A Texas flood survivor has recalled the blood-curdling screams of families trapped in RVs, pounding on windows as raging floodwaters swept them away.
Lorena Guillen, owner of the Blue Oak RV Park in Ingram, near San Antonio, went door-to-door in the early hours of Friday morning, frantically trying to wake residents as water surged around them.
But as the flood rose foot by foot, she watched helplessly as vehicles floated by with families still inside, ‘screaming’ for help and ‘banging against the windows.’
Blue Oak, once a popular site for RVs and stay-in cabins, has been obliterated — all that remains are the bare slabs where cabins once stood.
As of Tuesday morning, the flash floods have claimed at least 104 lives, and authorities warn that the death toll is almost certain to rise.
Search efforts continue today, but officials have confirmed the operation has shifted from rescue to recovery.
Crews are now focused further west along the Guadalupe River at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp where 27 campers and counselors were swept away and killed.
Haunting photos taken inside the cabins reveal the devastation, with beds twisted and overturned, walls smeared with mud and personal belongings scattered.
Haunting photos of Camp Mystic devastation emerge after camp confirms 27 are dead
Survivor recalls moment RV park residents were swept away by raging Texas floods
Lorena Guillen, the owner of Blue Oak RV Park in Ingram, rushed from trailer to trailer in the early hours of Friday morning, pounding on doors and urging residents to evacuate as the park began rapidly flooding.
But within minutes, cars and RVs began floating past her with families trapped inside as they were swept away by floodwater.
Dhe could hear families screaming, honking, and banging desperately on windows.
‘It was pitch black, so all you could see was the lights floating and people screaming and banging against the window and honking,’ she told The Wall Street Journal.
She said the storm came essentially out of nowhere and arrived so quickly that water levels were up 10 feet in just one hour.
The businesswoman claims she called the Kerr County Sheriff’s department around 2am to ask if she needed to evacuate, but was told they had no information.
By 3.30am everyone at Blue Oak was forcibly leaving their homes.
She told WSJ: ‘It was just raining, you know, like nothing. We did have a warning, a flash flood warning, but this…is very, very normal for the Hill Country.’
All 33 RVs in her community were eventually washed away by the deadly storm.
Guillen revealed in previous interview with WOAI-TV that all of her residents except one family-of-five made it out of the floods safely.
Breaking:Body of girl, 8, found dead after Camp Mystic tragedy
Search and rescue crews have found the body of an eight-year-old Camp Mystic camper who was swept away by the deadly Guadalupe River floods.
Mary Grace Baker’s death was confirmed by her family’s parish priest, Father Andrew Moore of St. Anne Catholic Church in Beaumont, early Tuesday morning.
Fr. Moore shared a message from the third grader’s mother Katie with WOAI-TV. It reads: ‘We have received confirmation that our precious angel has been found.
‘We have felt all of your prayers and support the past couple of days. Please continue to lift us up as we do not see how we can possibly carry on without her. We will share details regarding her rosary and funeral as they are finalized.’
The church and school community also paid tribute to the young girl, hailing her ‘kindness’, ‘friendship’, ‘joyful spirit’ and ‘love for her faith and family’.
‘Her giggle was contagious, as was her spirit,’ St.Anne’s wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post.
‘We are heartbroken at the loss of our Mary Grace. Words are difficult to find, but we take comfort that her earthly body has been found, and her pure soul is now wrapped in the arms of Jesus. Please continue to pray for the Baker family and all those in our school community affected by this unimaginable loss.’
Mary Grace loved art, dance and playing little league. She also loved all things pink, sparkles and wearing ‘bows in her signature angelic ringlet curls’, her school says.
She recently celebrated her First Communion and ended her second-grade year by receiving the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, which is presented to exemplary people whose support and service impacts Catholic education and the well-being of others.
Texas floods death toll tops 100
The Texas floods death toll rose to 104 overnight.
The toll includes 27 who had been staying at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp that was housing about 750 people when the floodwaters struck.
Kerr County, through which the Guadalupe River runs, was the hardest hit, with at least 84 people killed including 28 children, according to the local sheriff’s office.
Kendall County, which sits around 18 miles from downtown San Antonio, reported six deaths Monday.
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Monday he couldn’t give an estimate of the number of people still missing, saying only ‘it is a lot’.
Officials also warn the final death total will almost certainly continue to rise.
