Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Newsmax on Tuesday about her "heartbreaking" visit to central Texas on Saturday after flash floods battered the region, claiming more than 100 deaths, with dozens of others still missing.
"As soon as the flooding happened and I found out about it, I went there immediately," Noem told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "Got there early [Saturday] afternoon. I knew I would see a lot of devastation and tragedy, but people were just broken.
"I had a briefing with all the emergency responders that were there … and the governor [Greg Abbott] was there, and so I had the chance to find out what they were currently doing. We had already deployed our Coast Guard there, and then we had some special teams from Customs and Border Protection that were there. So, we already had federal resources on the ground."
Noem said she visited Camp Mystic in Kerr County, an all-girls Christian summer camp where 27 children and counselors were killed by a wall of water from the Guadalupe River, which reportedly swelled more than 26 feet in 45 minutes following a storm that dumped more than 20 inches of rain. At least five girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic are still missing.
"I didn't expect that the parents would be there," Noem said. "When I got there and was walking through the cabin and they were telling me that this was the cabin where all the little girls were lost.
"When I walked out, a gentleman said to me, you know, that man could use a hug over there. And so, I walked over to that man and gave him a hug. And I said, do you work here? And he said, no. My little girl was in that cabin. And then he just fell apart. And then I did.
"When you walk through that camp, there's stuffed animals [lying] in the mud, and their [the children's] shoes in the cabins. And the parents were not just looking for their children, but they were finding little pieces of their belongings. I guess that's what was so heartbreaking, seeing that kind of grief on their face as they were trying to wrap their heads around it."
Noem talked about the randomness of the tragedy, where others survived the disaster at the camp in another cabin about 30 yards away.
"That cabin was closer to the hill," Noem said. "So, those little girls, their counselors got them up and they could climb up a hill fast and got up quicker because [the other cabin] was across the road and it was right where the water was flowing and it was so strong, it swept them all out of the cabin immediately."
Noem said people have been calling her to make sure that their children and family members who perished in the flood are not forgotten.
"As the days have passed, [one parent] said, we just want closure," Noem said. "And they were not able to identify victims at this point. So, they're getting DNA from the family members in Texas and then matching them to the bodies as they find them.
"So, sitting and waiting for that to happen and getting that kind of closure … I can't imagine the waiting. My grandma told me one time, she said, no parent should have to outlive their child. And I think that's true. I can't imagine what that's like."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.