Jim Vertuno
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Many voices are frantic and desperate. Some are firm and calm in the middle growing and terrifying dangerand in some cases an inevitable fate.
There were families huddled on rooftops to escape rising turbulent waters, mothers terrified for the well-being of their children, and people who heard people screaming for help in the dark as they clung to treetops.
A man stuck high in a tree that began to break under the pressure of floodwaters asked emergency dispatchers to call for a rescue helicopter, but it never arrived.
Their pleas were among more than 400 calls for help in Kerr County, Texas, last summer when devastating flooding occurred early on the Fourth of July. Recordings of the 911 calls were released Friday.
An overwhelming volume of calls overwhelmed two county emergency dispatchers on duty in the Texas mountain region as catastrophic flooding inundated cabins and youth camps along the banks of the Guadalupe River.
“The water is rising so fast, we can’t get out of our hut,” a camp counselor told a dispatcher, as campers screamed in the background. “We can’t leave our cabin, so how can we get to the boats?”
Surprisingly, everyone in the hut and the rest of the campers at Camp La Junta were saved.
Over the Independence Day holiday weekend, flooding killed at least 136 people across the state, including at least 117 in Kerr County alone. Most were from Texas, but others came from Alabama, California and Florida, according to a list released by county officials.
A woman called for help as water approached her home near Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls founded a century ago where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died.
“We're fine, but we live a mile from Camp Mystic, and two little girls came down the river. And we got to them, but I’m not sure how many more are there,” she said, her voice shaking.
A representative for parents of children and counselors who died at Camp Mystic declined to comment on the release of the recordings.
The calls came from people on rooftops and trees.
Many residents in the hard-hit Texas mountain region said they were caught off guard and given no warning when floodwaters emerged from the Guadalupe River. Kerr County leaders faced criticism over whether they did enough at the time. Two officials told Texas lawmakers this summer that they were asleep during the early hours of the flood, while a third was out of town.
Using recordings of first responders, weather service warnings, videos of survivors and official testimony, The Associated Press compiled a timeline of the chaotic rescue efforts. The AP was one of the media outlets that submitted public requests for the release of recordings of 911 calls.
Many people were rescued using boats and ambulances. Some desperate requests came from people fleeing in vans. Some survivors were found in trees and rooftops.
But some of the calls released Friday were from people who did not survive, said Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall, who warned the sound was concerning.
“The tree I’m on is starting to lean and is about to fall. Is there a helicopter nearby? Firefighter Bradley Perry calmly told the dispatcher, adding that he saw his wife Tina and their mobile home blown away by the wind.
“I probably have five minutes left,” he said.
Bradley Perry did not survive. His wife was later found alive, clinging to a tree.
Climbing higher and higher to survive
In another heartbreaking call, a woman living in a riverside cottage community told a dispatcher that water had flooded her property.
“We're getting flooded and we have people in cabins that we can't get to,” he said. “We are flooded almost to the ceiling.”
The caller speaks slowly and measuredly. Faint voices that sound like children can be heard in the background.
Some people called multiple times, climbing higher and higher into houses to tell rescuers where they were and that their situation was becoming more serious. Families called from second floors, then attics, then rooftops, sometimes for 30 or 40 minutes, describing how quickly and how high the water had risen.
As dawn began to break, calls increased, with people reporting survivors in trees or trapped on rooftops, as well as cars floating in the river.
Britt Eastland, co-director of Camp Mystic, called for the National Guard to be called in, saying up to 40 people were missing there. “We don't have electricity. We have almost no cell phone service,” he said.
Emergency footage showed relatives and friends who were not there, as well as those already safe, calling for help to loved ones trapped by the floods.
One woman said her friend, an elderly man, was stuck in his house with water up to his head. He realized his phone had gone off while he was talking to the 911 operator.
Dispatchers gave advice and comforted
Frustrated by the endless calls, dispatchers tried to calm the terrified callers, but were forced to move on to the next call. They advised many of those trapped to climb to rooftops or flee to higher ground. During some calls, children could be heard screaming in the background.
“Water is everywhere, we can’t move. We're upstairs in a room and the water is rising,” said a woman who called from Camp Mystic.
Later the same woman called.
“How can we get to the roof if the water is so high? Can they send someone here now? On boats?
He asked the dispatcher when help would arrive.
“I don’t know,” the dispatcher replied. “Don't know”.
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Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Ed White in Detroit; Safia Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; John Seaver in Toledo, Ohio; and Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed to this story.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
