Verdict with Ted Cruz - The Texas Flood Disaster-Stories from on the Ground in the Hill Country

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.620 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.480 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you,

00:00:08.100 and it's so nice to have you with us on the program today.

00:00:11.380 Senator, we're going to be covering, yet again, the horrific flooding in Texas

00:00:16.260 and get people up to date on the latest information that you have right now.

00:00:21.320 Well, five days into it, we have 109 people who have been killed in the flooding in the hill country of Texas.

00:00:27.400 There are still a significant number of people that are missing.

00:00:32.360 We know of at least 27 campers and counselors that were killed at Camp Mystic.

00:00:37.180 Those numbers may grow. 109 is likely to grow.

00:00:41.540 And I have to say, just having spent all day yesterday on the ground in the hill country,

00:00:48.440 the devastation, I've got to tell you, as bad as you think it is, it's worse.

00:00:52.620 It is being on the ground in Camp Mystic.

00:00:57.400 And later in this podcast, I'm going to walk you through exactly what is going on in Camp Mystic,

00:01:03.600 what the state is.

00:01:05.840 It is the most horrific thing I've ever seen.

00:01:08.720 And it is.

00:01:10.560 Look, I've got to say, the whole state of Texas, we are grieving, we are mourning.

00:01:14.820 But the whole country is mourning.

00:01:16.280 Everyone, particularly anyone who's a parent, the nightmare of losing your child and losing your child to this kind of disaster.

00:01:26.320 Going from joy and celebration, dropping your kid off at summer camp to have an incredible experience.

00:01:33.760 Just days later, being swept away by floodwaters.

00:01:36.860 It is horrific.

00:01:38.380 And we're hurting.

00:01:39.900 We're hurting right now.

00:01:41.380 No doubt about it.

00:01:42.280 We're going to give you that update on exactly where we are now in just a moment.

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00:03:28.500 So, Senator, we've had a lot that's happened since we put out that podcast yesterday.

00:03:33.140 Usually we publish this show on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

00:03:36.020 I know many are tuning in this morning that may have missed part of that.

00:03:38.900 And we're going to talk about and play some of that for you in a moment.

00:03:41.740 But catch us up to the latest briefings you've received in the last 24 hours.

00:03:46.200 Well, look, I want to read you a story that was published in the Wall Street Journal.

00:03:50.340 And it was entitled, A Texas Dad Tried to Kayak to His Daughters.

00:03:56.140 The girls texted, I love you.

00:03:59.320 And the story focuses on the Harbor family that spent the holiday at a cabin they owned at Casa Bonita Cabin Community near Hunt, Texas.

00:04:09.620 Around 3.30 a.m. on Friday, R.J. Harbor was awakened by pounding rain, thunder, and lightning.

00:04:14.740 Hours earlier, he had received flash flood warnings for other areas, but not where he was staying.

00:04:21.480 R.J., who was a 45-year-old father and a Dallas lawyer who'd been vacationing and going to summer camp in this area his whole life,

00:04:29.040 thought the river might rise a little.

00:04:31.540 He wanted to check on his two young daughters, 11-year-old Brooke and 13-year-old Blair.

00:04:37.460 The girls were staying in a borrowed cabin closer to the river with their grandparents, Mike and Charlene Harbor.

00:04:46.120 R.J. said he thought he would also clear away a kayak and some fishing gear he was keeping by the river.

00:04:52.520 He put his foot down on the floor of his cabin and felt about four inches of water.

00:04:58.060 R.J. turned to his wife, who was laying in bed beside him.

00:05:01.360 Also awake, he told her, Annie, the cabin's flooding.

00:05:04.580 R.J. could see the water rushing in through the front door.

00:05:09.100 He tried to open the door, but he couldn't.

00:05:11.800 He looked out the window and saw the water level was about two feet below the window.

00:05:16.100 We need to get out right now, R.J. told Annie.

00:05:20.120 They grabbed a few items.

00:05:21.840 There were cell phones and a bag they hadn't unpacked.

00:05:24.580 By the time they jumped out the window about two minutes later,

00:05:27.540 the water had reached up to Annie's neck.

00:05:30.600 The harbors hurried to another cabin nearby on slightly higher ground.

00:05:35.340 They knocked on the door and woke the family.

00:05:37.420 By the time the family came to the door, the water was almost at their door.

00:05:41.660 They went to another cabin and woke a third family as well.

00:05:45.220 R.J. borrowed a kayak, a life vest and a flashlight.

00:05:49.100 He started a kayak to the cabin where the couple's daughters and R.J.'s parents were staying.

00:05:53.080 It was about 100 feet below, and he reached about halfway when, R.J. said,

00:05:59.340 a swell knocked him into a post.

00:06:02.500 I shined a flashlight out there, and I could see it was white water.

00:06:08.580 And I've kayaked enough to know that was going to be impossible.

00:06:13.380 He could see an entire cabin had been detached from its foundation

00:06:18.100 and was stuck against the side of the cabin where his daughters and parents were staying.

00:06:23.560 There were cars floating at me and trees floating at me.

00:06:29.740 I knew if I took even one stroke further, it was going to be a death sentence.

00:06:36.640 R.J. turned around to get his wife and the remaining families.

00:06:40.220 They went to a home nearby on higher ground across Highway 39,

00:06:43.960 where a family let them in about 3.45 a.m.

00:06:46.720 That was when he checked his cell phone,

00:06:50.640 and he saw a text sent at 3.30 a.m. from his daughter, Brooke.

00:06:57.420 Receiving the text alone was a miracle in the area,

00:07:00.100 where he usually couldn't get cell serviced.

00:07:03.520 It said,

00:07:04.800 I love you.

00:07:07.880 Annie, 43, worked at St. Rita's Catholic School,

00:07:11.820 which both girls attended,

00:07:13.140 received text from both Brooke and Blair,

00:07:17.920 time-stamped at 3.30 a.m.,

00:07:20.340 that said,

00:07:21.180 I love you.

00:07:23.460 Their other grandfather, who lives in Michigan,

00:07:25.600 received text with,

00:07:27.140 love you,

00:07:28.160 and a photo of the girls with him.

00:07:31.180 The Harbors and the other families waited without power all night,

00:07:35.260 hearing horrible sounds.

00:07:36.480 The next morning,

00:07:38.740 they realized,

00:07:40.460 they had been hearing the cabins being ripped off their foundations,

00:07:44.760 and crashing apart.

00:07:47.240 At sunrise,

00:07:48.360 the water had finally receded enough for RJ to go back to the site.

00:07:52.140 Only a half dozen of the community's 20-something cabins were still standing.

00:07:55.860 The others had been ripped from the foundations,

00:07:59.780 leaving only their tile floors.

00:08:02.680 The cabin where Blair,

00:08:04.140 Brooke,

00:08:04.580 and their grandparents had been staying

00:08:05.980 was completely washed away.

00:08:10.560 Blair and Brooke's bodies

00:08:11.860 were found and identified

00:08:14.180 about a dozen miles from the cabin.

00:08:17.460 Their grandfather's bodies were recovered on Monday.

00:08:20.440 their grandmother

00:08:22.280 was unaccounted for

00:08:24.140 as of Monday afternoon.

00:08:28.500 Can you imagine, Ben?

00:08:30.000 No.

00:08:31.500 The last thing you hear from your child

00:08:33.980 is a text.

00:08:37.480 I love you.

00:08:39.380 As the cabin they're in

00:08:40.980 is swept into the river,

00:08:43.020 and they're on their way to their death.

00:08:44.880 This happened

00:08:45.860 over and over and over again that night.

00:08:49.220 It is

00:08:51.380 another reminder

00:08:53.060 of just how quick things happen.

00:08:55.820 It's a reminder

00:08:56.620 of just how

00:08:57.540 unprecedented

00:08:58.560 this type of flooding was.

00:09:00.940 It's a reminder,

00:09:01.960 I think,

00:09:02.200 to those trying to politicize this

00:09:03.700 how

00:09:04.040 much this

00:09:05.420 should never

00:09:06.420 have been politicized

00:09:07.720 and

00:09:09.200 try to

00:09:09.940 turn this into

00:09:11.100 a talking point

00:09:12.220 for politics

00:09:12.880 because

00:09:13.380 as I said yesterday,

00:09:15.480 there is

00:09:15.840 no one

00:09:17.580 that was involved in this

00:09:19.200 in those moments

00:09:19.860 was thinking about

00:09:20.560 if you're a Republican

00:09:21.360 or Democrat

00:09:21.940 or rich or poor.

00:09:23.300 No.

00:09:23.500 Pray for Texas.

00:09:24.940 Pray for these parents.

00:09:26.020 Pray for these moms and dads.

00:09:27.480 Pray for these grandparents.

00:09:29.120 Pray for these brothers and sisters.

00:09:30.580 The agony,

00:09:31.380 the pain,

00:09:32.560 it is

00:09:33.420 unreal,

00:09:35.040 and

00:09:35.360 we have Texans and Americans

00:09:37.320 hurting tonight.

00:09:37.980 Amen to that.

00:09:39.720 We do know that

00:09:40.360 President Trump

00:09:41.140 is planning on coming

00:09:41.860 down to Texas

00:09:42.880 and I think there's a lot

00:09:44.360 of people that are going

00:09:44.940 to want to see their president,

00:09:46.400 their commander-in-chief

00:09:47.280 down in Texas.

00:09:49.460 The White House

00:09:49.980 has said that,

00:09:50.680 that they're going to be there

00:09:51.500 and that's going to help,

00:09:52.400 I think,

00:09:52.720 with certainly

00:09:53.160 some of the healing as well.

00:09:56.740 Absolutely.

00:09:57.300 I'm very glad

00:09:57.800 the president is coming.

00:09:58.840 It's the right thing to do.

00:10:00.400 I want to go back

00:10:01.520 to what many of you

00:10:02.860 may have missed yesterday.

00:10:04.580 Senator Cruz

00:10:05.340 was down

00:10:06.460 in the center,

00:10:08.680 the epicenter

00:10:09.180 of where everything happened

00:10:10.600 and for many of you,

00:10:12.200 you may have missed it.

00:10:13.680 What was said

00:10:14.620 about that time

00:10:15.540 down there

00:10:16.020 on Monday

00:10:16.880 and the time

00:10:17.960 that was spent

00:10:18.520 and the stories

00:10:19.280 that were told

00:10:19.880 and the families

00:10:20.540 that were there

00:10:21.200 and if you missed it,

00:10:22.980 I hope,

00:10:23.420 by the way,

00:10:23.720 that you'll take this show

00:10:24.560 and share it

00:10:25.060 wherever you can

00:10:25.920 so others can hear

00:10:26.900 exactly what happened

00:10:28.220 in Kerrville

00:10:30.200 and the surrounding area

00:10:31.420 and how you can also

00:10:33.540 help as well

00:10:34.560 so if you missed that

00:10:36.000 yesterday

00:10:36.520 when we put this out

00:10:38.320 on a day

00:10:38.600 we normally don't publish,

00:10:39.880 we wanted to play that

00:10:40.720 for you again right now.

00:10:43.160 Well, Ben,

00:10:43.820 you and I are recording this

00:10:45.000 at 12.36 a.m.

00:10:46.660 Monday night

00:10:47.360 and I spent the entire day

00:10:49.360 in the Hill Country

00:10:50.800 starting at 6 a.m.

00:10:51.800 this morning

00:10:52.300 and I visited

00:10:54.820 with families

00:10:55.740 who were grieving.

00:10:57.420 I went to Camp Mystic

00:10:59.500 and saw firsthand

00:11:00.840 the devastation.

00:11:01.780 I will tell you

00:11:04.320 there are not words

00:11:05.360 to describe

00:11:06.240 just how much

00:11:07.540 Texas is hurting.

00:11:09.300 This is

00:11:10.260 across the state

00:11:12.740 and across the country

00:11:14.280 people are grieving.

00:11:15.560 They're grieving

00:11:16.040 for the moms and dads.

00:11:18.500 This flooding,

00:11:19.680 I'll tell you

00:11:20.560 in my 13 years

00:11:21.620 in the Senate

00:11:22.080 I've seen a lot

00:11:23.360 of natural disasters,

00:11:25.460 hurricanes

00:11:25.880 and tornadoes

00:11:26.740 and wildfires

00:11:27.540 and it's always difficult

00:11:29.260 but this was something

00:11:32.020 really different.

00:11:33.620 What happened

00:11:34.740 in the Hill Country

00:11:36.840 right now

00:11:39.080 the fatality count

00:11:41.520 it is over 100.

00:11:43.640 It is expected

00:11:44.740 to keep growing.

00:11:46.980 They are still

00:11:48.060 searching for

00:11:48.980 and finding bodies.

00:11:51.360 Right now

00:11:52.380 Camp Mystic

00:11:53.340 we know

00:11:55.320 of 27 kids

00:11:56.820 and counselors

00:11:57.460 who lost their lives

00:11:58.900 in the flooding.

00:12:00.400 There are an additional

00:12:01.340 10 more girls 1.00

00:12:02.400 and one more counselor

00:12:03.680 who are missing

00:12:04.940 and so there are

00:12:07.040 search and rescue teams

00:12:08.300 that are searching

00:12:08.940 for them

00:12:09.540 right now

00:12:10.300 obviously every hour

00:12:11.400 every day

00:12:12.420 that goes by

00:12:13.280 the odds

00:12:14.640 of

00:12:14.960 a happy

00:12:17.660 outcome

00:12:19.340 go down

00:12:20.080 but we are

00:12:21.380 certainly praying

00:12:22.240 that

00:12:22.540 those 11 girls 0.98

00:12:26.160 are found

00:12:27.180 safe and sound.

00:12:30.840 You know

00:12:31.480 I want to tell folks

00:12:34.580 a little bit

00:12:35.100 about what

00:12:35.880 has happened

00:12:37.240 on the ground

00:12:37.800 and where this is.

00:12:38.920 So if you're not

00:12:39.780 from Texas

00:12:40.380 the Hill Country

00:12:42.340 is in central Texas

00:12:43.740 it's the central part

00:12:45.020 of the state

00:12:45.540 and it is

00:12:47.860 I think

00:12:48.680 the most beautiful

00:12:49.300 part of the state

00:12:50.000 and I think

00:12:50.320 most Texans

00:12:51.300 agree with that.

00:12:52.660 There are

00:12:53.400 rolling hills

00:12:54.360 there are

00:12:55.820 beautiful

00:12:57.020 rivers

00:12:58.140 and in particular

00:12:59.980 Kerr County

00:13:00.780 there are

00:13:03.780 about

00:13:04.680 40 summer camps

00:13:06.120 and there's

00:13:06.700 a long tradition

00:13:07.780 of camps.

00:13:09.620 It's an incredible

00:13:10.820 tradition

00:13:11.280 that goes back

00:13:12.040 100 years

00:13:12.800 where people went

00:13:13.860 and formed

00:13:14.320 these summer camps

00:13:15.260 because the natural

00:13:16.860 beauty was so

00:13:17.640 extraordinary

00:13:18.200 that it's

00:13:18.940 it's an incredible

00:13:19.700 place for girls 0.79

00:13:20.960 and for boys

00:13:21.700 to come

00:13:23.380 and spend

00:13:24.220 typically a month

00:13:25.780 at a time

00:13:26.480 and Camp Mystic

00:13:28.680 is

00:13:29.280 it's 100 years old

00:13:31.940 it is a Christian

00:13:32.880 girls camp

00:13:33.680 and I will tell you

00:13:35.400 Camp Mystic

00:13:36.080 is really

00:13:37.040 an institution

00:13:39.020 in Texas.

00:13:39.700 it is

00:13:42.480 you see

00:13:47.400 families

00:13:48.040 from all

00:13:48.540 across Texas

00:13:49.360 who

00:13:51.020 at the end

00:13:53.060 of typically

00:13:53.820 the month

00:13:54.240 long camp

00:13:54.800 session

00:13:55.240 that there's

00:13:56.400 a two day

00:13:57.720 closing ceremony

00:13:58.620 and you'll see

00:14:01.180 grandmothers

00:14:01.880 and moms

00:14:03.040 and daughters

00:14:03.680 three generations

00:14:04.780 of Texas women

00:14:05.940 that are there

00:14:06.680 and it is

00:14:08.160 look for me

00:14:09.820 this is not

00:14:10.400 abstract

00:14:11.020 our girls

00:14:12.220 have gone

00:14:13.020 to camp

00:14:13.600 in Hunt

00:14:14.480 in Kirk County

00:14:15.300 for a decade

00:14:17.280 now

00:14:17.720 and actually

00:14:18.940 just last week

00:14:20.100 Heidi was there

00:14:22.300 picking up

00:14:23.000 Catherine

00:14:23.440 our youngest

00:14:23.900 daughter

00:14:24.180 from camp

00:14:24.760 and so this

00:14:26.080 was literally

00:14:26.640 a week ago

00:14:27.420 that my daughter

00:14:29.940 was there

00:14:30.400 she was at camp

00:14:31.260 they'd been there

00:14:31.760 for a month

00:14:32.240 and I'll tell you

00:14:32.760 these camps

00:14:33.420 are

00:14:33.820 they teach

00:14:36.600 girls 0.98

00:14:37.240 independence

00:14:40.300 and responsibility

00:14:41.400 and teamwork

00:14:42.420 and the

00:14:44.240 friendships

00:14:44.900 that are formed

00:14:46.040 are lifelong

00:14:47.740 friendships

00:14:48.540 Catherine's

00:14:49.800 best friend

00:14:50.440 is a girl

00:14:52.580 from

00:14:53.060 the Rio Grande

00:14:54.920 Valley

00:14:55.220 who she would 0.96

00:14:55.760 never have met

00:14:56.440 going to school

00:14:57.080 and growing up

00:14:57.520 in Houston

00:14:57.960 if it were not

00:14:59.020 for that camp

00:14:59.700 and they are

00:15:00.360 absolutely inseparable

00:15:01.840 those sorts

00:15:03.200 of friendships

00:15:03.700 you see

00:15:04.460 at the closing

00:15:05.200 ceremony

00:15:05.780 you see

00:15:06.380 women in their

00:15:07.840 70s and 80s

00:15:09.300 with those same

00:15:11.280 lifelong friendships

00:15:12.280 and

00:15:13.900 when this flooding

00:15:16.000 hit

00:15:16.520 it just

00:15:17.160 devastated

00:15:17.960 Camp Mystic

00:15:19.760 and not just

00:15:20.520 Camp Mystic

00:15:21.180 but the entire

00:15:22.220 region

00:15:22.820 it was the

00:15:24.340 4th of July

00:15:24.980 weekend

00:15:25.360 and so you had

00:15:26.620 thousands of

00:15:27.660 thousands of people

00:15:28.440 there celebrating

00:15:29.320 by the riverbanks

00:15:30.540 and the Guadalupe River

00:15:31.540 is this beautiful

00:15:32.660 river

00:15:33.100 that I have

00:15:34.580 floated on

00:15:35.520 and swam in

00:15:36.520 dozens of times

00:15:37.940 it's a gorgeous river

00:15:39.080 it's wonderful

00:15:39.860 people

00:15:40.280 love to swim in it

00:15:41.840 vacation in it

00:15:42.920 canoe in it

00:15:43.860 and

00:15:45.000 no it's

00:15:45.880 it's part of

00:15:46.600 just the summers

00:15:47.660 in Texas

00:15:48.280 and for people

00:15:49.500 like you mentioned

00:15:50.060 that are outside

00:15:50.560 Texas

00:15:51.000 floating the river

00:15:52.240 is just so much fun

00:15:53.520 because you

00:15:54.100 you get

00:15:54.780 I mean

00:15:55.240 these basically

00:15:56.240 they used to be

00:15:57.280 back in the day

00:15:57.680 the inner tubes

00:15:58.220 of tires

00:15:58.780 you get

00:15:59.280 these floats

00:15:59.900 now

00:16:00.340 and you float

00:16:01.900 with your best

00:16:02.460 friends

00:16:02.880 I have a friend

00:16:03.940 that actually

00:16:04.580 met his

00:16:05.180 future wife

00:16:06.240 floating the

00:16:07.300 Guadalupe River

00:16:08.520 I mean

00:16:09.220 it's just a community

00:16:09.960 it's a slow float

00:16:10.900 it's very safe

00:16:11.860 it is something

00:16:12.920 that you do

00:16:13.520 we've stayed

00:16:14.100 on that river

00:16:14.600 before

00:16:15.000 we floated it

00:16:15.800 as you mentioned

00:16:16.700 countless times

00:16:17.660 and on the 4th of July

00:16:18.960 a lot of people

00:16:19.720 go down there

00:16:20.240 camping

00:16:20.640 you camp close

00:16:21.980 to the river

00:16:22.420 you bring your RV

00:16:23.740 and you do that

00:16:25.600 and that's what

00:16:26.320 people were doing

00:16:27.020 as you mentioned

00:16:27.560 it was a 4th of July

00:16:28.700 weekend

00:16:29.140 well and you

00:16:30.700 mentioned RVs

00:16:31.940 the flooding

00:16:33.480 there were many

00:16:34.500 RVs

00:16:35.380 that were just

00:16:35.960 swept into the river

00:16:37.400 and we don't have

00:16:38.280 a count

00:16:38.760 so I started

00:16:40.080 this morning

00:16:40.700 by meeting

00:16:41.300 with the mayor

00:16:41.940 and the county judge

00:16:42.900 and the county

00:16:43.340 commissioners

00:16:44.120 and Texas DPS

00:16:45.840 and the sheriff

00:16:46.540 and just getting

00:16:47.140 a report

00:16:47.600 from on the ground

00:16:48.760 and one of the

00:16:50.500 challenging things

00:16:51.800 we have over

00:16:52.760 100 confirmed

00:16:53.560 fatalities

00:16:54.220 there are a number

00:16:55.640 of bodies

00:16:56.160 that have been

00:16:56.600 discovered

00:16:57.080 both adults

00:16:57.800 and kids

00:16:58.460 that have not

00:16:59.220 been identified

00:16:59.780 yet

00:17:00.180 and bodies

00:17:01.300 that have been

00:17:01.680 in the water

00:17:02.160 for an extended

00:17:02.740 period of time

00:17:03.580 can be difficult

00:17:04.940 to identify

00:17:05.640 visually

00:17:06.240 and so they're

00:17:06.860 doing DNA

00:17:07.500 swabs

00:17:08.220 you know

00:17:11.060 when this

00:17:12.080 started happening

00:17:12.880 it was early

00:17:13.680 in the morning

00:17:14.340 on the 4th of July

00:17:16.200 the National Weather

00:17:16.980 Service put out

00:17:17.820 an emergency warning

00:17:18.740 just after 1 a.m.

00:17:20.460 they put out

00:17:20.960 another emergency

00:17:22.140 warning just after

00:17:23.100 4 a.m.

00:17:24.220 and the waters

00:17:25.760 rose about

00:17:26.800 30 feet

00:17:27.720 in less than

00:17:30.080 an hour

00:17:30.480 30 feet

00:17:31.240 is a lot

00:17:32.220 for an ordinary

00:17:33.520 calm river

00:17:34.580 to rise suddenly

00:17:35.660 the flash flood

00:17:37.080 was absolutely

00:17:39.180 devastating

00:17:39.860 now when this

00:17:40.680 was happening

00:17:41.400 within hours

00:17:42.820 of the flooding

00:17:43.460 occurring

00:17:44.100 I was on the phone

00:17:46.140 speaking with

00:17:47.440 Governor Greg Abbott

00:17:49.140 I spoke with

00:17:51.140 Lieutenant Governor

00:17:51.880 Dan Patrick

00:17:52.600 I spoke with

00:17:54.600 Nim Kidd 0.66

00:17:55.280 who is head

00:17:56.140 of the Texas

00:17:56.740 Department of

00:17:57.340 Emergency Management

00:17:58.260 and I called

00:17:59.800 President Trump

00:18:00.480 and I talked

00:18:01.760 to President Trump

00:18:02.580 on that first day

00:18:03.680 and I said

00:18:05.320 Mr. President

00:18:06.220 what is happening

00:18:08.620 in Texas

00:18:09.160 this is bad

00:18:10.340 it is

00:18:12.600 all indications

00:18:14.140 are this is

00:18:15.020 really really

00:18:15.820 serious

00:18:16.220 there could be

00:18:16.880 a lot of

00:18:17.440 fatalities

00:18:18.040 information was

00:18:19.600 just starting

00:18:20.180 to come in

00:18:20.760 so it was

00:18:21.300 it was hazy

00:18:22.100 but I said

00:18:23.140 this could be

00:18:23.920 really really bad

00:18:25.380 and President Trump

00:18:27.500 to his credit

00:18:28.040 he said

00:18:28.360 Ted whatever

00:18:28.940 Texas needs

00:18:29.800 the answer

00:18:30.300 is yes

00:18:30.720 whatever federal

00:18:31.400 assets you need

00:18:32.300 the answer

00:18:33.260 is yes

00:18:33.820 and that

00:18:34.460 I passed on

00:18:35.520 to the state

00:18:35.940 officials

00:18:36.300 to the local

00:18:36.840 officials

00:18:37.340 and I'll tell you

00:18:38.920 Ben within hours

00:18:39.780 I was hearing

00:18:41.260 from families

00:18:42.060 I was hearing

00:18:43.060 from parents

00:18:44.020 whose daughters

00:18:45.520 were at Mystic

00:18:46.300 and whose daughters 0.70

00:18:48.180 were missing

00:18:48.660 and they were

00:18:49.080 panicked

00:18:49.540 and they were

00:18:49.880 saying

00:18:50.140 can you tell

00:18:51.500 us anything

00:18:52.000 do you have

00:18:52.560 any information

00:18:53.260 and I was

00:18:53.680 connecting them

00:18:54.480 with the local

00:18:55.880 sheriff

00:18:56.320 with emergency

00:18:57.160 management

00:18:57.860 and look

00:18:59.220 you and I

00:18:59.640 are both dads

00:19:00.460 it is difficult

00:19:05.080 to imagine

00:19:05.920 the panic

00:19:06.600 the fear

00:19:07.400 the bewilderment

00:19:08.680 everything

00:19:10.560 those moms 1.00

00:19:11.420 and dads

00:19:11.860 were feeling

00:19:12.400 as you get

00:19:12.900 the news

00:19:13.480 that your

00:19:14.820 daughter is missing

00:19:15.640 and many of

00:19:16.920 those parents

00:19:17.260 just drove

00:19:17.780 to Central Texas

00:19:18.520 immediately got

00:19:19.200 in the car

00:19:19.680 and drove

00:19:21.400 as I told you

00:19:22.700 we picked up

00:19:23.660 our daughter

00:19:24.200 last week

00:19:25.040 from right there

00:19:26.380 and Catherine

00:19:29.020 said to me

00:19:29.520 why would the

00:19:31.160 dads drive there

00:19:31.960 and I said

00:19:32.520 sweetheart

00:19:32.800 that's just

00:19:33.200 what you do

00:19:33.720 if your child

00:19:35.640 is lost

00:19:35.980 you just go

00:19:36.880 you'll move

00:19:38.000 heaven and earth

00:19:38.780 you'll do

00:19:42.600 whatever you can

00:19:43.260 I mean

00:19:43.640 this is the same

00:19:44.160 conversation

00:19:44.700 I have with my

00:19:45.320 boys

00:19:46.040 and in the

00:19:47.140 ages here

00:19:47.960 you know

00:19:48.340 you see

00:19:48.740 these little

00:19:49.120 girls that 1.00

00:19:49.560 are missing

00:19:49.920 and

00:19:50.420 one of

00:19:51.760 my wife's

00:19:53.040 high school

00:19:53.560 friend's daughter

00:19:54.240 is one of

00:19:54.760 those that

00:19:55.220 lost her

00:19:55.640 life

00:19:56.060 and

00:19:56.660 having that

00:19:57.920 conversation

00:19:58.680 with your

00:20:00.160 kids

00:20:00.460 you're the

00:20:00.680 same age

00:20:01.100 my twins

00:20:01.560 are six

00:20:02.180 they could

00:20:03.400 have been

00:20:03.620 at camp

00:20:04.060 and my

00:20:04.920 oldest is eight

00:20:05.800 could have

00:20:06.260 been at camp

00:20:06.860 and you put

00:20:07.860 yourself in

00:20:08.340 that situation

00:20:09.040 of just

00:20:09.780 what would

00:20:10.180 you do

00:20:10.580 and it's

00:20:11.180 exactly what

00:20:11.680 you just

00:20:11.940 said

00:20:12.260 you just

00:20:13.840 go

00:20:14.380 and there's

00:20:15.200 been

00:20:15.500 I also

00:20:16.380 want people

00:20:16.860 to understand

00:20:17.400 flooding in

00:20:18.020 this region

00:20:18.560 because I

00:20:19.140 think there's

00:20:19.400 been a lot

00:20:19.760 of misinformation

00:20:20.420 nationwide on

00:20:22.040 this so that

00:20:22.580 people understand

00:20:23.340 the hill country

00:20:24.540 and kind of how

00:20:24.980 it works

00:20:25.300 there's a lot

00:20:26.120 of rock

00:20:26.680 in the hill

00:20:27.600 country

00:20:28.020 and so when

00:20:28.740 it rains

00:20:29.320 the water

00:20:30.040 doesn't absorb

00:20:30.780 into the

00:20:31.960 land like it

00:20:33.520 does in most

00:20:34.160 places in the

00:20:34.820 country

00:20:35.140 like when we

00:20:35.680 get rain in

00:20:36.240 Houston

00:20:36.620 or when I

00:20:38.060 lived in

00:20:38.560 Dallas

00:20:39.460 like it rains

00:20:40.420 and a lot

00:20:41.120 of the water

00:20:41.540 goes into

00:20:42.380 the earth

00:20:42.920 and you

00:20:43.660 don't have

00:20:44.120 this flash

00:20:45.000 flooding

00:20:45.340 this massive

00:20:45.940 quick flooding

00:20:46.780 in the hill

00:20:47.840 country

00:20:48.320 that's what

00:20:49.160 you get

00:20:49.660 when you

00:20:49.900 get rain

00:20:50.240 but to be

00:20:50.720 clear in

00:20:51.300 this part

00:20:51.660 of the hill

00:20:51.900 country

00:20:52.180 they don't

00:20:52.700 get a lot

00:20:53.240 of rain

00:20:53.740 they can

00:20:54.680 go hundreds

00:20:55.200 of days

00:20:55.640 without rain

00:20:56.480 in this

00:20:57.520 area

00:20:57.880 and so

00:20:58.700 when it

00:20:59.260 you know

00:20:59.800 there's

00:21:00.080 there's a

00:21:00.500 reality of

00:21:01.340 like when

00:21:01.860 it rains

00:21:02.340 the locals

00:21:02.920 know that

00:21:03.620 you're going

00:21:04.140 to have some

00:21:04.540 flooding in

00:21:05.040 the low

00:21:05.280 lying areas

00:21:05.900 and you

00:21:06.200 kind of

00:21:06.500 know where

00:21:06.760 those areas

00:21:07.240 are and

00:21:07.680 where the

00:21:07.920 bridges are

00:21:08.540 and where

00:21:08.760 the low

00:21:09.640 areas are

00:21:10.240 in the

00:21:10.500 roadways

00:21:11.240 this is

00:21:12.440 something

00:21:12.900 that no

00:21:14.060 one had

00:21:14.780 seen in

00:21:15.280 their lifetime

00:21:16.160 there had

00:21:16.860 never been

00:21:17.460 flooding like

00:21:18.220 this in

00:21:19.700 Kerrville or

00:21:20.440 in Comfort

00:21:21.160 the way that

00:21:22.220 we are

00:21:22.940 witnessing it

00:21:23.580 now and so

00:21:24.260 there's some

00:21:24.620 people I think

00:21:25.060 out there

00:21:25.340 acting like

00:21:25.820 well they

00:21:26.180 should have

00:21:26.540 you know

00:21:27.020 this is

00:21:27.380 something that

00:21:27.760 happened so

00:21:28.260 common I've

00:21:28.880 seen comments

00:21:29.740 like that

00:21:30.180 this was

00:21:31.080 catastrophic

00:21:31.780 you witnessed

00:21:32.520 it today

00:21:33.140 yeah it

00:21:35.100 was utterly

00:21:36.040 unprecedented

00:21:36.820 I went up

00:21:37.640 at a

00:21:37.900 Coast Guard

00:21:38.460 helicopter

00:21:38.980 and I

00:21:40.480 flew a

00:21:41.820 significant

00:21:42.320 portion of

00:21:42.960 the Guadalupia

00:21:43.540 River and

00:21:44.120 I will tell

00:21:44.840 you just

00:21:46.140 looking at

00:21:46.980 the devastation

00:21:48.000 you know

00:21:49.000 water when

00:21:50.600 you have a

00:21:51.180 fast-moving

00:21:51.980 wall of

00:21:52.520 water nothing

00:21:53.740 stands in

00:21:54.360 its way

00:21:54.800 there were

00:21:56.180 cars strewn

00:21:57.340 everywhere and

00:21:58.180 by the way

00:21:58.600 when a car

00:21:59.320 is being

00:22:00.020 thrown and

00:22:00.520 it crashes

00:22:00.940 into a

00:22:01.380 tree it

00:22:02.800 destroys the

00:22:04.280 car but

00:22:05.720 there were

00:22:06.320 thousands and

00:22:07.320 thousands of

00:22:07.880 trees that

00:22:08.460 were just

00:22:08.880 mowed over

00:22:09.780 by the

00:22:10.160 water because

00:22:10.760 when water

00:22:11.400 hits a

00:22:11.800 tree water

00:22:12.780 is a lot

00:22:13.180 stronger than

00:22:13.740 the trees and

00:22:14.260 the volume of

00:22:15.280 you saw houses

00:22:16.720 just taken

00:22:17.480 clean off

00:22:18.200 off their

00:22:19.140 foundation and

00:22:20.720 swept into

00:22:22.420 the river that

00:22:23.320 we were talking

00:22:24.300 about RVs a lot

00:22:25.260 of people bring

00:22:25.880 RVs or in

00:22:26.800 mobile homes and

00:22:28.140 look if you're

00:22:28.600 going to a

00:22:28.980 campsite you know

00:22:29.760 it's a 4th of

00:22:30.320 July weekend it's

00:22:31.280 it's a great

00:22:31.940 weekend and

00:22:33.300 and the problem

00:22:34.080 is RVs and

00:22:35.020 mobile homes are

00:22:35.780 particularly vulnerable

00:22:36.600 in a flood or

00:22:38.200 tornado or other

00:22:38.960 natural disaster and

00:22:40.580 so you just had

00:22:41.460 multiple RVs swept

00:22:43.140 into the river they

00:22:43.960 don't have a firm

00:22:44.720 count they don't

00:22:45.760 know how many

00:22:46.120 people they're

00:22:46.520 looking for because

00:22:47.400 many of the

00:22:47.980 visitors were not

00:22:49.260 from Kerr County

00:22:50.160 and were just there

00:22:51.740 to celebrate the

00:22:52.520 4th of July

00:22:53.260 going down

00:22:55.300 flying that

00:22:57.620 helicopter and

00:22:58.400 just seeing

00:22:59.340 the extent of the

00:23:01.660 devastation was

00:23:03.380 was massive

00:23:05.900 and look but I

00:23:09.840 but I want to say

00:23:10.500 this that there's

00:23:13.320 so much grief in

00:23:15.600 Texas our hearts

00:23:16.640 are broken right

00:23:18.760 now and their

00:23:22.380 families from

00:23:23.440 from Houston from

00:23:24.740 Dallas from Austin

00:23:26.120 from San Antonio

00:23:27.120 from every community

00:23:28.120 in Texas and

00:23:28.800 there and there

00:23:29.260 there are campers

00:23:30.260 who come from all

00:23:30.840 over the country to

00:23:31.640 come to Camp

00:23:32.100 Mystic but many of

00:23:33.140 them are from

00:23:33.620 cities in Texas

00:23:34.400 and and many of

00:23:35.860 them you and I

00:23:36.380 know we have

00:23:37.000 multiple friends

00:23:38.080 who who've lost

00:23:39.400 children my

00:23:41.540 street at home

00:23:42.780 around the oak

00:23:44.280 tree in our front

00:23:44.940 yard we have a

00:23:45.680 big green ribbon

00:23:46.420 for the girls at

00:23:49.060 Camp Mystic and

00:23:49.860 if you look at

00:23:50.560 tree after tree

00:23:51.420 just going up and

00:23:52.280 down our street

00:23:53.100 they're green

00:23:54.160 ribbons on tree

00:23:55.000 after tree after

00:23:55.880 tree but but I

00:24:00.000 want to I want

00:24:01.680 to give some

00:24:02.300 encouragement

00:24:02.900 look this is

00:24:04.860 unbearably hard

00:24:07.280 and painful for

00:24:09.220 the state but in

00:24:11.960 the face of

00:24:13.100 unspeakable pain

00:24:14.220 there's also

00:24:15.080 unbelievable

00:24:16.020 courage and there

00:24:19.760 were over 850

00:24:22.620 rescues from that

00:24:26.820 river we had

00:24:28.520 early on when I

00:24:29.640 got on the phone

00:24:30.360 and I worked to

00:24:31.000 make sure that

00:24:31.580 there were there

00:24:31.960 were federal

00:24:32.380 assets there went

00:24:33.560 over a dozen

00:24:34.120 helicopters in the

00:24:34.920 air we had

00:24:35.420 Coast Guard in

00:24:36.040 the air we had

00:24:36.720 National Guardsmen

00:24:37.960 in the air we

00:24:38.800 had DPS in the

00:24:40.340 air we had game

00:24:41.220 wardens on the

00:24:41.900 ground and and

00:24:43.320 they were rescuing

00:24:44.480 people pulling them

00:24:45.600 out of harm's way

00:24:47.620 I met today with a

00:24:50.740 Coast Guard swimmer

00:24:51.680 and and by the way

00:24:52.460 Coast Guard

00:24:52.900 swimmers are

00:24:53.540 incredible you know

00:24:55.840 I've analogized

00:24:56.660 Coast Guard

00:24:57.120 swimmers before to

00:24:58.780 kind of a blend of

00:25:00.320 Navy SEALs and

00:25:02.480 California surfers

00:25:03.640 and and and I've

00:25:05.180 gotten to know

00:25:05.620 several of these

00:25:06.160 Coast Guard

00:25:06.580 swimmers and

00:25:07.040 Hurricane Harvey I

00:25:07.840 got to know them

00:25:08.480 and they're utterly

00:25:09.460 fearless these are

00:25:10.320 guys that jump out

00:25:11.120 of helicopters into

00:25:12.300 hurricane force

00:25:13.600 winds and waters

00:25:14.620 and and just swim

00:25:15.620 and rescue people

00:25:16.520 and and they kind

00:25:17.760 of you know often

00:25:18.540 will be just sort

00:25:21.480 of dudes like

00:25:22.440 surfer dudes who

00:25:24.080 are these incredibly

00:25:25.680 fearless lifesavers

00:25:27.220 well I met met

00:25:29.380 met this one one

00:25:30.900 Coast Guardsman who

00:25:32.760 who landed at Camp

00:25:37.600 Mystic he was on a

00:25:38.900 Coast Guard helicopter

00:25:39.840 they they landed him

00:25:41.100 there and he rescued

00:25:42.780 165 girls and and and 0.50

00:25:46.400 and I talked with him

00:25:47.380 his name is Petty Officer

00:25:48.340 Scott Ruskin he's 26 years

00:25:50.940 old he's he's from New

00:25:52.500 Jersey and and it was

00:25:54.440 his first mission as

00:25:55.860 as a Coast Guard rescue

00:25:56.920 swimmer he's new to the

00:25:58.160 Coast Guard he did a lot

00:26:00.100 of training but they

00:26:00.900 they put him on the

00:26:01.620 ground there and and

00:26:03.280 it was the highest part

00:26:04.400 part of Camp Mystic and

00:26:05.680 then they they brought

00:26:07.000 in a whole series of

00:26:08.360 helicopters to

00:26:09.180 helicopter the girls 0.59

00:26:10.060 out because all the

00:26:10.760 roads were underwater so

00:26:12.080 you couldn't drive in and

00:26:13.240 get the girls because the 1.00

00:26:14.300 roads were completely

00:26:15.040 submerged and and so he

00:26:17.000 was there he spent three

00:26:18.120 and a half hours on the

00:26:20.260 ground at Camp Camp

00:26:21.500 Mystic understand there's

00:26:22.620 torrential rains coming

00:26:23.920 down he he's sitting

00:26:26.400 there with girls girls 0.98

00:26:27.980 who are terrified who

00:26:30.840 are crying who are

00:26:32.080 screaming who are scared

00:26:33.760 some of them were singing

00:26:35.280 hymns and and he's trying

00:26:36.620 to comfort them they

00:26:38.080 dropped him off and he

00:26:39.180 was the one staying with

00:26:40.500 them and trying to get the 0.66

00:26:41.540 girls that they would come 0.99

00:26:43.240 and and and land

00:26:44.420 helicopters and they

00:26:45.300 would load about 15

00:26:46.220 girls and and they'd

00:26:47.300 take take them take them

00:26:49.120 to a safe place they'd

00:26:50.040 come back and pick up

00:26:50.840 another load and another

00:26:51.640 load and another load so

00:26:52.480 for three and a half

00:26:53.260 hours you know when I

00:26:55.600 when I visited with him

00:26:56.940 and it's interesting he's

00:26:58.820 26 years old he has kind

00:27:00.500 of short blonde hair and a

00:27:02.220 mustache and and it's you

00:27:03.700 know he's done some media

00:27:04.620 interviews today and one

00:27:05.820 of them he said I'm just a

00:27:07.680 dude which is sort of what

00:27:09.720 I said about like the and he

00:27:13.080 was saying and he was kind

00:27:14.780 of laughing and saying like

00:27:15.940 like he talks to his

00:27:17.220 commanding officer and

00:27:18.380 sometimes says hey dude

00:27:19.380 he's like oh wait wait

00:27:20.040 you're my commanding

00:27:20.680 officer sorry but it's it's

00:27:22.540 kind of just how swimmers

00:27:23.620 are it it's sort of their

00:27:25.080 culture but he said he had

00:27:27.800 just gotten off the phone

00:27:29.040 with a mom and dad and a

00:27:31.440 girl who he said and he

00:27:32.880 said they were crying and

00:27:33.860 he was crying because they

00:27:35.020 said you saved my daughter's

00:27:36.400 life she said that when she

00:27:38.080 was terrified you held her

00:27:39.320 hand and just held her hand

00:27:40.420 as you put her on in the

00:27:41.440 helicopter and and made her 0.98

00:27:43.520 not be scared for a minute

00:27:44.740 and I that heroism was

00:27:50.200 happening over and over and

00:27:52.340 over again it's it's

00:27:55.880 incredible it's the best part

00:27:57.620 of of the tragedy is just

00:27:59.860 seeing how quickly people came

00:28:01.380 together you know there's

00:28:03.140 there's also another aspect of

00:28:04.740 this and and I do want to

00:28:06.160 just take a moment and set the

00:28:07.780 record straight there have

00:28:09.880 been some people that have

00:28:12.160 tried to use this tragedy to

00:28:14.400 score political points I I it

00:28:18.840 makes me sad that are that

00:28:20.680 that there's people in the

00:28:22.440 media and there's people on

00:28:23.960 the left that are just that

00:28:26.120 vile and partisan we even saw

00:28:29.620 you know a pediatrician that

00:28:32.400 actually worked for my kids go

00:28:34.140 to a pediatrician who said that

00:28:36.220 basically the people deserve

00:28:37.540 what they get because they

00:28:38.420 voted for Donald Trump in this

00:28:39.520 area of the country you know

00:28:41.060 thank goodness it was exposed

00:28:42.280 and she was fired today for 1.00

00:28:45.140 that it is it is sad to see

00:28:49.040 this happen and I even called

00:28:52.000 her pediatrician's office and I

00:28:53.260 said hey like this I I need to

00:28:55.960 know that if there's an on-call

00:28:57.900 doctor they're not going to give

00:28:59.260 my kid bad care if they know what 0.76

00:29:01.580 I do and they said watch our

00:29:04.000 website you'll be getting an

00:29:05.260 update soon thank goodness they

00:29:06.620 put out there that this this

00:29:07.920 doctor had been had been fired

00:29:10.060 from from this job as a

00:29:11.660 pediatrician and you look at

00:29:12.940 these moments and it does make

00:29:14.280 you sad but I also think we need

00:29:16.420 to be clear about the the record

00:29:18.260 here there's a lot of rumors that

00:29:21.340 this was all preventable that this

00:29:23.180 was somehow Donald Trump's fault

00:29:25.040 this was the fault of defunding of

00:29:27.760 FEMA and different agencies National

00:29:29.740 Weather Service all that is a lie

00:29:31.420 they were staffed adequately there

00:29:33.820 were warnings that went out can we

00:29:35.680 learn from this and do better

00:29:36.900 absolutely can we put maybe a

00:29:38.780 warning system on the on the on

00:29:40.520 the riverbanks something they've

00:29:42.200 talked about seven years ago but

00:29:43.720 it was voted down because the

00:29:44.820 costs and and Kerr County that the

00:29:47.100 these are things that we can learn

00:29:50.220 from but but the partisan politics

00:29:52.740 of this and just watching people try

00:29:55.140 to somehow blame Trump for this

00:29:56.520 tragedy it really makes me sad that

00:29:59.060 this is still where we are in this

00:30:01.520 way when something like this

00:30:02.560 happens I wish people could just

00:30:03.860 learn this isn't political this

00:30:06.640 storm didn't care if you're

00:30:07.840 Republican or Democrat or agnostic

00:30:09.780 or Christian or Jewish or Catholic or

00:30:12.540 anything else they didn't care if

00:30:13.960 you're rich or poor black or white 0.79

00:30:15.600 everybody that was in the line of

00:30:18.180 this flooding life was in danger

00:30:20.480 that's what people should focus on

00:30:22.640 and the help we can do to give them

00:30:24.100 not trying to say all right how do we

00:30:25.940 use this to make points yeah you see

00:30:29.820 this unfortunately frequently after

00:30:31.720 after natural disasters after

00:30:33.540 hurricanes or tornadoes or in this

00:30:35.760 case flooding that that partisans

00:30:38.140 will try to attack their political

00:30:39.740 opponents and and and score cheap

00:30:41.660 points and and there are a bunch of

00:30:43.160 folks uh online and and both in the

00:30:46.180 media and and and on the left that

00:30:48.820 are just trying to attack Trump and and

00:30:50.780 you know if there's a hurricane the

00:30:52.780 hurricane is Trump's fault and and in

00:30:54.320 this case the the sort of talking

00:30:55.860 point of the left was that that doge

00:30:58.600 made reductions in different areas of

00:31:00.240 government and the National Weather

00:31:01.460 Service they say doge gutted it now

00:31:04.200 now we know that that is not the

00:31:06.960 case how do we know that number one

00:31:08.480 because the National Weather Service in

00:31:10.500 this case put out two warnings one as I

00:31:12.460 mentioned just after 1 a.m. one after

00:31:14.180 4 a.m. that that was their job we also

00:31:18.860 know the National Weather Service for

00:31:20.440 this region was headquarters in New

00:31:23.080 Braunfels which is another small town

00:31:24.860 not too far away from Kerrville not

00:31:26.360 too far away from Hunt and and and the

00:31:29.420 night of of of this flood they not only

00:31:32.400 had full staffing they had three

00:31:33.900 additional people three extra people

00:31:35.760 staffed that evening because they knew

00:31:38.300 it was going to be a difficult weather

00:31:39.360 event so they deliberately staffed up

00:31:41.260 and and look he I will say beyond that

00:31:45.280 that the National Weather Service union

00:31:47.100 which has been very critical of the

00:31:49.700 doge reductions as you would expect the

00:31:51.680 union to be they publicly said that that

00:31:55.540 the reductions through doge had zero

00:31:58.340 impact on the National Weather Service's

00:32:00.460 ability to predict what happened here

00:32:02.820 and and and given that they're they're an

00:32:06.560 entity that is naturally critical of

00:32:08.200 those cuts I think that's that speaks

00:32:09.740 volumes now you know I spent the day I

00:32:12.720 did did a lot of a lot of interviews with

00:32:14.900 a lot of reporters today and and many of

00:32:16.800 them were saying okay well and they would

00:32:18.820 ask this question many of the reporters

00:32:20.120 would say well isn't this all Trump's

00:32:21.800 fault and so I tried to say look stop

00:32:24.440 politicizing a crisis that has broken

00:32:27.400 the heart of our state but as you noted

00:32:31.560 and listen with any disaster that there's

00:32:34.300 a natural order of events the first phase

00:32:38.540 is is search and rescue it is crisis

00:32:42.580 saving people's lives and and we have been

00:32:45.620 in that phase we're still in that phase

00:32:47.700 looking for these these 11 still missing

00:32:51.220 girls but but but that phase will soon

00:32:53.480 come to an end the next phase is

00:32:57.280 rebuilding and then there are many

00:32:58.480 people who have who've lost their homes

00:33:00.060 who've lost everything and the and the

00:33:01.500 rebuilding time phase will take it will

00:33:04.320 take months it may take years for for some

00:33:06.580 of these some of these places to be

00:33:08.020 rebuilt but but that's a process that's a

00:33:10.860 process that there will be local

00:33:12.680 assistance and state assistance and

00:33:14.220 federal assistance at the same time we

00:33:17.980 will when we get through the crisis

00:33:19.600 period there will naturally be a

00:33:22.860 retrospective examination of what

00:33:24.800 happened what was the exact timeline and

00:33:28.260 what could have gone better what what

00:33:30.240 lessons can be learned and we've seen

00:33:32.640 that for instance with the many

00:33:35.100 hurricanes you know you and I both live

00:33:36.720 in Houston if you live on the Gulf Coast

00:33:38.160 you have a lot of hurricanes I will say

00:33:40.440 unfortunately Texas has gotten really

00:33:42.320 good with dealing with hurricanes because

00:33:44.260 we have a lot of practice in and so

00:33:46.040 we've learned lessons we've learned how

00:33:48.160 to identify the most vulnerable areas

00:33:50.540 the most vulnerable populations when a

00:33:52.040 hurricane is in the Gulf to get them

00:33:53.780 out of there to try to minimize

00:33:55.100 fatalities and I think we can

00:33:56.620 certainly learn lessons here in

00:33:59.320 particular the the you know you're

00:34:02.980 putting out warnings at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.

00:34:05.300 most people are sleeping at 1 a.m. and

00:34:06.880 4 a.m. and and every one of us if you

00:34:09.860 and they balance their phones or they

00:34:11.580 have yeah yeah and actually with the

00:34:14.140 kids at the camp they don't have

00:34:15.100 phones we knew people yeah and by the

00:34:18.220 way there was people that we knew that

00:34:19.500 were in Kerrville that received the

00:34:21.780 notices on their phones they woke up to

00:34:23.920 them and yeah they didn't get them

00:34:26.500 because they were asleep and the cell

00:34:30.540 coverage I will say in that region is

00:34:32.200 is just lousy like every time we go for

00:34:34.840 camp pickup you it's very hard to get

00:34:36.740 any cell coverage at all just just

00:34:38.780 given the topography there's not not a

00:34:40.620 lot of cell towers there and and it's

00:34:45.220 also you know the the campers are not

00:34:51.920 allowed to have phones and and so they

00:34:55.000 leave their phones at home so it's just

00:34:56.640 the counselors and adults that that have

00:34:58.480 phones but look Ben if you and I could

00:35:01.000 step in a time machine right now and and

00:35:03.660 go back to two or three in the morning

00:35:06.020 on the fourth of July we would run into

00:35:09.100 those cabins and pull those girls out 1.00

00:35:11.580 and get them out of there every one of

00:35:13.220 us we're just like dear man dear God get

00:35:15.780 them to high ground and and so it is

00:35:19.220 perfectly reasonable to say how can we

00:35:21.760 improve the response from when an

00:35:24.580 emergency warning gets out to make sure

00:35:27.060 that it is heard and I'll tell you I I

00:35:29.380 spoke today with lieutenant governor Dan

00:35:32.020 Patrick the Texas legislature is coming

00:35:34.220 back for special session shortly and and

00:35:36.820 I suggested to him this is something

00:35:38.500 that should be on the call the governor

00:35:39.980 chooses that but lieutenant governor

00:35:42.040 agreed that it made sense to look at an

00:35:46.500 emergency warning system in along the

00:35:50.220 Guadalupe River much like we have up in

00:35:52.960 the Texas panhandle when there's a

00:35:54.260 tornado they have sirens that go off

00:35:57.020 because a tornado like a flash flood you

00:35:59.000 get very little warning I could develop

00:36:01.200 quickly it could be devastating and so

00:36:02.900 they'll set off the alarms I think it

00:36:06.440 makes a lot of sense to consider putting

00:36:08.280 in a warning system like that so at least

00:36:10.300 if you had a blaring alarm going off at

00:36:13.080 one or two or three in the morning it

00:36:15.240 would wake the kids up and wake the

00:36:17.440 counselors up and put them in a position

00:36:19.080 to get the kids out of harm's way no I

00:36:22.820 couldn't agree with you more on that

00:36:24.560 one how does that when you when you look

00:36:26.200 at the response moving forward fight a

00:36:28.160 final question on this because there

00:36:29.820 are people that say hey we want to make

00:36:31.300 sure as you just mentioned this never

00:36:33.040 happens again is this a cooperation

00:36:35.240 within the state of Texas with the

00:36:37.900 federal government does the state of

00:36:39.440 Texas come first there's a lot of people

00:36:40.740 to ask that question I'd love for you to

00:36:43.140 answer it where does that start so it'll

00:36:46.720 be at every level of government it'll be

00:36:48.800 the the local level it'll be at the

00:36:50.860 state level it'll be at the federal

00:36:52.040 level and I think at every level we're

00:36:53.980 going to have discussions about what can

00:36:55.600 we do what makes sense how do we keep

00:36:57.980 people safe and and look this level of

00:37:04.400 devastation we've never seen anything like

00:37:09.040 it but but I want to go back to to to some

00:37:13.380 of the signs of encouragement I met with

00:37:16.740 with with one family today a mom and dad

00:37:19.540 who had a a a young boy a 14 year old boy

00:37:23.580 who was at La Junta which is another

00:37:25.560 summer camp for boys it's right right

00:37:28.400 down right down the river from from

00:37:30.780 Mystic and La Junta also badly flooded

00:37:33.880 and and miraculously nobody was killed but

00:37:37.420 but they said their 14 year old son was

00:37:40.180 woken up about 3 in the morning and and

00:37:42.280 the counselors were telling him come come

00:37:44.380 help us let's get the little boys out of 1.00

00:37:46.360 harm's way and and and he said they were

00:37:47.980 going and and getting getting 7 and 8 year

00:37:51.580 old bull pulling them out of their cabin

00:37:53.360 and having them swim through rushing

00:37:54.940 water and and rescue them and I got to

00:37:57.300 tell you this mom and dad they were there

00:37:59.420 just just hugging I was hugging them and

00:38:03.640 and and they had tears in their eyes and

00:38:05.720 and they were just and and and first of

00:38:08.480 all their son was alive so I just said

00:38:09.960 praise God but but it was you know

00:38:12.760 terrifying and and and and what I did say

00:38:16.900 to the mom and dad I said look that this

00:38:19.380 this trauma this experience will be with

00:38:21.680 your son for the rest of his life it will

00:38:24.420 be with with both of you for the rest of

00:38:26.940 your lives but I said your son also has the

00:38:30.200 experience of knowing for the rest of his

00:38:32.280 life that that is a 14 year old boy he

00:38:35.380 helped save the lives of of these younger

00:38:37.560 seven eight and nine year old boys that

00:38:39.260 that that there are there are boys and

00:38:42.460 and soon to be men living because of his 0.88

00:38:46.380 heroism in a time of crisis and that I

00:38:48.900 heard another story of a counselor who

00:38:51.260 was in a cabin the cabin was was filled

00:38:53.780 up with water his head was just barely

00:38:56.340 sticking above the water where he could

00:38:58.400 breathe and with each hand he was holding

00:39:01.460 up a mattress with a camper on the on the

00:39:04.340 mattress and all three of them the the

00:39:06.040 counselor and both campers survived those

00:39:09.540 sorts of acts of heroism happened over

00:39:12.940 and over again there's stories of Eagle

00:39:14.620 Scouts who were counselors rescuing young

00:39:18.260 kids over and over and over again that

00:39:20.460 was happening repeatedly but I'll tell you

00:39:23.980 Ben the most difficult thing I did today

00:39:25.580 is I went to Camp Mystic and and and I

00:39:30.200 went and and walked the grounds at Camp

00:39:32.640 Mystic and and I I think it may be the

00:39:36.680 most horrifying thing I've ever seen in

00:39:38.180 my life you walk through and and actually

00:39:43.500 as you walk through the river was calm and

00:39:46.700 peaceful and beautiful but it rose and it

00:39:53.740 rose suddenly and and I will say the press

00:39:56.960 I think has been less than clear and honest

00:40:00.680 about how Camp Mystic is it is set up

00:40:03.680 because they've described it as saying well

00:40:06.180 the camps for the the cabins for the young

00:40:08.100 girls were down by the the riverbank and and

00:40:10.460 all of the other cabins were up high

00:40:12.180 that that's not accurate and walking the

00:40:15.340 grounds the cabins are all hundreds of yards

00:40:19.620 removed from the riverbank there's a lot of

00:40:21.700 distance between the river and where the

00:40:23.300 cabin is and the cabins are all about the

00:40:26.340 same elevation there's some differences but

00:40:28.380 not massive differences in elevation between

00:40:31.180 the cabins at at at Mystic and and I I was

00:40:34.720 talking with one of the longtime employees

00:40:37.980 there who said there had been a flood decades

00:40:40.820 before and it had gotten up it had gotten up

00:40:43.740 and crossed a little bit of the the ground

00:40:45.800 and it come to sort of the the foundation of

00:40:49.420 one of the buildings that was not a cabin but

00:40:51.460 one of the buildings closer to the river but it

00:40:53.260 had never gotten close to the cabins so

00:40:55.800 that's one thing to understand people say

00:40:57.720 well gosh this is prone to floods yes but

00:41:01.680 in the 100 years of Camp Mystic there'd never

00:41:04.520 been a flood where the water had gotten to

00:41:06.180 the cabins and in this case the water was

00:41:09.400 eight feet deep in the cabins walking through

00:41:14.980 and every building you could see the water

00:41:16.960 line you could see the water line outside the

00:41:19.720 buildings and it was eight feet deep and in

00:41:23.080 the cabins the water shattered the windows it

00:41:28.400 swept the furniture out you looked in the

00:41:30.620 cabins and every one of the cabins the

00:41:32.180 furniture had been swept out the windows were

00:41:37.080 all shattered and I gotta tell you look

00:41:40.020 there there was one cabin

00:41:45.020 it's called the bubble in

00:41:47.400 and it's a cabin at Mystic where where the

00:41:52.320 youngest girls were

00:41:53.280 and outside the bubble in

00:41:56.900 were 16 white crosses

00:42:00.800 and on each one of those was a name of a

00:42:05.660 little girl

00:42:06.060 and their names that that we've read in the

00:42:10.500 paper

00:42:10.840 their names of little seven and eight year

00:42:14.540 old girls third graders

00:42:15.520 who lost their lives and when one of the

00:42:19.380 crosses was was for Dick Eastland the camp

00:42:22.480 director

00:42:22.940 who drowned trying to save the girls lives

00:42:26.200 and and he had spent he graduated from UT

00:42:29.720 50 years ago and had spent 50 years of his

00:42:32.740 life running this camp for girls and and he

00:42:36.560 was in his suburban they they showed me

00:42:38.560 where he drowned it was a couple hundred

00:42:39.840 yards from where I was standing in the

00:42:41.240 river he was trying to save the girls and

00:42:42.720 the water swept him away and he drowned and

00:42:45.040 and the 16 crosses

00:42:46.300 reading those names

00:42:49.860 two of those little girls 0.64

00:42:53.000 go to go to school

00:42:56.520 uh with my daughter

00:42:58.900 there are third graders at our school

00:43:01.060 uh the parents of one of those little

00:43:04.080 girls 0.98

00:43:04.500 lives a block away from me

00:43:07.740 and I'll tell you I just

00:43:13.960 knelt and wept

00:43:15.720 there

00:43:19.260 there were families there Ben

00:43:22.560 there was a mom and dad

00:43:27.920 who was kneeling in front of those crosses

00:43:31.040 and they were kissing the cross

00:43:38.460 and I stood back I didn't want to interrupt

00:43:42.420 their grieving

00:43:43.020 but just watching them

00:43:45.420 the mom came to that cabin

00:43:49.540 the bubble in

00:43:51.360 and she just broke down in tears

00:43:54.560 in front of every cabin

00:43:59.040 there were the children's belongings

00:44:02.020 there were trunks

00:44:04.400 there were electric fans

00:44:07.080 there were

00:44:08.760 slippers and flip-flops and crocs

00:44:13.820 there were teddy bears

00:44:15.240 there were stuffed animals everywhere

00:44:16.580 these were little girls

00:44:17.480 and many of them have their names on them

00:44:21.620 and there were moms and dads

00:44:25.320 picking through the rubble

00:44:28.060 looking

00:44:29.820 for their girls belongings

00:44:32.280 and I don't know which of those moms and dads

00:44:37.040 lost a daughter

00:44:38.940 we know of 27

00:44:41.320 who were lost

00:44:42.820 and there may be more

00:44:44.840 there are 11 that are missing

00:44:47.120 and there were girls

00:44:50.640 picking through the rubble

00:44:52.480 I don't know if those girls were 1.00

00:44:55.500 campers themselves

00:44:56.980 who had survived

00:44:57.820 I don't know if they're siblings

00:44:58.920 who had lost a sibling

00:45:00.180 but everyone is walking around

00:45:03.480 shell shock doesn't begin to describe it

00:45:08.300 they're up on the field

00:45:10.520 there was a field

00:45:13.560 that was basically a parking lot

00:45:15.120 for the cars of counselors

00:45:17.480 and the waters had thrown the cars

00:45:22.880 on top of each other

00:45:23.920 it was like they were matchbox cars

00:45:25.320 just flipped over

00:45:26.500 you saw car after car after car

00:45:28.400 stacked on each other

00:45:29.300 flipped on its side

00:45:30.200 flipped over

00:45:30.860 tossed around

00:45:32.780 the dining hall

00:45:35.920 an entire wall of the dining hall

00:45:39.340 had been ripped off

00:45:40.620 they had heavy wooden tables

00:45:42.960 that filled the dining hall

00:45:44.140 every one of them had been pulled out

00:45:45.680 and the bubble in

00:45:46.460 which is where

00:45:48.160 a large percentage of the fatalities occurred

00:45:52.120 the water swept in

00:45:54.920 and just pulled those girls 1.00

00:45:57.460 out the windows

00:45:58.340 it

00:46:01.940 seeing that

00:46:06.540 and I saw it first

00:46:07.640 from the helicopter

00:46:08.360 and you could see

00:46:10.360 all their belongings spread out

00:46:11.780 but then standing there

00:46:13.180 and viewing it

00:46:18.740 from the perspective

00:46:19.540 of a dad

00:46:20.180 you know

00:46:21.500 I've helped my daughters

00:46:22.420 pack their trunks

00:46:24.620 I've

00:46:26.740 you know

00:46:29.520 can't pick up every year

00:46:30.680 you go and pick up

00:46:31.660 your daughter's trunk

00:46:32.640 and it's a joyful time

00:46:35.540 our state is mourning

00:46:40.760 right now Ben

00:46:41.900 I tell you

00:46:45.960 for everyone listening

00:46:47.080 and I say this

00:46:48.020 just pray for the people

00:46:50.640 that are affected

00:46:51.560 pray for the people in Texas

00:46:53.000 pray for

00:46:53.860 the families who are

00:46:56.120 still without

00:46:58.040 their loved ones

00:46:59.340 they're still trying to find them

00:47:00.720 pray for the moms 0.82

00:47:02.400 and the dads

00:47:03.060 who are planning the funerals

00:47:04.400 is we know people

00:47:06.700 personally that are doing that

00:47:07.920 and getting ready for that

00:47:09.140 this week

00:47:09.760 pray for the moms 0.82

00:47:11.360 God please pray for the moms 1.00

00:47:13.120 yes

00:47:14.040 and anything you can do

00:47:15.820 to help

00:47:16.280 with all of the

00:47:17.000 there's so many different

00:47:18.120 groups that are helping

00:47:19.340 the people

00:47:20.000 and comfort

00:47:21.260 and Kirk County

00:47:22.460 and there are people

00:47:23.800 that need help

00:47:24.440 and we focus so much

00:47:25.600 on the kids

00:47:26.000 but there's a lot of

00:47:26.820 elderly people

00:47:27.540 that have been affected

00:47:28.200 by this

00:47:28.760 there are a lot of people

00:47:30.380 that lost their lives

00:47:31.260 and all their belongings

00:47:32.200 and help any way you can

00:47:35.740 with all of the non-profits

00:47:38.460 that are getting involved

00:47:39.460 that are doing this

00:47:40.920 and we're going to keep you updated

00:47:43.620 but I would just say

00:47:44.920 hug your babies

00:47:45.540 and Ben

00:47:46.040 I want to say

00:47:47.320 Ben I want to say

00:47:49.160 three more things

00:47:50.100 of encouragement

00:47:51.120 so

00:47:52.800 in Hunt

00:47:54.280 there's a store

00:47:55.540 that's kind of a focal point

00:47:56.720 it's called the Hunt Store

00:47:57.700 and it's right at the junction

00:48:00.100 of two of the highways

00:48:01.240 you go up one highway

00:48:02.960 to go to one of the big camps

00:48:04.260 you go up another highway

00:48:05.120 to go up to Mystic

00:48:06.020 and La Junta

00:48:06.460 and actually La Junta

00:48:07.300 is right across the street

00:48:08.320 from the Hunt Store

00:48:08.960 the Hunt Store

00:48:11.700 the flood

00:48:12.220 utterly gutted it

00:48:14.220 it's just ripped out

00:48:16.120 in a hollow shell

00:48:16.960 I went and stopped

00:48:20.200 at the Hunt Store

00:48:20.920 and just visited people

00:48:22.320 who were there

00:48:22.860 were gathering there

00:48:23.780 and they'd actually

00:48:25.040 changed the sign

00:48:26.080 where it said Hunt Store

00:48:27.280 and instead of Hunt Store

00:48:29.360 they'd changed the sign

00:48:30.640 to read Hunt Strong

00:48:32.640 and

00:48:35.300 you know

00:48:38.040 Heidi and Catherine

00:48:38.880 were at the Hunt Store

00:48:39.620 last week

00:48:40.240 I mean it's

00:48:44.600 I've been there

00:48:45.960 dozens of times

00:48:46.900 the owners were there

00:48:48.820 I just hugged them

00:48:49.840 and there were just

00:48:50.500 like residents there

00:48:51.660 who were just

00:48:52.400 there mourning

00:48:54.640 and grieving

00:48:55.380 and I'll tell you

00:48:56.040 there was set up

00:48:56.740 there was a giant

00:48:57.460 barbecue truck

00:48:59.000 alright so this is

00:49:00.420 a story that is amazing

00:49:01.480 that you're going to like

00:49:02.300 it's a barbecue truck

00:49:04.000 from Rockport

00:49:04.920 Rockport is a town

00:49:06.140 down on the Gulf Coast

00:49:07.460 and Rockport

00:49:09.720 when Hurricane Harvey

00:49:11.860 hit it

00:49:12.320 devastated the Gulf Coast

00:49:13.880 from

00:49:14.220 deep east Texas

00:49:16.300 to south

00:49:17.580 all the way really

00:49:18.780 to Corpus Christi

00:49:19.580 so that's a lot of

00:49:20.820 and Rockport is right in there

00:49:22.280 it's by Port Aransas

00:49:23.160 and Aransas Pass

00:49:24.000 and Rockport

00:49:24.840 was devastated

00:49:25.680 by Hurricane Harvey

00:49:26.420 well

00:49:27.780 these guys

00:49:29.780 and these are

00:49:30.220 big old Texans

00:49:31.520 with big old beards 0.69

00:49:32.560 they look like

00:49:33.080 ZZ Top

00:49:33.860 and

00:49:34.180 they said

00:49:37.120 well you know

00:49:37.680 when Hurricane Harvey

00:49:38.780 hit

00:49:39.160 there was a group

00:49:40.680 from Hunt Texas

00:49:41.740 little town

00:49:42.820 in the hill country

00:49:44.620 that came down

00:49:45.680 to Rockport

00:49:46.320 and set up

00:49:46.780 a food truck

00:49:47.360 and fed us

00:49:48.080 when we had

00:49:48.720 lost our homes

00:49:49.520 and so they got

00:49:51.000 in a truck

00:49:51.440 and drove up

00:49:52.080 this giant

00:49:52.980 smoker

00:49:54.280 and griller 1.00

00:49:54.920 and they were

00:49:55.880 just giving away

00:49:56.640 free barbecue

00:49:57.620 and one of the things

00:50:00.840 that's really cool

00:50:01.500 I was at

00:50:02.660 in Rockport

00:50:04.120 several times

00:50:05.140 after Hurricane Harvey

00:50:06.840 and I was in all the towns

00:50:07.720 up and down the Gulf Coast

00:50:08.680 but I was at

00:50:09.860 those food trucks

00:50:11.480 I don't recall

00:50:12.840 visiting with someone

00:50:14.340 and hearing that they were

00:50:15.080 from Hunt

00:50:15.540 down in Rockport

00:50:16.600 but you know what

00:50:17.220 in Rockport

00:50:17.740 they remembered that

00:50:18.600 and that's something

00:50:20.640 we see happening

00:50:23.360 just Texans

00:50:24.420 coming together

00:50:25.280 the Cajun Navy

00:50:26.580 from Louisiana

00:50:27.240 came and

00:50:28.220 were there

00:50:28.860 helping people out

00:50:29.760 that was

00:50:31.420 incredible

00:50:32.300 and I just had a chance

00:50:33.700 I visited

00:50:35.060 with a family

00:50:35.980 one dad

00:50:37.540 who introduced me

00:50:38.340 to two little boys

00:50:39.460 and he said

00:50:41.740 both of them

00:50:42.580 lost some of their

00:50:44.580 closest friends

00:50:45.240 in the flood

00:50:45.700 and I just

00:50:47.780 I said

00:50:48.720 you know

00:50:49.100 little kids

00:50:50.340 and they're not

00:50:50.780 much older

00:50:51.240 than your boys

00:50:52.020 they shouldn't

00:50:54.260 have to deal

00:50:54.820 with death

00:50:55.820 and loss

00:50:56.680 at that age

00:50:57.440 but I'll tell you

00:50:59.620 in that same

00:51:00.340 parking lot

00:51:01.120 at the Hunt store

00:51:02.140 there was a car

00:51:04.820 that had written

00:51:06.460 on the back

00:51:07.080 of it a Bible verse

00:51:08.020 written in like

00:51:08.880 shaving cream

00:51:09.480 on the back window

00:51:10.240 and it was

00:51:12.360 Isaiah 43

00:51:13.320 2

00:51:13.780 that says

00:51:16.440 when you go

00:51:18.100 through deep water

00:51:19.060 I will be with you

00:51:22.180 amen

00:51:25.180 that is

00:51:26.560 look

00:51:27.200 you just asked

00:51:28.260 folks to pray

00:51:29.060 let me just

00:51:30.220 underscore that

00:51:32.280 for the moms

00:51:33.040 and dads

00:51:33.680 who have

00:51:34.260 a yearning

00:51:36.080 gaping hole

00:51:37.120 in their heart

00:51:37.780 I think

00:51:38.960 there is no

00:51:39.480 pain

00:51:39.780 no agony

00:51:40.420 like losing

00:51:41.360 a child

00:51:41.940 and nothing

00:51:44.160 will ever fill

00:51:44.960 that hole

00:51:45.460 that pain

00:51:46.000 will never

00:51:46.380 go away

00:51:46.980 but they need

00:51:48.920 love

00:51:49.240 they need

00:51:49.680 support

00:51:50.180 they need

00:51:50.700 friends

00:51:51.160 they need

00:51:51.520 families

00:51:52.040 to hug

00:51:54.100 them

00:51:54.400 to hold

00:51:54.980 them tight

00:51:55.640 to just

00:51:56.080 give them

00:51:56.440 a shoulder

00:51:56.880 to cry

00:51:57.420 on

00:51:57.720 and to

00:51:58.840 hold them

00:51:59.340 up

00:51:59.560 and I gotta

00:52:00.040 tell you

00:52:00.380 this is a

00:52:00.920 time

00:52:01.320 for the

00:52:02.520 church

00:52:02.820 one of the

00:52:03.320 reasons

00:52:03.780 Texas

00:52:04.240 I think

00:52:04.760 we are

00:52:05.560 so resilient

00:52:06.500 when facing

00:52:07.320 natural disasters

00:52:08.340 is because

00:52:08.980 the church

00:52:09.940 is strong

00:52:10.420 in Texas

00:52:10.920 and you

00:52:11.280 see

00:52:11.820 you see

00:52:12.800 churches

00:52:13.200 step

00:52:13.460 I started

00:52:14.100 the day

00:52:14.400 actually

00:52:14.660 by visiting

00:52:15.420 with a

00:52:15.780 number

00:52:15.940 of chaplains

00:52:16.580 who

00:52:16.780 look

00:52:17.960 you want

00:52:18.360 to talk

00:52:18.680 about

00:52:18.920 it was

00:52:19.280 brutal

00:52:19.720 on the

00:52:20.060 chaplains

00:52:20.500 when you're

00:52:20.900 dealing

00:52:21.140 with moms

00:52:21.600 and dads

00:52:22.020 who've

00:52:22.280 lost

00:52:22.580 their kids

00:52:23.160 and they're

00:52:23.440 just

00:52:23.740 weeping

00:52:24.920 even a

00:52:27.100 chaplain

00:52:27.520 a man

00:52:28.520 or woman

00:52:28.780 of strong

00:52:29.220 faith

00:52:29.600 I mean

00:52:29.880 it rips

00:52:30.480 your heart

00:52:31.100 out

00:52:31.460 to be

00:52:32.820 with a

00:52:33.120 parent

00:52:33.400 who's

00:52:33.660 lost

00:52:34.000 a 7 or

00:52:34.540 8 year

00:52:34.840 old

00:52:35.020 daughter

00:52:35.380 and

00:52:36.400 right down

00:52:39.040 from the

00:52:39.880 hunt store

00:52:40.540 there was

00:52:41.580 a church

00:52:41.960 that had

00:52:42.240 a big

00:52:42.560 sign

00:52:43.120 free

00:52:44.820 barbecue

00:52:45.320 lunch and

00:52:45.900 dinner

00:52:46.160 all are

00:52:46.700 welcome

00:52:47.060 and that's

00:52:47.740 what the

00:52:48.040 church

00:52:48.260 should be

00:52:48.580 doing

00:52:48.860 is helping

00:52:49.420 and clothing

00:52:50.480 and comforting

00:52:51.260 and taking

00:52:51.780 care of the

00:52:52.380 needy

00:52:52.680 and the

00:52:52.960 church

00:52:53.640 should always

00:52:54.200 be doing

00:52:54.720 that

00:52:55.060 but especially

00:52:56.660 in time

00:52:57.340 of crisis

00:52:58.100 and I want

00:53:00.600 to close

00:53:01.160 this pod

00:53:02.020 today Ben

00:53:02.580 was something

00:53:03.900 I saw

00:53:04.360 on the

00:53:04.580 internet

00:53:04.860 and it's

00:53:05.240 a video

00:53:05.680 that was

00:53:06.900 recorded

00:53:07.500 in a bus

00:53:09.600 that was

00:53:11.120 driving

00:53:11.820 a bus

00:53:13.860 full of

00:53:14.280 campers

00:53:14.680 from

00:53:14.860 Cap Mystic

00:53:15.480 after this

00:53:16.380 flooding

00:53:17.460 and it's

00:53:19.260 a video

00:53:19.700 recording

00:53:20.380 and you

00:53:20.960 can watch

00:53:21.520 on X

00:53:22.460 there's a

00:53:23.140 video of

00:53:23.600 it's an

00:53:25.020 iPhone

00:53:25.400 that is

00:53:26.780 going along

00:53:28.060 and showing

00:53:28.880 the video

00:53:29.360 as they're

00:53:29.660 driving along

00:53:30.320 and you can

00:53:30.660 see the

00:53:30.940 wreckage

00:53:31.300 and the

00:53:31.520 wreckage

00:53:31.860 and everything

00:53:32.820 but the

00:53:34.440 girls are 0.93

00:53:35.040 singing hymns

00:53:35.980 and Mystic

00:53:36.760 is a

00:53:37.040 Christian

00:53:37.360 camp

00:53:37.840 and these

00:53:39.000 are girls 0.99

00:53:39.460 that have

00:53:39.820 just been

00:53:40.360 through hell

00:53:40.940 have been

00:53:41.300 terrified

00:53:41.800 have lost

00:53:42.860 friends

00:53:44.100 some of these

00:53:44.620 girls have 0.89

00:53:45.120 lost siblings

00:53:45.900 and I want

00:53:48.340 to close

00:53:48.780 this podcast

00:53:49.380 by just

00:53:49.980 listening

00:53:50.620 to the

00:53:52.480 voices of

00:53:53.100 these girls 0.99

00:53:53.580 sing

00:53:54.200 and I will

00:53:54.540 tell you

00:53:54.940 I have a

00:53:57.180 hard time

00:53:57.660 listening to

00:53:58.200 them singing

00:53:58.680 without

00:54:00.200 begging

00:54:00.560 tears

00:54:01.100 but I

00:54:02.520 want you

00:54:02.900 to hear

00:54:03.300 them

00:54:04.300 singing

00:54:04.540 these hymns

00:54:05.400 where you're

00:54:06.400 bound

00:54:06.880 I'll shout

00:54:08.020 it from

00:54:08.820 the

00:54:09.280 mountaintops

00:54:10.360 praise God

00:54:11.120 I want

00:54:11.940 my world

00:54:12.720 to know

00:54:13.360 the Lord

00:54:14.440 of love

00:54:15.140 has come

00:54:15.920 to me

00:54:16.700 I want

00:54:17.780 to pass

00:54:18.660 it on

00:54:19.660 I'll

00:54:20.440 shout it

00:54:21.300 from the

00:54:22.080 mountaintops

00:54:23.120 praise God

00:54:23.920 I want

00:54:24.620 my world

00:54:25.420 to know

00:54:26.040 the Lord

00:54:27.080 of love

00:54:27.840 has come

00:54:28.660 to me

00:54:29.400 I want

00:54:30.580 to pass

00:54:31.440 it on

00:54:32.400 oh my god

00:54:34.260 oh my god

00:54:34.820 oh my god

00:54:35.320 oh my god

00:54:35.820 oh my god

00:54:58.820 I want

00:55:00.360 to pass

00:55:01.120 to me

00:55:01.820 I want

00:55:03.740 to pass

00:55:04.240 all of

00:55:05.360 every

00:55:06.860 hand

00:55:08.280 it is

00:55:09.820 you

00:55:10.300 I

00:55:10.940 am

00:55:11.200 and

00:55:12.200 don't prepare

00:55:14.340 me

00:55:15.500 to be

00:55:16.700 a sanctuary

00:55:18.260 pure and

00:55:20.520 holy

00:55:21.460 tried and

00:55:23.520 true

00:55:24.460 with

00:55:25.840 Thanksgiving

00:55:27.180 I'll

00:55:28.760 be

00:55:29.180 a

00:55:29.640 living

00:55:30.720 sanctuary

00:55:32.600 for you

00:55:36.400 the

00:55:40.600 kingdom

00:55:41.180 of God

00:55:42.380 and

00:55:43.500 his

00:55:44.000 righteousness

00:55:45.220 and

00:55:47.940 all these

00:55:48.480 things

00:55:49.020 shall be

00:55:49.600 added

00:55:50.020 unto you

00:55:51.180 all

00:55:52.360 all

00:55:53.360 all

00:55:53.660 all

00:55:54.180 all

00:55:55.180 this is

00:56:12.460 an iHeart

00:56:12.940 podcast

00:56:13.520 guaranteed

00:56:15.060 human

Verdict with Ted Cruz - July 09, 2025

The Texas Flood Disaster-Stories from on the Ground in the Hill Country

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