NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky was forced to make himself part of the story while covering this past weekend’s deadly Texas flooding as his family shared their firsthand account of evacuating from the banks of the Guadalupe River.
Chesky grew up in Kerrville, Texas, where his mom and step-dad now reside. On Monday, he sat down with them amid the devastation that killed more than 100 people as they shared their story.
“We could see that the water was about five feet from the street,” his mother recalled after waking up at 4 a.m. local time to pouring rain. His step-father then waded through water to warn their neighbors: “I’m telling them, ‘The river
is out of the bank. Get up. Get up!’ And fortunately, they all woke up and we didn’t have a loss of life. They got out.”
By that time, the Guadalupe had risen 30 feet in less than an hour.
“It became real to me when we found the first body — a young girl — and it just froze me,” Chesky’s step-dad shared. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“The entire community is reeling right now. I think we’re all stunned and shocked that just happened here,” the reporter’s mom added.
“We love being on the river. We’ve had grandkids play in this river, and
it’s just been very shocking,” she continued. “But I have faith that it will grow back and be as beautiful as it was.”
“This is a recovery that’s going to take years, and it’s been incredibly heartening to see all of the supplies that have poured into this community,” Chesky concluded his package. “We hope that can continue going forward, but as of right now, with so many people still missing loved ones, the thing Kerrville needs most is hope.”
The journalist further elaborated on his family’s experience on his “Here’s the Scoop” podcast on Monday. “I think it’s the very definition of a close call. When the river eventually came under her back patio and they drove off, as they did, a car floated by within a stone’s throw with the lights on. That was the beginning of the realization that this was a game-changer.”
The death toll from the Fourth of July natural disaster is also expected to climb as officials continue to search for survivors amongst the devastation.
