Two brothers at camp describe devastating Texas floods
Two young brothers, Braeden and Brock Davis, were attending Camp La Junta, which is near the Guadalupe River, when the disaster struck.
"For me, the whole time I didn't really know what was going on until people came into our cabin and like the director, Scott, he told us that there was a flood, but to be honest, I didn't really know what was going on," 9-year-old Braeden Davis said.
He told "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King that there wasn't any water inside his cabin, but it was a different story for his brother, Brock.
"When I woke up, I turned my flashlight on and I think I saw water like outside and then like we had to get on the rafters," said Brock Davis, 7.
The boys' mother, Keli Rabon, explained how Brock escaped, saying, "He had to climb from initially the bottom bunk to then the top bunk and then ultimately to the rafters to try to avoid the water. As a mom, that sounds quite terrifying. I think he's still processing."
For Braeden Davis, his primary concern was for his little brother.
"Well, when they were saying like cabin six was like in the middle of the flood, I was like, 'That's crazy because my little brother was in that cabin.' ... It's basically just flat ground, so imagine water coming there and the current is just rushing and rushing and you have no idea what's going on," he said. "So I just imagine Brock — to be honest, I was more worried about Brock than myself."
Rabon said the two had only been at camp for one full day. She received a text from the camp saying that it flooded overnight, but that everyone was OK. The camp also did not have power or cell service. Several hours later, she got another update.
"It just started to sound worse, and meanwhile I start searching, seeing what's going on in the Hill Country, and it was far worse than I would have ever imagined," Rabon said. "So, you know, as a mama bear, immediately I'm like, 'I got to get in the car and go.'"
Rabon described the moment she reunited with her sons as a "sense of joy and relief," but added she also felt "bittersweet sadness because at that point I had already heard about what was going on at some of the other places."
"It's almost like you have this sense of survivor's guilt because you feel so much joy to see your children, but you still know that so many people are hurting and desperately looking for theirs," she said.
Rabon asked for support while their communities begin to recover from the devastation.
"There are kids from around the country that go to these camps and so so many are really hurting right now and so we just ask that the entire country just really wrap us in your love and in your prayers," she said.
Flooding kills at least 104 people
Camp Mystic, a private Christian camp for girls in Hunt, Texas, confirmed on Monday that 27 campers and counselors were killed in the Central Texas flooding. There were approximately 750 kids at Camp Mystic when the flooding occurred.
"Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," the camp said in a statement on its website. "We are praying for them constantly."
Officials say the death toll in the flash flooding has climbed to at least 104 people.
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