Texas summer camp evacuated 70 staying near river ahead of flooding: 'Saw it coming'
A Texas summer camp near the Guadalupe River evacuated about children and adults after camp functionaries noticed rising waters and a deluge of rain early on the Fourth of July The -acre Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly a recreation destination which had been hosting a summer camp as well as a youth conference with churches across the U S is located at the headwaters of the river and had been monitoring the situation for about hours Mo-Ranch communications director Lisa Winters informed KENS It was about a m Friday when a facilities manager Aroldo Barrera notified his boss who had been monitoring reports of the storms approaching the Associated Press shared Despite the absence of warning by local officials camp functionaries at Mo-Ranch acted fast on their own relocating about children and adults staying overnight in a building near the river With the kids safe camp leaders including President and CEO Tim Huchton avoided the catastrophe that hit at least one other camp near Hunt Texas TEXAS FLOODING KILLS MORE THAN AS SEARCH CONTINUES FOR DOZENS OF PEOPLE They helped them pack up Winters described the AP on Sunday They got them up they got them out put them up on higher ground Other places fared much worse Flash floods roared through Texas Hill Country before dawn on Friday decimating landscape near the river and leaving more than dead and dozens unaccounted for As of Sunday administrators declared girls from nearby Camp Mystic remained missing Rescue and recovery teams combed the area for them and others still unaccounted for days afterward We have the great blessing and advantage of being elevated enough to get people to a higher ground Winters informed KENS on Saturday We were making our plans and changing our plans and moving people up to higher ground well in advance last night She announced Mo-Ranch had been hosting several hundred campers several hundred people from the conference as well as regular guests there for the holiday weekend all of whom were accounted for She explained that the camp was without power Mo-Ranch is a Christian-based camp and we prepare kids to be strong and to be resilient and to have faith that they can get forward Winters advised KENS The ironic part of this the big youth celebration that I attended last night we just changed plans because we knew something was coming the whole theme was stress and anxiety for kids and how to fight it and how to be powerful They just put this into place and they pulled together I can t say there wasn t anxiety I wasn t right there when it happened But everybody was prepared Everybody was strong Everybody safely made it through Winters explained The decision to leave added to the mounting accounts of how camps and residents in the area say they were left to make their own decisions in the absence of warnings or notifications from the county Local agents have faced heavy scrutiny and at times have deflected questions about how much warning they had or were able to provide the society saying the reviews will come later according to the AP For now they say they are focusing on rescues Administrators have disclosed they did not expect such an intense downpour the equivalent of months worth of rain for the area NEW JERSEY COAST GUARD SWIMMER RESCUES NEARLY PEOPLE IN DEADLY TEXAS FLASH FLOODSWinters informed the AP that Mo-Ranch received no direct information from county representatives about flooding that could and did take lives We had no warning this was coming Winters announced adding that it would have been devastating had camp leaders not been looking at weather reports and the rising river waters Mo-Ranch saw it coming well in advance and they did something about it she announced Winters stated KENS that there are hundreds of camps located along the Guadalupe River and Mo-Ranch sits on the top of the cliffs in Hunt By about a m on Friday camp staff began contacting children's parents telling them their kids were safe They knew that those parents would wake up and just see all this media footage of kids lost or the river Winters explained the AP They re like Tell your parents you re OK We made sure every single guest every single kid was accounted for The camp which sits on higher ground than chosen in the area suffered specific damage but not as considerable as others Winters declared The buildings don t matter she announced I can t imagine losing children or people She mentioned a sturdy aluminum kayak was wrapped around a tree like a pretzel That just shows you the sheer power of the water I don t know how any people could survive We re lucky she mentioned The camp remained closed on Sunday and Mo-Ranch was working on approaches to help other camps affected by the flood CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP We re in a formidable place because others are really suffering Winters who became emotional during an interview notified the AP We re a sisterhood of camps We take care of each other
