On a pitch-black night, locals just five miles upriver from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas watched the ominous approach of a deadly flood wall, illuminated only by flashes of lightning, as it surged toward the all-girls Christian camp.

More than 100 people lost their lives and nearly twice as many others went missing in the Hill Country surge that struck in the early hours of July Fourth. Camp Mystic confirmed 27 fatalities among its campers and counselors, as of Tuesday.

33-year-old Shelby Willis told Fox News Digital she was visiting her in-laws’ home on the Guadalupe River in Hunt, situated on one of the higher points on the South Fork.

“We were really high up, but there was water coming into the garage,” Willis said. “At about 3 a.m., my sister-in-law said that we needed to go outside and look at the river, and we couldn’t see it outside of the flashes of lightning. Hunt kind of prides itself on having low upward lighting so that you can see the stars. Only through the lightning flashes could we see how high the water was, which makes sense as to why it happened so fast.”

Just like many others who live in or frequent Hunt, Willis said she has faith the town will rebuild. However, she acknowledged it would be forever changed by the disaster.

“Hunt definitely prides itself on being a remote location. It is a very special little area on the Guadalupe River, but there’s not a lot of cell service or signal, so I think that will change,” she said. “I think improvements will be made so that this never happens again.”

HUNT, TEXAS – JULY 6: A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

“Everyone is like a family in that town,” Willis added. “There wasn’t a single property along the river in Hunt that wasn’t flying a Texas flag. People are very, very resilient, and that’s just kind of the Texas way. I know that it’ll be built back, better and safer. Sometimes it takes tragedy to make you realize how vulnerable something is. No one’s going to give up on this area, and I hope they don’t give up on the camps either, because they really are formative for a lot of people.”