16-year-old camp survivor recalls heartbreaking precaution she had to take as devastating floods hit
A teenager that managed to survive the deadly floods that killed 27 members of her Texas summer camp over the weekend has recalled the terrifying precautions she was forced to take during the initial storm.
During the early hours of Friday morning (4 Jul), the banks of the Guadalupe River in the centre of the state rose to a staggering 26 feet (eight metres) in just 45 minutes, unleashing floodwater onto a number of surrounding residences.
Amongst the buildings immediately swept away were several belonging to Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp.
In the days since, local Texas authorities have since confirmed that over 100 people were killed as a result of the devastating floods, with Camp Mystic losing a heartbreaking 27 members so far - both young campers and counsellors.
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A number of the camp's waterfront cabins with campers still inside were quickly destroyed by the floods, whilst campers inside buildings situated further back awoke to the deep water whilst in their pyjamas and were forced to flee.
Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, a father-of-four and the camp's owner, had died whilst heroically saving the lives of some of the campers, having smashed a window, allowing the girls to swim through neck-high water to safety.
Amongst those able to reach safety was 16-year-old Callie McAlary, who told Fox News she couldn't have predicted when the rainstorm started that it would kill a number of her fellow campers and colleagues.
"We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm," she began. "One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water's coming up.
"And you have kids running just trying to get to other cabins, trying to get to safety.
"And luckily, my cabin was one of the few cabins that did not get water, but the cabins in front of us did get some water."
The teen also went on to recall girls running into her cabin in the night, informing her that the flooding had begun. In fear of the extent of the storm, McAlary attached a name tag to her body.
"We heard one second, it was really bad thunder," she continued. "I woke up to a big, giant sound of thunder and lightning striking.
"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.
"I put on my name tag because I was scared that if water was coming out next to other cabins that our cabin might be next. And I just put it on just for safekeeping."
She went on to confess: "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'."
On top of those declared deceased, a further 10 campers and one counsellor also remain missing as of 8:00am UK time on July 8, with authorities racing against the clock to find them.
"I really hope those kids that are missing are found," McAlary went on to confess.
"I knew a lot of those kids and a lot of those kids the night before hugged me before we all went to bed. And it's hard to think about that one minute they were hugging me and the next minute they could be gone."
Topics: News, US News, World News, Weather
Rhianna Benson