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A California boy who was attending Camp La Junta in Texas when the flood disaster struck on July 4 is speaking outKaelan Kubena said that he and other campers rushed to higher ground after counselors warned them of the incoming floodwaters”We were starting to realize that this was a real natural disaster crisis,” Kubena recalled after seeing a cabin get washed away
A San Diego boy who managed to survive the Texas flood disaster is speaking out about his harrowing experience.
Kaelan Kubena, 11, Told NBC Affiliates KNSD and KNBC he was staying at Camp La Junta, an all-boys camp in Central Texas, when the flood struck on Friday, July 4.
Kubena said storms kept the boys at the camp awake early Friday morning. Around 4 a.m. local time, camp counselors raced to his cabin and told him and others to find higher ground.
Camp La Junta, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River, which breached its banks amid torrential rainfall and surged nearly 30 feet.
“We looked outside and we just saw like an ocean out there,” Kubena told the outlets. “It’s just like completely destroying everything.”
Kubena said he and others sought higher ground and “sat there … safely for about two hours.”
During that time, he added, “We saw like a whole cabin just floating down and that’s when we knew like those things were getting actually real out there.”
That’s when, Kubena said, “we were starting to realize that this was a real natural disaster crisis.”
Camp Le Junta said in a post on Facebook that everyone was “safely evacuated” from the camp and were transported to First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville.
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Camp Le Junta is located about five miles away from its sister camp, Camp Mystic, according to KNSD.
Camp Mystic announced after the flood that 27 campers and counselors died from the disaster.
Kubena said one of his friends attending Camp Mystic was saved, but a friend’s relative is still missing, per the reports.
Governor Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday, July 8, that more than 100 people have died from the Texas flood disaster, while more than 160 remain missing, according to the Associated Press.
To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here.
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