Texas flooding: Rep. August Pfluger tells daughters' story of evacuation from Camp Mystic

KERR COUNTY, Texas - Texas Congressman August Pfluger said one of his daughters walked through almost knee-deep water to get to safety at Camp Mystic during catastrophic flash flooding early Friday morning.

Pfluger, who represents the 11th Congressional District of Texas, had two daughters attending the all-girls Christian camp in Hunt, Texas, last week where flash flooding has killed at 87 people, including 30 children.

At least five girls and a counselor from the camp are still missing.

Pfluger joined FOX News on Tuesday and told the story of how his daughters and other campers survived the floodwaters.

‘They were holding hands. They were praying’

Pfluger said the first information his family received about the flooding came from a group of parents, but the severity of what was taking place was still unknown because communications at the camp were limited.

He said the Texas Department of Emergency Management and other first responders acted quickly to the flooding.

What they're saying:

"I did speak with many of those emergency responders. Got them in touch with the camp, so that they could start. You know, that process of rescue, but of just the fear that was going on in the camp from the campers," Pfluger said "It's unimaginable what they had to go through."

Two of Pfluger's daughters were at the camp last week. One was staying in an area of the camp called Senior Hill which was located higher than where flood waters could reach.

His other daughter at the camp, however, was in an area called The Flats.

"It rose so quickly that as they were evacuated out to what they call Rec Hall, which, has been mentioned, is an 80-year-old plus building," Pfluger said. "They got into Rec Hall, they walk through, almost knee-deep water to get there."

Within minutes, Pfluger said the water was so high the girls were forced to move to the second floor of the building. A place he said was usually off-limits to campers because it is unstable.

"You had 100-plus children that were out there watching this water rise almost to the second floor and seeing the water, you know, continue to come up in a way that it's just, it's unimaginable," Pflguer said.

He said in those moments, the girls' faith shown through.

"They were holding hands. They were praying," Pfluger said. "My daughters told me that they were praying through the entirety of this. They were singing songs."

Pfluger said his daughter said the entire camp was a family and that the older girls saw the younger girls daily and have stayed in the other cabins when they were younger.

"She's been attending the camp for seven years, so you have been in these cabins. You've lived in those cabins once upon a time the younger girls were in, and where most of the tragedies have occurred," Pfluger said. "They saw each other every single day. They were a family."

Camp Mystic director dies while attempting to save campers

Pfluger also praised the Eastland family who own the camp.

Dick Eastland, the camp's co-owner and director, died in the flood while attempting to save campers from floodwaters.

"I cannot speak highly enough about the way that they love the girls, and that they raised girls to be women of character, women of faith, women that would be productive leaders in our society," Pflguer said.

Central Texas Flooding

As of Tuesday morning, the death toll from the Fourth of July weekend flooding in Central Texas has climbed to 109.

In Travis County, there were at least seven deaths and also significant damage to infrastructure.

Kendall County has reported seven deaths.

Burnet County has at least five deaths confirmed. A Marble Falls volunteer fire chief is still missing.

Williamson County reports two deaths and Tom Green County has one death confirmed.

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