People are making a difference among the tragedy of the central Texas floods

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Devastating floods hit multiple counties in central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, killing over 100 people with more still missing.
But among the devastation and tragedy there have been moments of hope as residents have been saved and others have jumped in to help with clean-up and search and rescue operations.
Here are three stories of people who have worked to help save those affected by the floods.
Scott Ruskan is a 26-year-old rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard who helped rescue around 165 people during his first mission with the Coast Guard, per CBS.
On Friday, Ruskan and his team were flown from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Camp Mystic in Kerr County which had been devastated by flooding.
There were hundreds of people trapped at Camp Mystic, but the rest of the team was called to a different more dangerous area.
'We decided the best course of action was to leave me there,' Ruskan said, according to CBS.
Over the course of three hours, Ruskan was the only rescuer in the area and he spent the time setting up triage and comforting many girls at the camp. He said he pushed aside any fear that he had to focus on those he needed to help.
'They're having probably the worst day of their life. They're missing friends. They're missing loved ones,' he said, per CNN. 'They don't know where they are. Some of them may be unaccounted for. Some of them may be somewhere else.'
Eventually, Texas Air National Guard aircraft arrived at the area and Ruskan was able to lead the children in groups of 10 to 15 to the aircraft. He focused on getting the youngest children out first and even carried some of them.
In the end, Ruskan helped rescue around 165 campers, per CNN.
Ten years ago, Jonathan McComb lost his wife and two children in floods in Wimberley, Texas, similar to the tragedy that struck this year.
'This one hits a little bit more at home,' McComb said, according to USA Today. 'I can see the hurt and the pain in the families. I know what they're going through and what they're feeling and what they're going to feel.'
In 2015, McComb and his family were vacationing in Wimberley when waters from the swelling Blanco River carried the home they were staying in downstream. McComb was the sole survivor of his family after his wife and children were swept from his grasp.
McComb has spent the last four days as a volunteer with TEXSAR working to clear the mountains of debris that cover parts of Kerr County following this year's devastating floods, according to NBC DFW.
'I think it's good for people to see that there's hope, through tragedy. That life can go on, and I'm here to help do whatever I can for those people. Because they're going through the worst part of their lives right now, and I did that. I know exactly how they feel,' he said, per NBC DFW.
David Chambers received a phone call on Friday telling him that the Guadalupe river was rising and that floods were coming.
He quickly drove to his RV park in Center Point to evacuate the guests he had staying there. When he arrived the water was starting to spill over the banks of the river, per USA Today.
As the heavy rain fell on him, Chambers and one of his employees knocked on all the doors of his RV resort, the Guadalupe Keys Resort, until all 15 people who had rented units were evacuated. 'You got to get out!' he yelled as the evacuation took place.
Just minutes later, the park was completely covered by water and RVs were being flipped over and moved, some of them smashing into trees and other being pushed miles downstream.
Chambers received the warning about the floods just around 30 minutes before water filled the RV park, according to USA Today.