← Scrolling with Hayley
Scrolling with Hayley
Texas Flood Survivors Pick Up The Pieces - Hayley Caronia (Ep.108)
00:33:05
In this episode of Nightly Scroll, I speak with Keli Rabon, mom of two boys who survived the rising floodwaters at Camp La Junta in Hunt, TX on July 4th. Inside how her boys are coping with the trauma, and what resources the community needs to pick up the pieces.
Loading summary
Transcript52 lines
- [00:01]
Haley Silverlock
Hello and welcome to another edition of Nightly Scroll. Thank you for joining me on this Friday evening. Thank you to everyone in the chat. Watching live. If you want to watch live, you can only do it on Rumble. We are Rumble exclusive here@silverlock. So rumble.com Haley is where you can watch Nightly Scroll. That'll bring you to the Bongino Report channel. Make sure you're subscribed there so you never miss a show. If you can't watch live at 6pm Eastern Time, I totally get it. You can watch whenever you want on video, on demand or live listen on your favorite podcast platform, whatever that may be, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. Just search Nightly scroll with Haley and make sure that you're subscribed there. Everything helps, so I appreciate it. Before we get into tonight's show and interview, I want to tell you about our sponsor, Blackout Coffee. Let's talk about real convenience, shall we? Without sacrificing quality. You already know I'm a huge fan of blackout coffee. I have my iced coffee right here in this mug as we speak. But if you are like me and you need that caffeine fix fast in the morning, their coffee pods are a total game changer. These aren't your average grocery pods. Blackout pods are packed with fresh roasted bold coffee made right here in Florida. They work fast, these single serve pod brewers. So yes, fast, easy and actually delicious. I love it. I don't start my day without it. So no more bitter, stale junk. Just pop one in. Boom. You've got a strong, smooth cup of coffee in just seconds. So whether you're racing out the door, juggling kids, jumping into back to back calls, this is your new morning lifesaver. And the best part. They ship nationwide, so no matter where you live, you can have your Florida fresh coffee at your door in just days. Head to blackout coffee.com scroll or use code scroll at checkout for 20% off your first order. And without further ado, Nightly scroll starts now. I want to set the scene here. This is going to be a heavy episode. Imagine just being seven years old and it is your very first time at sleepaway camp with your big brother. Then imagine the Guadalupe river rising to 26ft overnight and you and your fellow campers are clinging to the rafters to escape the flood waters. Imagine being rescued just before your cabin was ripped apart. My next guest sons, they don't have to imagine that scenario because they lived that nightmare. On July 4th, they were at Camp La Junta in Hunt, Texas, just minutes from Camp mystic, where the floodwaters claimed the lives of 27 young campers and counselors. Now, former investigative reporter journalist Kelly Rabin is sounding the alarm on the emergency preparedness and fighting for FEMA assistance for families in need, including her own. And she joins me now. Kelly, thank you so much for joining me. What was going through your head when you first heard about the flooding? Because you don't live around Hunt, Texas. You're. You're where. How far are you?
- [03:03]
Kelly Rabin
So thank you so much for having me, Haley. I am in Houston and let's say, driving the speed limit, it would be about five hours away, but I, as you might imagine, on that morning of July 4th, when I got the first text that gave me an inkling of an idea that there was something wrong, saying that they had received a lot of water overnight and would update later, my mind was racing as to how fast that I could get to that camp. Um, I tried to cool my jets a little bit. You know, I wanted to hope and hope and think that everything was going to be okay. But by the time I turned on, you know, a streaming service to try to get news out of San Antonio and saw some of the live stream, wall to wall coverage of the TV stations there and started to get an idea of how bad the situation really was, how much that water had risen, and then even seeing the state statement from Camp mystic that said, you know, if. If we have not contacted you that your daughter is safe, but if we have contacted you, your daughter maybe, you know, is missing. That's. I knew this was a really, really serious incident because I knew it was just about five minutes away from Camp Lahenta where my boys were.
- [04:35]
Haley Silverlock
Oh, my gosh. I. I cannot imagine what was going through your head. The panic setting in. So how long did it take you to get in contact with the camp? And how did, how long was it before you knew that your boys were okay?
- [04:49]
Kelly Rabin
It was a solid 12, 13 hours before I was able to actually put my arms around my boys. There was no way for me to get in touch with the camp, only just rely on their occasional texts that were sent out to all of the parents every few hours. They, they had let us know that, you know, they'd said everyone is okay or accounted for, but. But no power, no water, no cell service. And so, I mean, I knew as a parent that obviously they were going through a very emergency situation. So don't try to continue to, you know, I mean, not that they even had phone lines to, but to bother them even more than, you know, they were already dealing with Enough. But yeah, it wasn't until that night around 8 to 8:30 that I got to actually put my arms around my boys. And how did you.
- [05:48]
Haley Silverlock
How did you get to the campgrounds? Because if the floodwaters are. Have risen that high, what was that like? I mean, what did you see when you got there?
- [05:56]
Kelly Rabin
Oh, you were not able to get anywhere near the campgrounds. They had to be. We thought maybe that they were going to need to be actually, like, airlifted to be evacuated, but they ended up being transported out with some sort of bus. I mean, we weren't given all of those details at the time. I mean, I, even while I was driving, had a text message saying we were able to get a drop from the National Guard or some sort of helicopter. I mean, that's just not a situation that you ever envision your child going through when they're going away to summer camp. It's just. It's just mind blowing. But once, so. So once I got to Kerrville, so I wasn't able to go all the way to hunt. They were. They brought the kids to this. A church that sadly was right across the street. And I'm talking a small street right across the street from a funeral home. And so when I first saw large crowds outside of this funeral home, I didn't know that it was a funeral home. I thought, okay, this is where I'm going to pull in. But then when I saw the funeral home sign and everyone crying, I realized what was going on. And I mean, that just made the moment extra devastating that.
- [07:26]
Haley Silverlock
Some families were not as lucky.
- [07:28]
Kelly Rabin
Yeah. I was going to feel gratitude holding my boys and that there were many families that were never going to be able to hold their loved one again.
- [07:39]
Haley Silverlock
Yeah. It is absolutely so tragic. I mean, it's tragic when any life is lost, but when you think about young girls, young children, it's. It's unconscionable.
- [07:49]
Kelly Rabin
What did your adults. Yeah, even for the adults, you know, I mean, we. We. And we definitely have, you know, and for good reason, so much attention on the campers. But I mean, every. Every life lost that day was an innocent life. We got to remember that these were folks who were just trying to enjoy, like, classic good old American fun on the 4th of July. Yeah. They weren't not heeding some, you know, hurricane, war, you know, hurricane. They, like, they didn't know that something this bad was going to happen. Yeah. And I think that's really important, something that really distinguishes this disaster from others. Yeah.
- [08:32]
Haley Silverlock
Completely innocent. So when you got to your Sons, what did they tell you about that night when the floodwaters rose? I mean, when did they realize something was going on? What did the counselors do to get them to safety? What did they say?
- [08:49]
Kelly Rabin
Okay, so when I first saw my seven year old, Brock, who had just finished kindergarten, and when I tell you seven, he had just turned seven like two weeks before. So we're talking about a little, little guy. He was just white as a sheet. I had never seen him look so in shock before. And I asked him, hey bud, what, so what happened? Because I didn't come in crying and overly emotional because I didn't know genuinely what they had or hadn't witnessed. And he just said, I don't remember, mom, I don't know. And that was almost more disturbing to me than even just hearing details in that moment that he just didn't remember. But I mean, ultimately I'm grateful that in that moment the brain knew to just to divvy up the trauma into a bunch of different little pieces, because otherwise it really would have been too much. So then the next morning he started to open up and share a little bit more. And I mean, it's kind of a cute story, but. And also it, yeah, it's sad as well. So he, he, he says, so mom, I woke up with my flashlight and it was raining so hard and the lightning was so bright and the thunder was so loud and there was water everywhere. So we got on the raft and we sat there for a long time. And then, I don't know, somehow we got to safety. So I'm thinking to myself, wow, the camp was really proactive and in having a raft inside the cabin and you know, so all the little boys could get into the raft and then they could move the raft outside. It wasn't until later in that afternoon I showed him a picture of a raft and I said, so something like this? And he said, no, on the raft. And he pointed up and I said, the rafters? And he said, yeah. So he had reclined from the bottom bunk with the help of his counselors to the top bunk and then to the rafter as they were trying to escape the water. Oh my goodness.
- [11:19]
Haley Silverlock
So I, I remember seeing a, an interview that your son had done saying that the camp counselors did get alerts on their phone, but it was far too late. Yes, it was.
- [11:33]
Kelly Rabin
In fact, it was as water was probably at least waist deep, if not already chest deep on them. And this counselor had told me they kind of half laughed at that point because, I mean, what else are you going to do? There's no time to cry.
- [11:50]
Haley Silverlock
You can't evacuate.
- [11:52]
Kelly Rabin
You can't evacuate. And thankfully, they had, you know, enough instinct. One of them I know was an Eagle Scout. Something in their head or their heart told them to stay put or their brain, you know, told them to stay put and to not try to leave that cabin and to just literally go to higher ground as high as they could within the cabin. But we have to remember that meanwhile, the door was breaking off, the windows were, you know, breaking the. There was an interior wall that fell, an exterior wall that fell. And if you saw that video, there was like kind of a viral video that had initially been labeled mystic, but it was from Camp Lahunta, my boy's camp. And it shows a small cabin floating and kind of colliding with another cabin and then going on. Well, that's at Camp La Junta. And it was a small adult, what they call casa, an adult cabin. And they're inside with their flashlights. It hit my son's cabin, and then that caused, you know, some. Either an interior or an exterior wall to come down. I mean, it was just pure chaos.
- [13:12]
Haley Silverlock
Pure chaos. And so you have two sons that were at the camp. Were they together?
- [13:18]
Kelly Rabin
No, no, in fact. So my older son, Braden, he's nine, and this was his third year to attend the camp. And keep in mind that both boys had only been there for one full day. You could maybe call it a day and a half. But the first day that they were there, they arrived like in mid afternoon to late afternoon. So it's really just, you know, you get there, you check in, you. Right, and go to sleep. But. So they had one full day there. They didn't even know who their cabin mates were at that point. They. It was just. It was so new and so fresh. So it's not like they could even rely on their friends at that point. But Braden was in a different cabin. He had actually been kind of in that same cabin and structure that Brock was the last two years. But. But this go round, he was in a further back, more elevated cabin. And so while his cabin didn't take in any water, it did take in other campers who were evacuating their cabins because they'd flooded. But he had no idea how Brock was doing. Wow.
- [14:31]
Haley Silverlock
Oh, that's so horrible. I'm sure he was worried about, you know, they were worried about each other. So how did the camp respond in that moment? But how have they responded since? And how will they prepare in the future? Not that they did anything wrong in the moment. But how can they be better prepared for an emergency like this if it ever happens again?
- [14:55]
Kelly Rabin
So, I mean, I think in that moment, given that this was such an unprecedented event that no one could have perhaps. Right. I'm no expert and I certainly wasn't there that day. And I don't have all the meteorological, meteorological data, but, you know, it doesn't seem like anyone could have known that it was going to be this, this bad. Certainly not based on what the local officials were saying. And that's, that's a different topic maybe we get into. But the camp itself, you know, did the best they could, I think, in that moment. And I'm hopeful that moving forward they acknowledge ways to make it better. I have personally been out to the camp since just last Friday. I decided unannounced. And I had been in communication with the camp a little bit, you know, wanting to give them space and time because this is very devastating to them too. I mean, their entire world just flipped upside down. Yeah. But when, when I drove out there, I cried harder on Friday than I have this entire month combined. It was so devastating. There is no way that you can really understand this immense devastation until you see it firsthand. And then just to think like it is, my, my sons are so fortunate. You know, I, this is where I get tripped up on words, because I don't have the words to describe how, how grateful I am that my kids are alive. Because when you see these trees that are far larger than me, you know, that are crumpled up around each other, it's RVs that look like they've been through a compactor. It's, it is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life out there right now.
- [17:13]
Haley Silverlock
So that is, I mean, you went last Friday. That's a month later. Right. So a month since this devastation there, is there any movement to get funding to rebuild? I mean, how long do you think this is going to take?
- [17:29]
Kelly Rabin
Well, back in my reporter days, I started my career in Pascagoula, Mississippi, which is on the south Mississippi coast, about six, seven months after Hurricane Katrina. And I was there for another two years. And I can tell you that my entire time there, we did stories every single day about rebuilding. Yeah. So I fear that this is going to be a lot longer of a haul than what people even realize.
- [18:07]
Haley Silverlock
And I think it. There's a huge wake up call and a lesson here. The fact that the camp counselors and everyone who is at Camp Lahunta, they got emergency alerts to their phone. But by the time they got the emergency alerts to evacuate, it was too late to evacuate. So whoever is in charge, the local government, the federal government, whoever is in charge to get those alerts to the people, they failed. Right. So have you been able to speak to any local leaders or federal. Federal leaders about what they're doing to make sure that they can keep citizens safe going forward?
- [18:46]
Kelly Rabin
So I have both, I guess you could say. I have attended this hearing that was in Kerrville last week, and, you know, I wanted to be there for myself and make sure I heard every single word and got the read. You know, I didn't just want to take a headline or a little sound bite. I wanted to hear it in context. And I was so disappointed. In fact, when I went back and listened to testimony again, it hurt even more when I realized how these people whose job, you know, it's not even just a job, they chose, you know, they chose to run for this position or be appointed to this position to protect the people. And when it counted, they weren't there. They were sleeping peacefully in their bed, and they weren't answering their calls or they were out of town. And I just cannot wrap my head around that. And I just. I don't. I don't. I mean, sorry doesn't cut it, but I just don't think I've even heard enough sorrys at this point. Yeah. Yeah.
- [20:05]
Haley Silverlock
And not to mention, your son exhibited some kind of a trauma response when you asked him the morning of what happened, and his brain was doing its best job to protect himself from what he had went through. And how are your sons doing now? Are they coping with this? Do they. Are they exhibiting PTSD symptoms or anything like that?
- [20:32]
Kelly Rabin
Lot lots of PTSD and trauma responses. We just today started therapy in person. And so, you know, and thankfully, part of that is because I went to the hearing and I had mom on a mission making sure that I'm going to, you know, get help for my kids and for others out there who are in our same position. Because what I had been told, you know, I called the camp and said, hey, look, the boys are having a tough time, and I really want to, like, address this head on in the beginning. And he said, gosh, I just don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry you guys are in Houston. So I called fema, and FEMA gave me this same exact response. I'm so sorry to hear that this is happening, but because you don't have a zip code in the declared disaster zone, you don't qualify for assistance. And P.S. we don't cover mental health services anyway.
- [21:46]
Haley Silverlock
Huh.
- [21:47]
Kelly Rabin
Yeah.
- [21:48]
Haley Silverlock
I.
- [21:48]
Kelly Rabin
The.
- [21:49]
Haley Silverlock
I was under the impression that FEMA did cover mental health services for people who had went through something like this, a. A traumatic situation.
- [21:57]
Kelly Rabin
I, I even checked with my congressman personally yesterday who told me no.
- [22:05]
Haley Silverlock
And even if they did, you would be too far. Even though your sons experienced the flood because they were there, but you live in Houston, so they would.
- [22:14]
Kelly Rabin
They were vague. They were vague about that part. I mean, it doesn't seem that there's any assistance for us in this case, federally at least. And I'm still working, like I said, with the state lawmakers to ensure at minimum, that there's better messaging, but hopefully not just messaging, that it's crystal clear that everybody's on the same page. Because what I've said is like, you can't enjoy the fruits of our tourism. Okay, we all agree that, like July 4th in the Hill country prime time, this is what they thrive on. You can't enjoy the fruits of the tourism. And then when a disaster happens, and especially one that had some man made errors, that happen too. Right. But you can't just leave us hanging then when that disaster happens just because we live out of that county.
- [23:21]
Haley Silverlock
Yeah, absolutely. And you know what your sons went through? They were not alone. Right. So your sons can't be the only children who are having nightmares. And these trauma responses when you went back, I mean, was what was left of your son's belongings because one of your sons was in the cabin that flooded and was hit by the other cabin. So during this evacuation, you know, what happened to his things? Was he reunited with these things? How. How did that all happen?
- [23:55]
Kelly Rabin
There was nothing left of his belongings at all, sadly. The way that the water came in and filled up the cabin like a bathtub, but also swirling in this just disgusting, thick, rushing water, I wasn't there. But from the pictures that I've seen, it's pretty clear as to how just overwhelming it was that happened. And then as that massive wave of water then moved out, there was also like a sucking out of the water that happened. And so I think that's as well when a lot of the belongings just got swept away, but were swept away. So when I went back last week, I mom on a mission. I went to a place about. I've been stalking all these Facebook groups. And so I went to a spot where I kind of had a lead on where some of the items from the boys camp had been turning up. And so this pile was probably 100ft long, easily, and probably 20ft tall. Like a 10 trench dug. 10ft down into the ground and 10ft up. And I was there by myself, and I just. I didn't even have gloves on, but I just said, I promise, Brock, I'm gonna find something of his. You better believe I'm gonna do it. So I did find one piece of a navy blue trunk with no stickers on it. And I got down in the trench, and I meant to hold it up. Yeah. But I knew that it would mean something to him. I really wanted to find. He had this little blue blanket that he had from birth, and that's what he really, really wanted. But there was this. There's this incredible nonprofit. It's called the Lost Stuffy Project. Okay. And just to, like, plug them a little bit. This is so amazing. They help kids in all different natural disasters be reunited with their stuffies. And so. Oh, that's it right there. So that's the blue blanket. Yeah. And so they actually sent him a. What's as close to a copy as could be because this color was discontinued, apparently. And it. So when it arrived. Arrived. It's more of a little bit of a sage green. And so Brock said, well, mom, I love it, but, like, it's kind of green. And I said. I said, well, Brock, what do you think happened in all that water? And then when they had to wash, clean it up, of course it, like, changes colors a little bit. And then he looks at it real closely, inspects it, and he's like, I think I see some straw in it from the river, like a little tiny piece of grass or something. He's just made incredible imagination. So we've gone with that.
- [27:03]
Haley Silverlock
Well, that's a really incred. I've never heard of the Lost Stuffy Project, but that's very, very cool that they do that for kids who have been through something like this to give them a little piece of a memory. Right.
- [27:14]
Kelly Rabin
Home. Yes. And I mean, from fires to floods to anything, really. I mean, that is their. That is their whole mission, is they understand that when your little world is so small, something like that is so big. Yeah.
- [27:32]
Haley Silverlock
Makes a huge difference. So what other resources are still needed? Because obviously, 27 lives were lost. I believe there are still people missing as of right now that haven't been found. So what resources are still needed in the area? I'm sure many homes were lost. Because if we've seen these photos of Camp Lahunta, everything else in the area was probably destroyed, too. So where can people go to help what is needed right now?
- [28:03]
Kelly Rabin
Yeah, I think, look, it is at this point more than thoughts and prayers. Okay. But I also don't want people to just blindly send their money to random organizations. What I'm hearing from people on the ground is being able to help families with direct assistance is honestly the most important way. But I know that that's very difficult to facilitate, you know, when. When you don't know anybody there on the ground. So one of my other little ideas I'm trying to kick around is like, how can I. How can I help? How can I help? You know, I mean, the boys camp, Camp La Junta has its own fund set up. I mean, pretty much there is a. The volunteer fire departments, the schools. There are a lot of, you know, families needing. And teachers too, like, needing supplies when they're going back. I mean, I think just when you. But it's more than just gift cards. You know, a lot of people, when I talk to them in town, say they're so grateful for all. Any kind of help, but, like, you know, it's about time to start rebuilding. And so if you are interested in helping, you know, it's very much a grassroots. It is a boots on the ground and grassroots type of place. And so if you're interested, I would suggest, like, going on to Facebook. This is definitely a Facebook kind of community. And there are different groups that, you know, facilitate. Like. Like community groups. Yeah. So maybe hop on there and ask people like, I don't know, hey, what do you guys need? Because the. The needs change by the day or by the week, for sure. Yeah.
- [30:01]
Haley Silverlock
Well, you've done a great job of posting resources on your Instagram. So, I mean, we've been plugging your. Your socials throughout on your lower third here, but give people a place to go find you in case they want to learn more and. And keep up with your story.
- [30:15]
Kelly Rabin
Thank you.
- [30:16]
Haley Silverlock
So I have a blog.
- [30:17]
Kelly Rabin
It's kellyraybond.com K-E L I R A B O-N.com and on Instagram, K E L I R or Facebook, K E L I R A B O N. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I'm dedicated to the cause. You know, it's like. Like it or not, this is part of our life. Yeah. From here on.
- [30:41]
Haley Silverlock
You know, I've got one more question for you, Kelly. Will you send your sons back to camp?
- [30:49]
Kelly Rabin
I am open to it and I. I believe that I will. Especially if the question is will they want to go back? And Braden, my oldest, definitely wants to go back in fact, he would go back tomorrow if he could. Difference that it made in him his first year, seeing him walk in as a little guy and two weeks later walk out where he's talking different and walking different and has this confidence that it felt like he'd grown up two years within two weeks. That's. That was amazing. And it's what I hoped so much to see from Brock.
- [31:33]
Haley Silverlock
So, you know, it's going to be.
- [31:35]
Kelly Rabin
Really up to Brock if. If. If he wants to do that. This was such a. An unimaginable incident. So I just. I mean, I don't know. I loved summer camp when I grew up. I went to a bunch of different summer camps and. And so I. I just don't want this to spoil the perception of camp life forever.
- [31:57]
Haley Silverlock
Yeah, well, you can't live in fear, right? And you know how the saying goes, Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place twice or whatever that saying is. So I think if they camp, it will be that wonderful camp experience that they should have had this time around, but hopefully they can get to go back. Kelly, you're doing an amazing job. You're an amazing mom. I wish your sons all the best, and all the best to the community as well. Thank you so much for joining Nightly Scroll.
- [32:23]
Kelly Rabin
Thank you.
- [32:24]
Haley Silverlock
This is a great example of sunshine after rain, an absolutely horrific tragedy. But it is amazing to see how those heroes sprung into action when needed. Those camp counselors and local community leaders, and they can all come together to rebuild, and I hope they do. So. Thank you so much for listening to this interview tonight. Thank you for joining me on this Friday evening, and I will see you right back here on Monday.
- [32:59]
Kelly Rabin
Sam.