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Orgo-Life the new way to the future Advertising by AdpathwayTexas Summer Camp Confirms 27 Campers and Counselors Died After Flooding
Stella Thompson is reflecting on a terrifying experience.
After 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Texas died due to the flash floods that hit the state on July 4, the 13-year-old survivor provided insight into the emotions that she and her fellow campers felt while waiting for rescue teams to arrive.
“It’s the uncertainty that really shook up our cabin,” Thompson told NBC News Dallas Fort-Worth July 7 before recalling her cabin's reaction to finding out people staying along the Guadalupe River were in more immediate danger and already being evacuated. “Eventually, when we got that news, we were all kind of hysterical, and the whole cabin was praying a lot and terrified—but not for ourselves."
And while the teen recalled worrying about others' safety, she also admitted that it was hard to grasp the scope of the disaster while it was happening since she was instructed to stay inside her Cypress Lake location until help arrived.
"While it was going on, I sort of felt a numbness,” Thompson said. “Saying it out loud is making me realize what actually happened and how bad it actually is.”
It wasn't until Thompson—who had arrived for her sixth year of summer camp just days before the floods—and the rest of the people in her cabin were evacuated to safety by military trucks later that evening that she was able to see the devastation the floods had caused.
13-year-old Stella Thompson describes what it was like to leave Camp Mystic amid the catastrophic flooding in Texas.
♬ original sound - nbcnews"You'd see kayaks, like, in trees," Thompson explained. "It was kind of horrific because we had no idea. Some people saw a couple trunks just in the debris. And there were first responders in the water pulling out girls' sheets."
Noting that "huge trees" had also been "ripped out of the ground" by the roots, she added, "It didn't look like Camp Mystic anymore."
The Texas flood has become one of the deadliest to hit the United States over the past 100 years with, as of July 7, a death toll of 104 individuals, per NBC News. The rains caused a surge of 20-26 feet on the Guadalupe River, causing widespread damage to property and local infrastructure, according to the outlet.
Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Following the tragedy, Camp Mystic, which was hosting 750 campers at the time of the flood, shared a statement about the catastrophic event.
“Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River,” the camp wrote on its website July 7. “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly.”
For more people who've spoken out about the Texas floods, keep reading.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
Jenna Bush Hager
The Jenna & Friends host shared that her mom, former First Lady Laura Bush, was a drama counselor at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 girls and counselors died, as of July 7, following the devastating flooding on the Guadalupe River.
"My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp," Jenna said on Today, July 7. "Texas camps are institutions, as you just heard, where many family members—generations—this camp was 100 years old. Grandmothers, mothers, kids have all gone there."
Jenna, who shared that many of her friends and their kids were there last week, praised the community for coming together amid the tragedy.
"The stories that I heard over the last couple days were beautiful and heartbreaking," she said. "Texas has a type of resilience where they're generous people, where people want to reach out and help.”
"Texas camps are really special because you're thinking about 90-degree weather, no air conditioning," the 43-year-old—who attended the nearby Camp Longhorn during her childhood—explained. "My kids are at camp in Texas, and my husband said, 'Why are we sending our kids to Texas, to camp? It's hot!' And it's because of the love that's there."
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Jennifer Garner
The 13 Going on 30 star—who was born in Houston—expressed her condolences in a July 6 Instagram Stories, writing with a red heart emoji, "Texas, God, be near."
Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for GEA
Matthew McConaughey and Camila McConaughey
The Interstellar actor and his wife called on others to “lend a helping hand” amid this difficult chapter.
“At least 70 lives have been lost, many more are unaccounted for, and countless Texans are hurting - inside and out,” their joint July 6 Instagram statement read. “It’s gonna be a long road ahead, but right now the shock, the pain, and the chaos need the steady hand of a neighbor.”
The University of Texas at Austin professor and the model concluded, “Texans are some of the most resilient and generous people on the planet.”
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Hilary Duff
The Lizzie McGuire alum shared her grief amid the tragic flooding, writing on Instagram on July 6 that “heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover” her feelings.
“Consumed,” she explained, “Obsessed. Praying for even a shred of a miracle—to find a child alive in the wake of this boundless disaster. Tears fall every time I imagine one of these families receiving bad news… waiting… or entire families lost. Just gone. It’s too much to comprehend.”
“Beautiful Texas, I love you,” she continued. “To all the boots on the ground—I love you. To those facing tremendous, impossible loss—we are looking at their beautiful faces, embossing them in our minds.”
Hilary, who also attended nearby Camp Longhorn growing up, emphasized how the experience at camp “imprints on your soul.”
“I was—and forever will be—that girl with a wild-hearted, fierce love for my barefoot summers at camp in the Texas Hill country,” she wrote. “It changes your identity. It’s a realm of true magic. You could never imagine an ending this tragic. I’m just so deeply, absolutely sorry. Your loss is felt across the world.”
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Shakira
The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer shared on X (formerly Twitter) on July 5 that she would be donating a portion of the proceeds from her San Antonio concert to Catholic Charities of San Antonio, which is providing disaster relief to families impacted.
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Khloe Kardashian
The Kardashians star expressed her sympathy to those affected by the flash flood, noting that her heart “is so deeply aching for every parent, every family member, and every community.”
“I can’t stop thinking about the families in Texas and the overwhelming pain they’re going through right now,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories on July 6. “As a mother, this kind of tragedy hits in a place words can’t reach. The loss of those sweet, innocent children is something I can’t fully process. There are just no words for this.”
JC Olivera/WireImage
Kris Jenner
The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch shared that she was struggling to come to terms with the destructive aftermath of the natural disaster.
“My heart is absolutely shattered by the devastating floods in Texas and the unimaginable loss of those precious children,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. “It’s a tragedy that’s impossible to comprehend and heartbreaking beyond measure.”
“Life is so fragile, and at times unbearably unfair,” she continued. “To the families living this nightmare, we are holding you in our hearts, praying for strength, and grieving alongside you.”
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Christy Carlson Romano
The Even Stevens alum revealed that she and her husband, Brendan Rooney, considered sending their 7-year-old daughter, Isabella, to Camp Mystic.
She added in her July 6 Instagram Stories, “A lot of people I know send their kids there and a few of them don’t know where their kids are or they were just recently reunited with them.”
John Nacion/Getty Images
Mandy Moore
The This Is Us actress shared a video of the missing girls from Camp Mystic on her Instagram Stories July 6, writing, “Thinking of everyone affected by the horrific flooding in Texas..keeping these families in my heart. Unfathomable.
River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images
Maria Shriver
The journalist shared that her prayers are with the families in Texas, emphasizing on Instagram July 6, “Right now they need us all to hold them in a circle of love.”
“Let’s unite to hold them, pray for them,” she said of the Camp Mystic attendees and counselors. “As a parent myself, my heart is with absolutely everyone who is feeling this loss.”
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