tuesday.
Shelby Willis, age 33, told Fox News Digital about her experience while at her in-laws’ house on the South Fork of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, which sits on higher ground.
“We were really high up, but there was water coming into the garage,” Willis said. “At about 3 a.m., my sister-in-law said that we needed to go outside and look at the river, and we couldn’t see it outside of the flashes of lightning. Hunt kind of prides itself on having low upward lighting so that you can see the stars. Only through the lightning flashes could we see how high the water was, which makes sense as to why it happened so fast.”
Just like many others who live in or frequent Hunt, Willis said she has faith the town will rebuild. However, she acknowledged it would be forever changed by the disaster.
“Hunt definitely prides itself on being a remote location. It is a very special little area on the Guadalupe River, but there’s not a lot of cell service or signal, so I think that will change,” she said. “I think improvements will be made so that this never happens again.”
HUNT, TEXAS – JULY 6: A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
“Everyone is like a family in that town,” Willis added. “There wasn’t a single property along the river in Hunt that wasn’t flying a Texas flag. People are very, very resilient, and that’s just kind of the Texas way. I know that it’ll be built back, better and safer. Sometimes it takes tragedy to make you realize how vulnerable something is. No one’s going to give up on this area, and I hope they don’t give up on the camps either, because they really are formative for a lot of people.”
