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At Least 80 People Confirmed Dead In Catastrophic Texas Flooding; Texas Man Searching For His Missing Parents; President Trump Signs Major Disaster Declaration For Texas; Trump On Texas Floods: Nobody Expected It; At Least 80 Dead, 10 Campers Missing In Texas Floods; Texas Official Point Fingers Over NWS Flood Warnings. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired July 06, 2025 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[19:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We can tell you at this hour at least 80 people have now been confirmed dead, 41 remain missing across central Texas. In Kerr County, the area that really saw the worst of the flash flooding, officials say 59 people have been killed, 21 children among them.

And at this hour, 10 campers and a counselor are still missing from Camp Mystic. That is the all-girls summer camp, which was hit by those severe, powerful flood just along the Guadalupe River. Of course, since Governor Abbott spoke a short time ago about visiting the camp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: I had the opportunity yesterday to visit Camp Mystic and get to see firsthand what happened there, as well as all the way downstream after that. And it was nothing short of horrific to see what those young children went through. And we will remain 100 percent dedicated, searching for every single one of the children who were at Camp Mystic, as well as anybody else, and the entire riverbed, to make sure that they're going to be recovered.

We know that parents and families, they want information, they want closure, and we want them to know that we are working as swiftly as possible to get them accurate information that will provide that closure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: And of course, those searches continuing across the area tonight.

So, Pamela, you were actually at Camp Mystic, I know, earlier today. You also have a personal connection, of course, to that camp, having been a camper there yourself.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I do. I am returning to that camp after 30 years. I was there as a 10-year-old and just being back there and seeing the camp so devastated and thinking about those young girls, 8 years old, 9 years old, washed away in the waters. It's just too much for my heart, frankly.

You know, you're so full of hope and joy and innocence at a place like Camp Mystic. It's a magical place. And you spend so much of your time out in nature. You spend so much of your time in that Guadalupe River where we had so many wonderful memories and that same river is the source of so much devastation for these campers.

I mean, now at this hour, there's still 10 missing girls and one counselor still missing. I've been speaking to parents. I know that parents have been going to the funeral home here, where bodies have been brought to potentially identify their child. It's any parents' worst nightmare. I spoke to another parent tonight who had three girls at Camp Mystic. Her girls survived, and she said they survived because of the heroic actions of the camp counselors, she said.

And one of the cabins for the 9-year-old girls, there were two counselors who were told to wait, that that Dick Eastland, one of the owners -- the owner of the camp, would come rescue them. They watched as Dick was trying to get to them, but the water was rapidly rising and his car got stuck. We know he tragically later died. And those young camp counselors just out of high school had to quickly get into action, come up with the game plan.

The counselor got her key and took out the mesh of the window in the back of the cabin, and the counselors went out, and then they pulled the girls, these 9-year-old little girls out the window in the rushing water is up to their chest and handed them each to one another. The two counselors plus another counselor from the cabin nearby, and got them up to the hill to safety.

I'm told by this parent that the girls just clung to each other with their counselors. They were cold, but they started to sing and they started to pray. And that was the sign and the scene at other locations around Camp Mystic. I'm told there was another building where the water rose just two feet under the second floor, where the girls were. They were there praying. They were just in shock by what had happened to them.

And they're still trying to absorb and understand what happened to their fellow campers. They were just dropped off at the camp last Sunday. Think about that. They're so excited. They got their trunk they decorated and their bunk beds all decorated. Their parents gave them a hug goodbye. And then just a few days later, this.

But there are so many stories of heroism, too, like those counselors. You know, Dick Eastland is a hero. And we just spoke to a night manager at the camp who went and saved some girls at a cabin and kept them there floating on their mattresses until the water receded.

Those search and rescue efforts, they are still underway, but I just spoke to a state representative earlier, Erica, who said that the hope is dwindling, that they'll find those missing alive. But we are keeping the hope alive out here -- Erica.

HILL: Yes, and it is so, so important to do that, to keep that hope alive. BROWN: Yes, you have to. And these parents, I mean, you're a parent,

Erica, it is your worst nightmare. And camp is supposed to be the safe place where you drop your child, where you know they're just going to be in a euphoric bubble for a month, and then you're going to pick them up and they're going to have all these tales, these stories, and think about the stories that these parents are hearing now from their daughters who were traumatized.

[19:05:12]

I want to go to Ed Lavandera now, who has been on the ground for several days talking to search and rescuers, talking to family members.

Ed, what more can you tell us?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know that those feelings of what has happened and how all of this has evolved over the last few days just continues to intensify. And you talk about the hope and the reality at this moment that that hope is dwindling. Like, you know, that is something that many families were cognizant of early on Friday afternoon when the reality of all of this trauma was starting to sink in.

But, you know, now we're several days into all of this, and it doesn't make it any easier by any means. But we've seen up and down the Guadalupe River from Camp Mystic for miles and miles, down through Ingram and Kerrville, where we are, and Hunt. And then you go down to places like Comfort and Center Point. These are all communities along the river where we've seen teams of volunteers fanning out across the region, trying to put eyes on the ground for any of these victims that might have been washed downstream for miles and miles.

And so all of those efforts have continued, really intensified today. It started picking up yesterday, but I think today is one of the days where we saw the most intensification of those volunteer efforts, people trying to bring this closure to the families who are so desperately trying to find where their loved ones might be. So those efforts continue. However, it has been hampered this afternoon, as there were rainstorms in the area and there was also flash flood alert warnings that caused areas along the river from Hunt, where you are, Pamela, down to Ingram.

Urgent evacuations were ordered. We were caught kind of in the middle of that and had to make our way. Got pushed out here to where we are in Kerrville. And there is still some concern that water levels will continue to rise here along the river. So that is really kind of perhaps slowed things down in various areas as those search efforts and volunteer efforts to find victims continues -- Pamela.

BROWN: And so many at this hour, Ed, are still looking for their loved ones.

I want to bring in Robert Brake. He called his parents in those early morning hours, warning them of the flooding. Minutes later, his brother went to check on them. But the home that they were staying in, the home was gone, and they are still looking for their parents.

Robert, first off, how are you doing right now?

ROBERT BRAKE, SEARCHING FOR MISSING PARENTS: We're hanging in there. We have a ton of support and the response within the community has been wonderful. It's been helpful in keeping us, keeping us inspired and hopeful.

BROWN: Walk us through that early morning phone call to your parents.

BRAKE: My brother was staying at the RV park. He had called at 4:44 and said call Mom and Dad because they were staying, visiting my brother at the RV park, HTX Rv Park, and I called my dad at 4:44, said, "Dad, you've got to get out of there." He was still -- he's a little older. He was still discombobulated. My brother was about 40 yards away. He went up to help them at 4:53. And all the homes they were staying in were gone. They were just leveled. They were no longer there. We haven't heard or seen of them since then.

BROWN: So you did make connection with your dad initially, right?

BRAKE: At 4:44, yes, ma'am, he answered the phone.

BROWN: At 4:44. And what did he say to you then?

BRAKE: Nothing. He just -- I told him Luke's RV was getting swept away. Lucas, my brother, needs some help. At the time, we didn't realize the magnitude of what was going on. My brother just barely escaped with his own life and his wife. And by the time my brother went up to help him, realizing what was going on, they were already gone seven minutes later.

BROWN: Oh, horrible. Tell me more about the search and the rescue.

BRAKE: I tell you, you know, that's been probably the part that's got us through the most. These folks have just been unbelievable. We have seen everything from DPS to state troopers, local sheriff's ambulances. We've seen Coast Guard, Blackhawk helicopters, you know, when you look outside and you see the support, the overwhelming support of people that are showing up not just in uniform, but with their hearts.

You know, it just -- it provides -- it provides just a little more hope, you know there's people with big hearts that are out there doing the best they can to dangerous circumstances, trying to assist us find our loved ones.

BROWN: Yes, you're feeling, Robert, what so many are feeling right now.

[19:10:01]

Just overwhelmed with emotion and with a sense of grief of not knowing if your loved ones are still alive. It is the most natural feeling in the world.

BRAKE: It is.

BROWN: Are you still out there? Are you still looking for your parents?

BRAKE: We are. My brother and myself are here in Kerrville. Grimes Funeral Home, where they're staging the bodies as they come in. They've been very helpful. We've checked in regularly. It's an emotional roller coaster. You go and you don't want to, you don't want to hear they're here. But when they say they're not there, you know, it's just, just one more ounce of hope. And that's all we can ask for.

BROWN: And tell us a little bit more about how you're banding with your brother and all of this and what this has been like for the two of you going out there against the challenges of the, you know, of the Mother Nature and everything. I mean, I've seen all the devastation. It's rough. What has that been like for you two? It's dangerous out here.

BRAKE: It's overwhelming. You know, you go down to the river and you can't, you can't even imagine. The debris is stacked up so high, you wouldn't know if there was a bus underneath some of the debris, let alone a body. It's just -- we can't comprehend it, but we ask, you know, my brother and my family, we ask everybody to continue to pray. It's not just our family that's suffering, but many others are affected by these floods as well.

There are people hurting and people waiting and people still searching in every (INAUDIBLE), every prayer, every offer to help, it means something to everybody here, including the Brake family.

BROWN: Well, we are all praying for you. Our hearts are with you, Robert. And our hearts are with all the families that are searching right now and the ones that are grieving, knowing that their loved ones were killed in that devastating flooding. I still, my heart just, I can't even absorb it. It's just too much to take in.

Robert, thank you for sharing your story. Wishing you the best of luck.

And we'll be right back.

BRAKE: Thank you all, for your support. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:16:45]

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown back live here in Hunt, Texas, just down the road from Camp Mystic. I want to bring in Marybel Gonzalez.

Marybel, you were in a neighborhood that was recently evacuated, and now first responders are starting to come back in. I know a lot of us have been getting these emergency alerts that more flash flooding could be on its way.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Pamela, we got those alerts as well. We were told that this is as close to the Guadalupe River as we could get. This is on high ground because of that concern over flooding.

And, Pamela, you can understand that this community is highly sensitive to any further alerts because they just, they saw how quickly the water levels at the Guadalupe River could rise. This road right next to me, Pamela, was filled with cars of first responders, firefighters, rescue teams, volunteers and even locals were showing up via horseback to get down to the river banks. That is where we saw yesterday there is still a lot of debris.

It's also the site of where an RV park used to stand. More than 20 RVs were washed away during the flash floods, and we know that at least one family that was staying on the grounds was swept away by the current. We're told it was a family with three small children, so that is the people, those are the people that these rescue teams are hoping to find alive along the riverbanks.

But we know that the rain that we saw coming down today and that flash flood alert is making those rescue efforts a little bit more complicated. First responders, the volunteers, they had to leave the area for more than an hour. They all had to come up from the river banks. And we know that there's still debris. There's downed trees. This rain is also making those search efforts complicated.

And right now, Pamela, people here are telling us they need all the help they can get. We have heard some choppers up in the air making their rounds, circling around. As I said, we're right by the Guadalupe River, which stretches for miles. So we know that those search rescues are underway not only on the ground, but also up in the air as well.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much, Marybel.

I want to go now to our meteorologist, Chris Warren.

Chris, more rain is on the way. A lot of people here are on edge about that.

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And rightfully so, Pamela. This is where it's raining right now. It's not going to be as intense as the past couple of days, but some areas, the rain and storms could still be enough to trigger some more flash flood warnings. So need to be on alert.

Right now here in Kerr County, the thunderstorm that popped up earlier and was responsible for the flash flood warning, all the alerts, everybody out there was getting that has really dissipated. Just a little bit of light rain remains. And then thunderstorms around Austin, north of San Antonio, all within an area where there remains a flood watch in green. And then the flash flood warnings from earlier.

It's just these that are left and the later we go, the more likely we're just going to see things dry out. So that's the good news, short term. However, by morning and early afternoon, storms will be back.

[19:20:01] And once again, with so much moisture in the soil, it's not going to take a lot for the soil to fill up with water and then the runoff is going to happen. But the good news again here is that it's not going to last too long. Just get through tomorrow. And then a dry stretch is on the way. Slight chance for a few showers, but really losing that big time moisture.

We see the big time effects of what happened. The catastrophic effects. It's hard to imagine how could this happen. Well, a lot of stuff, a lot of bad stuff came together and it really ended up being an unfortunate situation with everything coming together. But it took a lot. First, what was days if not weeks in the making, the drought, exceptional drought, the most intense form of drought, making the land almost like concrete. So whatever did fall would run off very fast.

And then Barry and Flossie, the remnants of that doesn't look like much, but there's extra moisture, extra juice in the atmosphere. Plus, being close to the gulf, it's hot and humid anyways, so then a system sets up, hangs out, and drops a lot of rain over several hours. Another unfortunate situation is that this big intense thunderstorm right here. This is from Friday overnight during the dark hours.

This set up over the north, north and south fork of the Guadalupe River that runs right through there. And so just the fact that it's set up here was another one of the many factors leading to this disaster. Widespread, unimaginable rain, well over a summer's worth of rain for most of these areas in a matter of hours. And with that, a river that was running for several days right here below a foot in depth, the stream, a little trickle essentially, just from not even near flood stage to major flood stage, Pamela, in just a couple of hours.

BROWN: All right. Chris, sorry, I have a truck going right by me. That is very loud. It's just so striking to see how quickly the river rose. And if you would just go back to what you were talking about with the drought and how that could have made things worse because the ground was like concrete, it wasn't absorbing that water that was rising up.

WARREN: And again, Pamela, these are all different factors, right? And one, you remove one of the factors, it's still going to happen. Right? So even if there was a little bit of rain the day before, this amount of rain to cause this is just unimaginable, unbelievable. So much rain. But yes, the fact that there was drought, it was so hard, the land was so hard and it's really counterintuitive. You would think it's dry. I'm really thirsty. I'm going to drink a lot. Right? And rehydrate.

But the earth doesn't work that way. It's been baking. Think of like a clay pot, a clay pot. If you put it in fire, it hardens up, but in a different process but the same idea. You have hard, hard ground that the water hits and it's just kind of like sealed almost. And it runs off until it has a chance to eventually soak in and moisten up to get more water into the soil.

BROWN: Just a confluence of these factors coming together to make this worst-case scenario. Chris, thanks so much.

And we're going to continue to follow this breaking news right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:38]

HILL: As we continue to follow the breaking news tonight, the search continues for at least 41 people who remain missing. Officials also say 80 people are now confirmed dead because of the catastrophic flash floods in central Texas.

In terms of those search efforts, they are continuing from the air, on the ground as well. The Trump administration has sent in help, including FEMA. The Coast Guard has been there from the early hours helping out.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is with me now.

President Trump also spoke a short time ago about the efforts of the federal government helping out here in Texas. What more do we hear from the president, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the president says that he'll probably visit these affected areas in Texas on Friday. He actually said he wanted to go today, but was worried that the security apparatus would get in the way of some of the search and rescue efforts.

The president calling what has happened there horrible and saying that the federal government would continue coordinating with state and local authorities. Earlier today, the president signed a major disaster declaration which unlocks some of this federal funding. It activates FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And the Coast Guard, as well is helping with some of these operations, including using two helicopters, three fixed-wing aircraft which are fitted with thermal cameras, which could help detect movement that the naked eye cannot see.

FEMA has also set up seven shelters, which as of 1:00 p.m. today were housing 137 people. The president, in his letter to the governor, Greg Abbott, wrote an addendum in Sharpie saying that, "Our wonderful Secretary Kristi Noem is available at all times." Kristi Noem, obviously, the Homeland Security secretary.

At the same time, there are some questions being raised about the staffing levels at the National Weather Service. There are some vacant positions, some critical positions that have gone unfilled since the previous occupants took early retirement initiatives that President Trump had set up at the beginning of his term to try and reduce the size of the federal government. Some of those positions include a warning coordinator -- coordination meteorologist at the Austin-San Antonio Office of the National Weather Service. It is not definitive whether this could have helped prevent the human

tragedy after these floods. We also heard from a union representative from the National Weather Service who said that they did have adequate staffing, adequate resources. Certainly this will be scrutinized going forward as the death toll climbs. President Trump was also asked about this today as he was in New Jersey, heading back here to the White House. Listen to what he said.

[19:30:18]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you think that the federal government needs to hire back any of the meteorologists who were fired in the last few months?

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I wouldn't know that. I really wouldn't, I would think not. This was the thing that happened in seconds, nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people are there, and they didn't see it. It's I guess they said once in a hundred years they've never seen anything like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So the President was also asked whether he still plans to phase out FEMA. Remember, his goal is to eliminate that agency, put more responsibility on the states for preparations for disaster recovery. He wants the changes to start going into effect after this year's Atlantic hurricane season. The President didn't answer that question. He says that FEMA is busy working on the ground there, and that it would be a question for another time -- Erica.

HILL: He was also asked specifically about what could be happening tomorrow. Of course, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making his way to the White House to meet with the President tomorrow. What did he have to say about where things stand in terms of the ceasefire talks?

LIPTAK: Yes, and the President, very confident sounding this evening that those ceasefire talks will result in a deal that would end the fighting in Gaza, but also lead to the release of hostages. He thinks that that deal could be in place this week, and that certainly will be a major topic of discussion when the Prime Minister is here at the White House. Tomorrow, President Trump has been pressing his counterpart to try and come up with some sort of resolution to the conflict in Gaza.

He said previously that he would be, "very firm with Netanyahu" when he is here at the White House this week. It will be his third visit to the White House since President Trump took office. By far, the most visits of any foreign leader to this particular administration. Obviously, the negotiators are still trying to work out the parameters of that deal. The Hamas negotiators, Israeli negotiators are in Doha for what they're calling proximity talks, essentially passing notes back and forth with the mediator to try and come up with some kind of resolution.

But this is an enormous priority for President Trump after those strikes in Iran on the nuclear facilities there, there has been a real hope that that could unlock with the Prime Minister Netanyahu, a real desire to get this war to an end. There are still some sticking points between these sides, but this has been an enormous priority for President Trump.

Obviously, the ceasefire that he had helped negotiate very early in his term ended up falling apart. Now, his hope is for a more durable solution to that crisis. The President, as he has called himself a peacemaker, very much wanting to see that particular crisis resolved.

HILL: As do so many others, we'll be watching to see how that plays out. Kevin, appreciate it, thank you.

You just heard Kevin talking there. The President was asked questions about warnings about meteorologists who were fired. There are questions about whether the early warnings were there, giving residents in Texas Hill Country enough time to evacuate before these deadly flash floods. We'll talk about that just ahead, stay with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:38:01]

BROWN: Hi. I'm Pamela Brown here in Hunt, Texas, just down the road from Camp Mystic. And there are still so many questions tonight about those National Weather Service alerts that came in Thursday, warning of the potential for flash flooding and whether people even saw those alerts. Texas officials continue to say the extreme flooding was unpredictable and it happened so fast that nobody saw it coming.

And you can see here a time lapse video of one of the rivers in Kingsland, Texas that's about 95 miles northwest of Kerr County. The water rising 22 feet in the span of 30 minutes. Think about that, 22 feet in the span of 30 minutes.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, President Trump just spoke not too long ago, and he was asked about those cuts to the National Weather Service and whether he believes that had any impact on this. And he says he doesn't think it did. These are still early days. What do you think?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, well he doesn't know that because nobody. knows that yet. To study a disaster of this magnitude, this horror and unacceptable horror. I do not buy into the argument that there's nothing that could have been done. This is a hundred-year storm. We've got decades and decades of disaster management to protect children like this.

So, everyone needs to stop pretending that either the other party did it or this was not preventable -- this tragedy. We have lessons to be learned. Here's what we know just from the timeline. National Weather Service begins to really get more frantic over the course of the morning. It is a holiday weekend. It is in the middle of the night. Your worst case scenario for this situation. We do know that there were people who are in charge of what we call coordination, and the reason why we call it that is that you have a warning, and then you have action, and you need people to connect those two, right. Do you evacuate? Do you hide in place -- whatever it is.

We also know that the county does not have a siren system on its rivers, which other counties in Texas do. Cell service was probably not good. So we have a lot of factors that we need to learn from. But the assessment by the President or the governor or outsiders that we know is not true. It's just not and we need to really find out what happened, because this is beyond a tragedy. It's -- I'm speechless. We should not-- we are better at this. And something horrible went wrong.

[19:40:50]

BROWN: Something horrible and, you know, everyone I'm talking to, say that the river was really unpredictable. It's been that way for years. You had seen the devastation in years past. Now this was to another level. I went to Camp Mystic as a kid. I was so naive and innocent. I was like, oh, this river is the source of joy. I never looked at it as, you know, the source of terror. But that is what it became over Fourth of July. And I just spoke to a state representative earlier in the show who blamed the lack of cell coverage as a potential issue.

And it is true, you really have bad cell coverage there, and you have to wonder whether the key people were getting the alerts when they needed to get the alerts. I mean, I don't know, but what do you think about that theory?

KAYYEM: I think you're right and this is why we study disasters instead of saying there is nothing that could be done, which is coming out of too many people's mouths right now. We need to listen and study what went wrong so that we get better next time. Otherwise, you know what's the point of this, right? That we have to honor those girls and all of all of the victims who perished, who might not have had a variety of things gone differently.

So, on the cell service issue, you're exactly right. We know that the National Weather Service begins to get a little bit more nervous after midnight. And so, is there a position that wasn't filled? There's a lot of discussion about coordination positions at the National Weather Service that were not available that is translating the flash flood warnings into action. In other words, knows where the camps are, knows who might be isolated and gets information out to them. Where cell service is bad, that's why we need a siren system and a lot of these river communities, a lot of them have them -- have it, and we -- and these communities should begin to think about investing in it.

But I think it's wrong for Texas to blame the National Weather Service. And I think it's premature for the President to say it wasn't the National Weather Service. I will say one thing, though, and these cuts to the National Weather Service, to NOAA, to FEMA, the potential elimination of FEMA. We will miss them when they're gone. I think we need to say that now.

I don't know if there's a direct line between the National Weather Service and cuts and what happened, but this is what government is for. It's to help people and prepare them for the damage and the devastation. And I hope Congress and the President reconsider these dramatic and deadly cuts that that are already in place, they're going to happen. And I hope if there's anything good coming out of this, we reassess our commitment to being ready.

BROWN: It is interesting because those cuts were made, and the President has made it clear that he wants states to be more responsible for the devastation that happens there, just like what we saw here in Texas. And yet, Texas is in need of federal help, Texas is in need of FEMA. And, you know, these federal agencies like the National Weather Service, FEMA is coming here to help out. And it does make you wonder if perhaps this is causing any second thoughts about that dynamic that the President has spoken about.

But again, we just don't know whether those cuts -- there's a direct line to that and whether more could have happened to save these young girls who were just at camp trying to have the time of their lives. And the other people that have been killed. But we're going to be digging for those answers. Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much.

And we'll be back right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:22]

HILL: The stories of survival in Texas paint a picture of not only urgency, but the chaos. Earlier tonight, I spoke with Amanda Sue Jones, who was camping with her family in Kerr County when the storm hit and the waters quickly began to rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Amanda, I know this was a long, very difficult night for you and your family. Just first of all, how are you doing? How is everyone doing today?

AMANDA SUE JONES, FOUR KIDS SURVIVED HTR CAMPGROUND FLOODING: We're all still in shock and still replaying in our minds. You know, what could we have done differently? Just basically -- just going through the trauma of it, just hoping some of those people that we saw in distress were saved.

HILL: You and your family were able to get out. As I understand it, your husband basically who's from Kerrville, I believe, just stayed up all night kind of watching from Ingram, kind of watching, the water levels. What was that moment like when he said, that's it, we've got to go.

JONES: So, I knew that we were receiving the alerts, you know, through our devices and we just kind of, you know, were used to it. But we were so close to a fork of the river, we were about 20 yards where our tent was set up, and it was raining throughout the night. So, you know, not all of us wanted to be out there. Otherwise my kids would have been out there fishing all night.

But basically my husband would get up, you know, and go check the water. And, I would listen for him. You know, none of us really slept. You know, I'd listen for him to come back in. And I was just kind of waiting for him to be like, let's go. And then once the water kind of started coming over the bank is when he came in and said, we need to go now. And it was just -- the whole family just immediately went into, let's just get out of here.

One of my sons grabbed all the dogs. I grabbed the two smaller children. We even had two little orphan ducklings with us that we threw in a bucket and packed with us that we had brought from home. But we basically -- and just my oldest son is amazing. He just immediately started throwing stuff into the vehicle and the trailer.

Of course, we weren't able to get, you know, all of our stuff, but that doesn't matter to us at this point. We just basically all mobilized and once my husband said, it's time to go, we were like, okay, if he said it's time to go, then it must be serious.

HILL: Yes, and so, and I know you've camped in this spot before. There was, I think, maybe a little bit of flooding last year. Nothing obviously like this. Once you were able to get safely to higher ground with your family and the animals, you encountered some, some pretty rough moments. As I understand it, in what you witnessed.

JONES: Yes, and I think we pulled out of the campsite and we parked it. We were still on the island, what we thought was higher ground, but then the kids needed to use the bathroom. So, were going to go up to the headquarters of the camp. So we crossed over the little bridge and went up there and everything seemed pretty calm for the most part there. And we saw some flooding. A kayak had, you know, gotten swept away from somewhere. We saw that, but nothing crazy until after we had used the facilities and you just hear mayhem hit.

The first sound was just the sound of the campers and cabins just crashing against each other. That was the first of it. And that's what caught our attention. So, I immediately went to our stuff, went through all our belongings, found PFDs, lifejackets for all the children and said, you know, put this on immediately. You know, told them, everybody put this on. My husband was already going and seeing what he could do to help. So, it was me and the kids at that point.

And then you start hearing the screams for help and then a gentleman had come out of the bathroom and was saying his family was still in and his family was down there. And at this point, it was such a matter of minutes before the water rushed in and created this raging river just right there with, you know, within where the campers were, was just immediately like a just a whole new river there.

HILL: So, he had this gentleman had come up to you as the facilities himself, his family was still where they were camping and in those few moments, the waters just overtook that area where his family was.

JONES: Yes. It was just -- it was so fast. It was unreal. Like I said, we have stayed in this area last July and July when it flooded before, and it was just kind of slowly rising. But this was just like nothing I've ever seen. It just happened so fast and it was just so devastating. And just the cries for help and somebody was asking for a rope. And I sent my oldest son, you know, with a ratchet strap, because I was like, this is all we have. Like, I'm just scrambling through our belongings looking for anything to throw to him. And, and I don't think that it was of any use, but we tried.

HILL: Yes, I mean, that's all you can do. You paint such a difficult picture, right, of hearing these screams and hearing just the strength of that water around you. Could you see anything at this point? Some of the videos I've seen are so dark that I imagine that too. I mean, that adds to the horror and to the just the unknown of the moment.

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JONES: It is. It's like you didn't see it coming and that's like probably the worst part for all of us -- is that's what were as a family that's what we're dealing with, is the stuff that, you know, wasn't caught on camera is, you know, I had seen a family. I just remember a man, I don't remember anyone with him. He was made it through the water and he was up to, like waist deep water and then a camper, probably like over 30 foot camper is just being taken like its nothing. And it ran into him and I didn't see him afterwards. And it's just moments like that weren't captured that you see, these people are trying and it is just the devastation and the power of the water was just -- I mean, it was moving these cabins like they were nothing.

HILL: Yes, and I mean, can you -- for people who have never been to this area, can you give us a sense of you were down, you mentioned you were near a fork in the river. You were tent camping but the fact that there were cabins. How big is this, this camping area and how close would some of these other, other spots, right? Whether they're cabins or tent camping or even an RV, how close would they have been to the water?

JONES: Oh, their cabins are pretty close to the water as well. The only thing is where the campers are. I don't think that from there, like from their vantage point, I don't think they could see the water where the campers are because the cabins take up the waterfront. And then just kind of like the way the water rushed in. Like of course it was pitch black. But even if someone walked out, unless they walked down to the water, I mean, they just they just didn't have the viewpoint of the river like we did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Thanks again to Amanda Sue Jones, for joining us tonight. So many of you have been touched by the stories of the survivors, the concern for those who are still missing. There are ways that you can help the victims of the Texas flooding. If you go to cnn.com/impact or text flood to 707070, there are a number of organizations there that do need help and support. Those have been vetted. You can log on to find those. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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