- Coming up, a special edition of "Austin InSight."

More on the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas.

We'll talk to a reporter covering the Kerrville area.

We'll also hear from a woman who escaped the flood in the Hunt community.

And we'll get advice on helping children cope with tragedy.

Our special coverage starts right now.

- [Narrator] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(somber music) (somber music continues) - Hello and thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Laura Laughead.

Across Central Texas, communities are in shock and in mourning, as the full impact of the devastating July 4th flood continues to unfold.

On this special edition of "Austin InSight," we'll speak with a reporter covering this disaster and alumni of Camp Mystic, the riverside summer camp where 27 campers and counselors died in the flash flood.

But first, a brief summary.

(helicopter whirring) The wall of water that coursed down the Guadalupe River left a trail of wreckage and death behind it.

As rain began to fall, the normally 30- to 40-foot wide river swelled to many times that.

Torrential rainfall dumped more than five inches per hour in some locations.

That's about four months worth of rain in a few hours, according to weather experts.

Urgent middle-of-the-night warnings went largely unheard.

More than 100 people have died in the floods so far, including 36 children.

More than 160 people in Kerr County are estimated to be missing, with another 12 missing elsewhere, as search and recovery efforts continue.

An estimated 2,200 local, state, and federal employees and volunteers have responded, and contributions have been flowing to various relief funds from around the world, as noted by the mayor of Kerrville.

- We are grateful to the generosity of the world.

- [Speaker] Yes, we are.

- Over and over, I've asked you to pray.

It occurred to me that I haven't asked you for what to pray specifically.

Please pray for those who mourn, for those who wait, and for those who help.

- In Travis County, seven people lost their lives in the flood and an unknown number are still missing.

- In talking to other people that live out there this morning, you know, they pointed, you know, to a car that they thought people were in that I could see, you know, 1/4 of a mile down the river.

And so there are still people missing.

We do not know exactly how many.

I know firsthand that there is that one person confirmed missing by the ESTs.

- We have a community that's trapped because the bridge to their community is out of commission.

Now, they can walk, but it's determined it cannot bear weight like vehicles.

So we're really focused on that Sandy Creek Ranches neighborhood to get them other ways in and out.

I'm told for folks who have been doing this work for 20 years that this is the largest disaster to solely hit Travis County, where it's not Travis County and the City of Austin responding together.

(water rushing) - There are two confirmed deaths in Williamson County, where the San Gabriel River rose more than 36 feet.

We talked with Chet Garner, a familiar face to PBS viewers as host of "The Daytripper" show, and familiar to his fellow citizens in his home city, Georgetown.

- In drought season, San Gabriel can almost dry up and barely flow.

And whatever's at the opposite of that, that was this.

This was not a river.

This was a moving ocean going right around downtown.

It was terrifying to see, honestly.

It hits a very personal note when you see it, because those communities are beautiful communities, still are.

They're devastated right now, but they are just some of the finest people in all of Texas.

And to watch them go through this tragedy has just been, it's been really hard.

- Stories of horror, tragedy, and heroism are emerging.

West of Kerrville, in the small community of Hunt, Texas, an Austin woman who is the publisher of local magazine "Tribeza" barely got out of the way of the flood waters with her family.

(water rushing) - So many.

- [Speaker] One, there's three left here.

- Oh my gosh.

We're at a corner where it goes over the dam and kind of turns, and we're about a football field away in each direction.

And then our house is built up on a hill.

And so never have we ever even worried about water getting up.

The septic alarm for our house went off around 4:00 a.m. And my dad, who is in the upstairs garage apartment, came down to turn it off.

And he then came in to the main house and burst in to our room and saying, "Get up, water's about to come in the house."

And so when we all went outside to look at it, we were kind of in shock.

And at first, I thought like a pipe burst and that's what he means.

I didn't even process that the water from the river was gonna be at our front step about to come into the house.

And so we started mentally preparing.

Like are we gonna mitigate water?

Are we gonna go upstairs?

Do we need to get life jackets and go upstairs with the kids and wait it out there?

Since it had risen that high that we never expected, I assumed it could, I didn't know what it was gonna do next.

So thankfully, it started to recede.

We could see it start going down.

At that point, we realized that my husband and I's two-week-old truck that we just bought was completely gone.

We had no idea where it was.

We knew that if it was that bad for us, that it was gonna be really bad for other people.

We saw search and rescue and news helicopters were flying over all day.

It was just really rough.

And so then, by the time Saturday afternoon, when the water receded enough for us to maybe get our cars out, we were still blocked in by boulders.

And miraculously, a neighbor's friend showed up with a Bobcat and moved the boulders, and we were able to all get out.

And that's when we, you know, drove out.

I know a lot of people that have lost children.

And yeah.

We, it's hard to process the level of loss that people are going through.

We're okay.

We're all incredibly grateful that we got really, really lucky.

(somber music) (somber music continues) - Barely a week after the flood, questions are being asked about why more effective and timely warnings and evacuations did not occur in Kerrville and Kerr County.

Meanwhile, Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick are promising solutions from a special session of the legislature that will convene later this month.

Reporter Eleanor Klibanoff from the "Texas Tribune" has been covering the flood and its aftermath.

She joins us now.

Eleanor, thanks so much for being here.

- Thanks for having me.

- Eleanor, what are the system failure issues and question that you're seeing emerge early on?

- There's a lot of questions about, you know, what alerts were sent to people in the area.

And possibly more importantly, you know, what was done on top of that to ensure that people who, you know, maybe aren't from that area, aren't familiar with the terrain or the evacuation plans or how quickly things can get out of hand there with flash floods, were aware of what they should be doing?

I mean, these alerts came, you know, at 1:00 and 4:00 in the morning.

People are asleep.

People don't have cell service.

We've heard a lot of people who didn't get any alerts at all.

A lotta questions about what county officials did during that time, what should have been done, and what some of the limitations are, period, to just getting information like this out there.

- Already, we're seeing reporting about repeated requests by the county to the state for help with modernizing their warning system and other criticism of the overall response, like you mentioned.

What are state and local officials saying about that?

- Certainly, you know, about 10 years ago, after there were other floods in the Hill Country, Kerr Country it looks like tried to get funding for $1 million to improve their response to things like this, to install better alert systems.

That money, you know, is hard to come by in Kerr County to get $1 million.

The State of Texas did not grant them, you know, a grant or a loan to make that money or to get that money in their pockets to do that.

The plan sort of fizzled.

Now, of course, hearing a lot of enthusiasm from state officials to find funding for that, for Kerr County, but also for other flood-prone areas.

But just a lotta questions about, you know, why does it take a disaster?

Why does it take such a death toll for something like that to get funded?

- Now let's talk about managing the aftermath.

It's a huge mess with so much debris.

There are local deaths, and therefore, funerals to be had.

Plus, apparently, you know, dozens, over 100 more still missing.

How can this relatively small community deal with all of this from what you've seen?

- You know, I mean, it's just devastating Kerrville.

Everyone I talk to there was, you know, knew someone who'd been affected.

And the people who'd lost their homes, they've lost their businesses, they lost their pets, their possessions, they were the ones saying, you know, "At least we're lucky to be alive."

And so this recovery is going to take a long time.

I also, you know, a lotta big questions about, what will the tourism economy?

What will the camp economy look like in this area going forward?

You know, can the state and local officials do enough to assure people that it is safe to come here after what is, you know, at this point, the deadliest flood, you know, in 100 years in Texas?

- It is so staggering to hear story after story.

And a grim coincidence, you mentioned tourism, why so many people were even there in the first place for this holiday weekend, to be a tourist and get away.

No doubt, many difficult days ahead for the people in Kerrville.

Eleanor Klibanoff with the "Texas Tribune," thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us.

- Thanks for having me.

(somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) - Summer sessions at Camp Mystic in Kerr County have helped shape the lives of many Texas women for decades.

That indelible imprint adds enormously to the sense of loss felt around the state in the aftermath of the flood.

Camp alumni shared some of their favorite memories with us.

Take a look.

- Hi, my name's Maddie Davis.

I went to Camp Mystic for 10 years.

- My name is Meghan Browder, and I'm from Austin, Texas.

And I went to Heart O' the Hills.

- I went to Heart O' the Hills for 14 summers.

- I went to Camp Loma Linda at Mo-Ranch for four years as a camper and then was a counselor at Camp Mystic for one year in college.

- I went to Camp Young Judaea near Kerrville for three years when I was eight, nine, and 10.

- I was actually a legacy camper.

My mom attended the same camp in the '60s.

And before that, my grandmother was actually a camp counselor there.

- My sister went to Camp Mystic.

My mom went to Camp Mystic.

My grandmother went to Camp Mystic.

- Camp was my best memories of my entire childhood.

- Camp is something no one can put into words.

You just have to experience it.

- It's really hard to choose just one favorite memory.

- Camp was really just a super special place.

- My favorite camp memory would have to be the campfire singalongs.

- My favorite tradition at camp was sitting by the campfire and getting to learn all about the history of the camp we were attending, about the different campers over the years, and get to partake in the same activities that they did.

- It's where I felt like I could truly be myself.

It's where I felt safe enough to try new things.

- Dick Eastland taught a lot of us how to fish.

His fishing class was the biggest class at Camp Mystic.

I mean, everyone wanted to take it.

Everyone wanted to be there.

He taught me how to hold a fishing rod, how to cast a fishing line.

He taught me that the best way to catch a big fish was by putting leftover Vienna sausages from breakfast on the hook.

- Jane Ragsdale meant a lot to me.

She instilled in us a love for the land, a love for each other.

- We taught Jane Ragsdale, our camp director, how to Soulja Boy in our life skills class.

- I just, I remember so many summers looking forward to lining up at the gate to go see my friends and make memories along the Guadalupe, surrounded by the smell of campfire and the sounds of crickets chirping and Jane strumming on her guitar.

- Camp has created such an incredible group of young women.

- It's been my mental escape when things get hard as an adult.

- It felt like heaven on Earth.

I will cherish those memories for the rest of my life.

- Joining us now is Savannah Wiseman, who actually attended Camp Mystic.

Savannah, first we wanna thank you so much for coming to the studio to talk with us.

And you're actually wearing a dress that is symbolic of Camp Mystic.

- Yeah, on Sundays at Camp Mystic, it's a day of rest.

We all dress in white.

We spend time at the waterfront doing devotionals.

We go to vespers and it's those little rituals that I think that really make it a special place.

And so in honor of what's happened, I wanted to wear my Mystic whites.

- Well, I think that's very beautiful.

And I wanna talk more about what makes Camp Mystic so special.

We've heard that from so many alums.

So first, how many years did you attend Camp Mystic?

And for people who maybe aren't familiar, can you explain again just why it's so special?

- So I started in the late '90s.

I think I started around 1998, and then I was a counselor through 2007.

So I think almost a decade- - Wow.

- Of my life on the banks of the Guadalupe River.

And there's something that is so, I think what makes Camp Mystic so special is that not much has changed.

I think you can look at photos from Mystic through the years, which it's now almost 100 years, and sometimes it can actually be hard to tell, was that picture taken in 1980 or 1999 or last year?

Because and that's what's comforting about it is that it doesn't change.

We get to go and leave behind technology and the world and our cellphones and boyfriends and distractions of the world and just spend time in nature and with other girls.

And it was a place to build friendship and confidence and character and try new things, like in a place that was safe and free of judgment and where we were encouraged.

And I mean, it is hard to put in words.

And something that comes to mind is like the initialism, like if you know, you know.

Like you know, IYKY, like, because it's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.

- Well, we are hearing so many stories of so many families that sent their mothers, daughters, granddaughters to this camp.

And it's beautiful to see.

And now, though, it must be so incredibly heartbreaking to see these images of devastation at the camp, your camp, compared to your memories of the place.

Can you share a particular favorite memory?

- Yes, I mean, gosh, there are so many.

- There's so many, right?

- So many memories to pick from.

But I think, one of my favorite memories is just, as a camper on the last night of camp, like we get these little twin cot beds, like where we spend the summer.

And the last night of camp, my best friend from camp and I, we would insist on sleeping in the same bunk, little (laughing) tiny twin bed.

Because just the idea that we weren't gonna see each other for a summer or for the year until the next summer was always just so hard.

And just like, those moments where we would just kind of stay up late and talk, and after taps, and our counselors would usually let us do that on that last night, because you know, we were all gonna be saying goodbye until next year.

- What life lessons or values that you and your friends learned at Camp Mystic might help you and maybe all of us right now deal with this tragedy?

- Again, reflecting on Mystic, there were so many things that they taught us and instilled in us through songs and poems and saying.

And one that I keep returning to is, "A bell is not a bell until you ring it.

A song is not a song until you sing it.

The love in your heart wasn't put there to stay.

Love isn't love 'til you give it away and give it away."

And that's like something that we would repeat and just hug on each other.

And I think, in talking to so many of my Mystic family over the last couple days, that, I think, sentiment has really been shared of just spreading love and checking on each other.

And I think those sacred bonds that we formed all those summers is what's sustaining us right now.

- Beautifully said.

It's certainly a safe space for so many.

And the impact of the camp and its loss will endure.

Savannah, we wanna thank you again for sharing your experiences and your beautiful memories with us.

- Of course.

(somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) - The deaths of so many children touch the hearts of everyone.

How scared they must have been in the dark and fast-moving water.

But let's consider the impact of this tragedy on the emotional well-being of their friends and classmates.

Like classmates of two eight-year-old girls from Austin who were lost to that flood.

Joining us now with some advice on helping children cope are two counselors from Austin Independent School District.

We have Pam Martin and Amanda Toohey.

Thank you both for being with us.

- Of course.

- So certainly, every family in Central Texas is heartbroken by this catastrophe, and it's inescapable that children know about this as well.

So how can adults, parents and others, best help children cope right now, Pam?

- So by being present.

So listening to your children, being available to them, being honest with them at their developmental level.

So we don't wanna give children more information than they can process.

And we wanna make sure we are maintaining schedules with flexibility.

We're gonna make sure that they're eating nutritious food, moving their bodies, reading stories, snuggling, all the good things, thinking about the coping skills that you have in place always for your children.

And you're ramping those coping skills up.

Also, what's super important is making sure that the adults are taking care of themselves and each other.

This is about connection, community, and kindness.

And?

- Yeah, yeah.

And I'd add that, as adults and parents, oftentimes we wanna say that one right thing.

And really, back to what Pam was saying is that, at the end of the day, the most important thing is being present with our kids and just kind of being in tune to what their needs are.

If that's maintaining those routines and structures or scaling back and having those movie times and cuddle times, things like that.

And some kids are gonna feel like they really need to do something.

And if they're feeling that need, small acts of kindness can really help increase a sense of empowerment and control.

And so that could be as simple as making care cards or finding small ways to volunteer.

- And what I'm gleaning is like that routine, those little semblance of normalcy and just like fun activities really are crucial right now.

And when children learn about people their age or close to their age dying, it's particularly traumatic.

What's your advice then to parents on how to answer kids' questions?

How honest should they be?

- They should be honest based on the child's age and developmental stage.

So very young children may have a fear and an association about rain or water or camp.

They may associate it with dying.

So listening, being careful, and answering their questions, but considering where they are.

So very young children will be fearful.

And even children up to eight years old may not understand that death is permanent, that it's not reversible.

So just being aware of that and being ready for that when they say, "Where is such and such?"

when they already learned that they've died.

So being aware of that, being open, and being honest, not using euphemisms, like, "They went to sleep," or, "They passed away," but being very honest.

Older kiddos need each other.

Like adolescents need each other with the oversight and guidance of adults.

So carefully and honestly and not oversharing.

So asking questions to them so you know exactly what they need to know.

And then being present and available and knowing that, while this is the acute stage of trauma, over time, when they change developmental stages, when they are a teenager, they way relive some of the trauma and understand it on a different level.

So just being aware of all of those things.

- Undoubtedly, the AISD community is hurting right now with the loss of eight-year-old Linnie McCown and Mary Stevens.

Can you talk about the impact on your students and how the school plans to support them?

I wanna start with you, Amanda.

- Yeah, I think that we are, you know, first and foremost, in a state of just trying to meet immediate needs.

So like Pam said, we're in this place of acute crisis and needs.

And so that's really where our focus is right now.

And being mindful of kind of what everybody might need, and that's gonna look different from kid to kid, family to family, and campus community to campus community.

And so being flexible and just kind of meeting those needs where they are.

And I think also being mindful of those long-term impacts.

And while we are on summer break right now, what we wanna do is that, when they return, that we wanna be prepared to receive them in a compassionate way and meet each of their individual needs, whether that be through maintaining those kind of structures and routines that some kids might be looking forward to getting back to, or if they need some school-based counseling and check-ins and things like that.

- And I know that students will be in excellent hands with both of you.

We appreciate so much you guys sharing the guidance for all of us right now when it comes to helping children deal with loss.

- Thank you very much.

- Absolutely, thank you.

(somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) - On behalf of everyone here at Austin PBS, we wanna say our hearts go out to all who've been impacted by this catastrophic and tragic flooding.

As Central Texans join together in coming weeks to mourn, rebuild, and recover, we will continue to share stories about the resilience of the people in our area and the efforts to better understand, prepare for, and prevent disasters like this in the future.

Thanks so much for watching.

(somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) - [Narrator] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(flute sounding)