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TWO brave young brothers have told of their gutsy escape from the Texas floods – which have killed at least 59 and left dozens missing.
Piers and Ruffin Boyett were asleep in the cabin at Camp La Junta on the bank of the Guadeloupe River when it was hit by a wall of water at 4am.
Further down the river, Camp Mystic – a Christian camp hosting around 750 girls – was also swamped, and over 20 girls are still missing.
They awoke to find water rising rapidly around them – and were forced to make a split-second decision.
The plucky pair knew immediately that they had to swim.
Younger brother Piers told KSAT: “The flood started getting bigger.
“We had bunk beds in our cabins and [the water] was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice — and we had to swim out of our cabin.”
Ruffin, the elder one, said: “I had a first-hand view of the flood.
“The cabins were flooding and the walls, they broke down.
“All of the campers in those cabins had to go up on the rafters and wait there until they could swim out.”
The brothers fought through the water to reach another cabin on higher ground.
They waited there until a rescue bus arrived to take them away from the Guadeloupe River and back to safety.
Whilst the Boyetts made it out of the water, not everyone has been so lucky.
A Texas dad-of-two died while valiantly trying to save his family from the floods – after having is arm almost cut “clean off”.
Julian Ryan, 27, was with his family in their trailer home when the surging waters hit.
His mother, fiance Christinia, six-year-old and 13-month-old were all huddled in the bedroom after being shaken awake at 4am on Friday.
Christinia told KHOU: “It just started pouring in, and we had to fight the door to get it closed to make sure not too much got in.”
The two kids were sitting on a floating mattress when the door of the bedroom burst open and water cascaded in.
It was then Ryan took a bold decision to save his family.
The dad punched a hole in one of the bedroom windows – but the shattered glass severed an artery and almost cut the limb “clean off”.
With blood spurting from the wound and emergency crews unable to reach the house, Julian told his family: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love y’all.”
The waters continued to rise and the trailer was eventually broken in half – allowing the rest of the family to escape.
Christinia said: “He was the best father, and was always such a happy person who was never above helping people, no matter what it cost.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family after they lost Julian, and it has so far raised almost $30,000.
It reads: “Julian gave his life for his family, passing as a true hero. While his family is eternally grateful for his sacrifice, they are shattered by their loss.”
Rescuers are still scouring the devastated landscape in central Texas, but hopes of finding survivors are fast dwindling.
Larry Leitha, Kerr County sheriff, said on Saturday: “We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County.
“Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children.”
Multiple people lost their lives in other counties, bringing the current confirmed death toll to 59 – though this is sadly expected to rise.
The most desperate search is for a group of school-age girls who went missing from Camp Mystic – a Christian summer camp near the river.
Heartbreaking photos from the wrecked site show sodden mattresses and teddies strewn across dormitories.
On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 of the children were still missing.
‘Miracle’ survival: Rescued 20 miles downstream
By Patrick Harrington, foreign news reporter
A YOUNG woman was miraculously rescued after being swept 20 miles downriver in the Texas floods.
The 22-year-old was scooped up by fast-moving water from her campsite in Kerr County, Texas by deadly flash floods at 4am, and found clinging to a tree four hours later.
A third of a year’s worth of rain fell in a few hours in the area, creating an “extraordinary disaster”, with an enormous search-and-rescue mission still underway.
A Center Point resident, Carl, heard screaming when he stepped into his yard at around 8am on Friday morning.
He spotted the woman clinging to a huge Cyprus tree near Lion’s Park Dam as the river thundered beneath her.
She had for been holding on for several hours after a terrifying 20-mile journey down dams and dodging debris.
Emergency calls weren’t connecting, so the local resident desperately flagged down a police car for help.
Two rescue boats were scrambled and battled perilous currents to rescue the stranded camper.
By this time, the water level had receded considerably, so the woman was stranded 12ft above the water’s surface.
She was forced to drop into the rescue boat, and was finally brought to safety.
