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Tonight, a special edition of World News Tonight, the devastating flood emergency right here in Texas, the horror at a girls camp, and what we've now learned tonight. My interview here with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer and what he witnessed at that camp as he tried to save the children. And tonight, as we come on, the flash flood warnings and watches still in effect here.

 

Tonight, the haunting images coming in, devastating flooding in Central Texas. More than a hundred people killed, including dozens of children. Floodwaters tearing through Camp Mystic for girls.

 

The Guadalupe River exploding over its banks, rising 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Homes swept away. Nearly 1,000 people rescued so far.

 

Six members of a family swept away, one found alive clinging to a tree for hours. My interview with the husband and wife, the floodwaters racing into their home and the choice they had to make at the front door and the moment he lost sight of his wife. I also talk with that heroic Coast Guard swimmer tonight, helping to save 165 people, children on his first rescue mission.

 

Our Mireya Villarreal tonight with the U.S. Coast Guard up in the air. The search teams above and on the ground, they're not giving up. And tonight, our Matt Gutman piecing together the critical timeline, the alerts and warnings.

 

When did they come? And could more have been done to save lives? Tonight, state and local authorities are pressed. Will changes be made here? And chief meteorologist Ginger Zee is tracking the new warnings and watches right now. More life-threatening flooding still possible tonight.

 

Also, the state of emergency in North Carolina we're watching and the system moving into the Northeast. Also on this Monday night, Border Patrol agents ambushed a McAllen, Texas, a gunman reportedly armed with a rifle, opening fire as they reported for duty. Tonight, the major new immigration crackdown operation in Los Angeles.

 

Roughly 90 National Guard troops and more than a dozen military Humvees and armored vehicles in the streets. LA's Mayor Karen Bass confronting ICE agents. In New York City tonight, shark sightings forcing a well-known beach to close.

 

humvee [ˈhʌmvi] n. 悍马车（一种军用吉普车）

 

Drones spotting multiple sharks just offshore. And back here in Texas, the bravery of the children and who they asked about as they were being saved here.

 

From NBC News, this is NBC World News Tonight with David Muir reporting tonight from Kerrville, Texas.

 

2:25 Dozens missing as Texas flood death toll soars

 

Good evening tonight from Kerrville, Texas, where we have witnessed one of the deadliest flooding disasters in the U.S. in decades. Tonight here, the scope of the loss is simply staggering. The desperate search for the missing.

 

You can see the Guadalupe River right here behind me. The rain came down so fast, so quickly here in the early morning hours of the 4th of July that the river rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes. The beautiful hill country of Texas underwater.

 

This home I'm standing next to tonight, the wife inside telling me the rising water is reaching her neck very quickly. And she and her husband had no choice but to step out their front door and right into the current of the river that was at their home. How they survived this, you'll hear their story in a moment.

 

Homes washed away here, RVs floating down the river, and of course the heartbreak at Camp Mystic for Girls. Tonight, my interview with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer who saved so many children there and what he said they told him. And as we come on tonight, more than 100 people are now confirmed dead here.

 

Dozens of them are children. The river rising quickly in the dark as the rain fell. The boat rescues that began in those early morning hours.

 

By daylight, other rivers flooding as well. This time-lapse video showing floodwaters rushing in, flooding a causeway in under 10 minutes. This home washed away in Center Point, Texas, floating down the Guadalupe River and right into a bridge there.

 

causeway [ˋkɔz͵we] n.（穿越湿地或浅水的）堤道，砌道；石子路

 

The Coast Guard lifting dozens to safety and helicopters overhead. This young woman swept miles away from her family's campsite, rescued after clinging to a tree for hours. Tonight, she's in the hospital.

 

We're told she will survive this, but she's also been told five other members of her family are still missing. And tonight here, what's left now of Camp Mystic. Some 750 girls were there as the emergency unfolded.

 

After, the cabins filled with water and mud, bunk beds destroyed, pink sleeping bags and treasured stuffed animals, all that's left. The camp tonight saying 27 campers and a counselor have died. And tonight here, we're now seeing some of the first faces of those who did not survive this.

 

There is a massive response here in the flood zone tonight, among them that 26 year old Coast Guard rescue swimmer on his first rescue mission, telling me what he saw when he landed at Camp Mystic. The bravery here in the Hill Country. Tonight, it is difficult to put into words the scope of the loss across the Hill Country here in Texas.

 

Here in Kirk County and beyond, so many communities dealing with unimaginable loss. Tonight, Texas authorities now confirm more than a hundred lives have been lost here. So many of them children, the little girls sleeping at camp.

 

So many lives stolen in one of the deadliest US floods in decades.

 

Good job guys. With more rain in the forecast tonight, searchers have not given up.

 

It was the 4th of July and families in six counties, many of them camping along the Guadalupe River, gathering along the waterfront, a summer tradition. They had just gone to bed only to wake up hours later before the sun came up because of flash floods, suddenly swallowing up family campgrounds, homes and sleepaway camps. The river rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes.

 

In some places, four months worth of rain in just one night. The force of the floodwaters carrying homes away. This one then crashing into a tree.

 

Bridges severely damaged, trees snapped in half, many toppled, homes left in the middle of the road.

 

This time-lapse video showing just how quickly the floodwaters took over these communities. In just 10 minutes, they were surrounded by water and a deadly current.

 

Much of Central Texas and the Hill Country was under a flood watch going into the holiday. And just after midnight, the weather service had issued a forecast that showed extreme rainfall was possible. By 1 a.m. the weather service said a very dangerous flash flood event was unfolding in Kerr County.

 

Around 4 a.m., a warning of a particularly dangerous situation for Kerr County. But authorities say that rare alert came when most were asleep. The Guadalupe River right next to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where cabins were soon filling with water.

 

The torrent of water, the river overflowing its banks, and soon much of the campground was surrounded. Camp counselors sharing videos of young campers just one day before playing. Less than 24 hours later, the horror for the young children there.

 

torrent [ˋtɔrənt] n.（水、熔岩等的）奔流；洪流

 

Some 750 campers, the girls' cabins just a few hundred feet from the river. The younger campers sleeping in the low-lying area when the floods hit in the middle of the night. The images from inside show the destruction.

 

Their cabins, their bunk beds torn apart, their belongings scattered, much of it now gone. And tonight, authorities at Camp Mystic with the heart-wrenching news. They now say at least 27 girls and staff were killed, including a young counselor.

 

heart-wrenching [ˈhɑrtˌrɛntʃɪŋ] adj. 令人心痛的

 

They say 10 young campers are still missing. And tonight, this heartbreaking image, a camp T-shirt in the aftermath. ♪ He wants to pass it on ♪ And tonight here, a moment of strength from the children.

 

A camp nurse, Devin Williams, sharing images of the surviving campers on a bus to a reunification center where they all began to sing together as they drove through their now unrecognizable camp.

 

unrecognizable [ʌnˋrɛkəg͵naɪzəb!] adj. 无法认出的；不能识别的

 

Tonight, Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin telling me what he witnessed when the helicopter landed at Camp Mystic. He had just completed a swift water rescue course just two months ago.

 

The crew decided Scott would stay on the ground with the children. It would allow them to get more of the children out. If you stayed on scene, it would give him a little more space in the helicopter.

 

Yeah, we assumed that based on weight, we could probably take two more kids every trip. So they got to work. He told me the children were still in their pajamas, some wearing just one shoe, still soaked and covered in mud from the rising waters.

 

He told me who those children, some just seven and eight years old, were asking about.

 

Primarily just asking about their friends. They wanted to see if I knew anything about their friends, show me pictures, do whatever they could to try to find their friends.

 

And I just told them, I was like, hey guys, I don't know where they are. We have every crew we can possibly imagine.

 

He told me about the little girls he swept into his arms.

 

At one point you were carrying two girls in one arm.

 

Yeah, yeah, it was one in each arm, but yeah, it was just two little kids, like seven years old, didn't have shoes on. I was like, dude, I'm not gonna make you guys walk through this mud, like while you're trying to get to a helicopter.

 

And tonight here, we are learning about the young lives lost and the brave camp counselors who tried to save them. Eight-year-old twins Hannah Lawrence on the left and Rebecca Lawrence on the right. They were attending Camp Mystic with their older sister, 14-year-old Harper, who survived.

 

Tonight, their grandfather said, Hannah and Rebecca gave their whole family so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten. Chloe Childress was returning to Camp Mystic as a counselor there and had recently graduated from the Kincaid School.

 

Her school sharing, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued, and brave. She understood what it meant to be a part of a community, and more than that, she helped build one. She was set to begin her freshman year at the University of Texas at Austin this fall.

 

valued [ˋvæljud] adj. 受敬重的

 

Dick Eastland was the beloved longtime director at Camp Mystic, who died trying to save the lives of his campers. Tonight, his grandson, George, calling him a mentor to thousands of young women, saying, although I am devastated, I can't say I'm surprised that you sacrificed your life with the hopes of someone else's being saved. Former counselor, Ryan Robinson, paying tribute to that longtime camp director.

 

He made sure that I always felt comfortable and felt at home at Mystic. He was just an extremely selfless person, and he showed that until the very end.

 

Tonight, we are learning about the incredible stories of survival.

 

Nearly 1,000 rescued since the 4th of July. The San Angelo Police Department airlifting families to safety after water levels rose above their homes, using boats to scour stadium-sized debris fields for the stranded, using helicopters to reach people clinging to trees.

 

scour [skaʊr] v. 认真搜索，细查

 

Hold tighter! Tonight, the remarkable scene, neighbors and local authorities helping to rescue a woman in rapidly rising floodwaters.

 

A chain of people pulling a rope to get her to safety.

 

Scott and Juliet Weldon were in their home, asleep, waking to the noise, but they had no idea it was the river now at their door. When they saw the water, Juliet put on her husband's life vest, their motorcycles outside, their Jeep floating away.

 

Look at this here, the water line. That's where the water, see that?

 

That's where the water was, which explains why you're floating in your own home.

 

She opened up the front door, but told me it took her three tries to step into that water, the current sweeping her away.

 

You stepped out the front door and the water just takes you. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Just like that.

 

It's pretty remarkable that you're standing here. That's when I said, like, oh my God. And then seeing all this, it's just, it breaks my heart.

 

Scott told me he swam after her. They tried to grab onto trees, onto neighbors' homes, but the current was too strong. Suddenly, they were both pushed into this tall hedgerow by force.

 

hedgerow [ˋhɛdʒ͵ro] n. 灌木树篱，排栽灌木

 

You're holding the tree and he's holding you. Yeah, he's holding me. Scott told me he was not going to let her out of his grasp.

 

He wasn't gonna let go. No. No, he'll no.

 

35 years and counting. So many families facing the same harrowing fight. The water's suddenly sweeping them from their homes, from their cabins, sometimes for miles.

 

Tonight, a family of six swept away. Five are still missing. One family member found alive clinging to a tree more than 15 miles from where they were swept away.

 

Devin Smith, 22 years old. They believe she passed through three dams. She witnessed RVs being carried down the river beside her.

 

Carl Jeter spotting her from inside his home and calling first responders. Help is coming! Tonight, that survivor's uncle, Travis Reynolds, meeting the homeowner who spotted her in the tree, hugging him, thanking him, grateful. It means a lot.

 

The tree across the river. Carl showing us the tree she held onto for six hours. And this evening, her uncle, Travis, telling us she is in the hospital but will be okay.

 

But she also knows five members of her family are still missing. My family stepped in to make sure that she was safe. We're grateful for her being alive.

 

And tonight here, the loved ones who did not survive. Dr. Catherine Eades died after her RV was swept up. She was camping with her husband, Brian, and they were separated by the flood.

 

He survived, but he could not find her. Her family sharing she was a psychologist and college professor, calling her an incredible wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and a person who spent her life helping kids.

 

27-year-old Julian Ryan and his family waking up to floodwaters in their home in Ingram.

 

Within moments, the water to their waists. Along with his mother and fiancee, Christina, Julian working quickly to save their young sons, smashing through the window with his hand, sustaining severe injuries as he tried to help his family escape. He lost so much blood, he knew.

 

His last words to his fiancee, Christina, I love you, I'm so sorry. Tonight, his sister wants us to know that Julian died a hero.

 

Jane Ragsdale was the beloved director of the Heart of the Hills Camp for Girls.

 

Tonight, the camp said Jane embodied the spirit of the camp and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop.

 

And tonight, that Coast Guard rescue swimmer who told me he will never forget those young faces, the children he helped save, and their bravery.

 

And the rescue swimmer in the last year. But again, any of the rescue swimmers would have done the same thing.

 

Yeah. Well, I'm sure those parents thank you too.

 

Yeah, I'm glad their kids were tough. Yeah. Thank you.

 

Thank you for what you did. Yeah, of course. Thank you.

 

We told him so many of those parents must be grateful to him and all of the first responders. They have been just incredible here in Texas. And by the way, he kept count.

 

They helped save 165 children in the hours after that emergency first began.

 

14:26 Warnings scrutinized after catastrophic toll in Texas flooding

 

Tonight, of course, those heart-wrenching questions now, could more have been done to save lives here? Was the alert system enough?

 

ABC's chief national correspondent, Matt Gutman, also here on the ground tonight, piecing together the critical timeline, the alerts and warnings. When did they come? And tonight, state and local authorities are already being pressed. Will changes be made here?

 

Tonight, along with the thousands of first responders and volunteers searching for signs of life along the battered banks of the Guadalupe River, there is a parallel search for answers.

 

Whether lives could have been saved by a better warning system. The first flash flood warning issued at around 1 a.m. The first flash flood emergency blasted out just after 4 a.m. But that's not what roused Stewart Gross from bed.

 

rouse [raʊz] v. 弄醒，叫醒

 

What was it that woke you up? The fire department. It wasn't the alert on your phone? What you're saying is that a better alert system would have saved lives.

 

Absolutely. Absolutely. If it wasn't for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, we would have lost a lot more people down below.

 

Countless others also missing the alert.

 

Officials ducking questions about the alert system.

 

duck [dʌk] v. 闪避；躲避

 

It's very tough to make those calls because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf.

 

cry wolf 喊「狼来了」; 发假警报

 

And late today, canceling an afternoon press conference.

 

ABC News learning the National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio did have five meteorologists working the severe weather event as part of its surge staffing protocol.

 

surge [sɝdʒ] n. 紧急增加

protocol [ˋprotə͵kɔl] n. 协议；草案

 

It's normally staffed with two. They issued warnings that rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying locations may rise out of their banks.

 

Dozens of summer camps dot this beloved region of the Guadalupe River and other waterways here.

 

We're here just outside Camp Mystic. You can see the front of that building ripped clean off.

 

Over here, people taking out the belongings of campers, including their trunks. And the floods from this weekend raising questions about whether it's safe for camps like this to be so close to the river's edge.

 

They call this area Flash Flood Alley and it's one of the three most dangerous regions in the entire country for flash floods.

 

The river flooding nearly once every decade over the last 100 years.

 

David, a short time ago, Texas' lieutenant governor saying that sirens may have made the difference, might have saved lives here. He said going forward, the state will pay for them. David.

 

lieutenant governor 副州长

 

A lot of questions to be answered moving forward here. Matt Gutman, thanks to you as well.

 

16:40 Authorities race to find survivors after deadly Texas flooding

 

And as I mentioned, there's a massive search and rescue effort still underway tonight from volunteers and local first responders to National Guard and active duty forces. Tonight, our Mireya Villarreal flying with the U.S. Coast Guard. In the air, the search team's above and tonight, right here on the ground, they are not giving up.

 

Tonight, across this ravaged flood zone, the painstaking search for the missing and it's a race against the clock. We headed out with the U.S. Coast Guard and got a firsthand look at what they're up against. High above the Guadalupe River, the massive scope of this disaster is quickly revealed.

 

Debris and devastation as far as the eye can see. Pilots searching with multiple cameras, including one with heat detecting technology, scouring water and dense woods below.

 

It is a very good camera that we have. It is also an infrared camera, so we can find heat signatures, things like that.

 

Out the back, equipment ready to go for a rescue. They've already helped save hundreds.

 

We're gonna do our best to try to rescue anybody that's still out there. That's what we're gonna be out there to do.

 

David, the mission to find the missing is weighing heavy on these communities.

 

I've spoken with a number of search crews out in the field. They say they are holding out hope, but they are worried that time is running out and the chances of finding anyone alive are grim. David?

 

grim [grɪm] adj. 令人担忧的，令人沮丧的

 

Mireya Villarreal with us tonight as well. Mireya, thank you.

 

18:05 More flood watches in effect for hard-hit central Texas

 

Tonight, here in Texas, the new warnings and watch is up right now as we're on the air. Life-threatening flooding possible again tonight here.

 

Chief meteorologist Ginger Zee, of course, tracking this again tonight for us. And Ginger, I know the people of Texas just aren't in the clear yet.

 

in the clear 无危险的

 

Yeah, that's right. David, believe it or not, that same slow-moving system that triggered the initial tragedy is still spinning and grabbing moisture and dropping thunderstorms that could have heavy rain with them.

 

That's why we have a flood watch until 7 p.m. for the entire region, including Kerrville, down to San Antonio, through tonight at 7 p.m. There have even been flash flood warnings. This is for locally up to 10 inches of rain.

 

Now, things do get a little better, but this is going on top of the same region that had 10 to 20 inches, you heard it, months worth of rain in just one night.

 

So the next couple of days, even if you get an inch or two inches, those rivers and creeks are already high. The good news is they've been in a bit of a drought so the dams can handle it.

 

But David, we even have flash flood watches right here in the Northeast tonight, with Philadelphia included.

 

Tracking that as well, Ginger Zee with us. Ginger, we appreciate it.

 

When we come back tonight, the other news this Monday evening, Border Patrol agents ambushed while reporting for duty. More than 90 National Guard troops deployed during ICE raids in Los Angeles. You'll see the pictures.

 

And in New York City tonight, shark sightings forcing a well-known beach to close. Drones spotting multiple sharks just offshore, and we'll have more on that in a moment here.

 

19:26 Gunman ambushes Texas Border Patrol office

 

Tonight, an ambush targeting U.S. Border Patrol agents outside a facility in McAllen, Texas.

 

Authorities say a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle opened fire this morning. The suspect killed in a shootout there. Three people were wounded, including two officers.

 

shootout [ˋʃut͵aʊt] n. 枪战

 

When we come back here tonight, there are large-scale ICE raids unfolding in Los Angeles, and the shark sightings off New York City closing a popular beach in a moment.

 

19:49 Large scale immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles

 

Tonight, heavily armed National Guard troops are helping ICE agents during new immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles. The Pentagon tonight confirming more than 90 National Guard members and more than a dozen military vehicles have been deployed near MacArthur Park.

 

Mayor Karen Bass confronting ICE, calling their presence, quote, absolutely outrageous.

 

outrageous [aʊtˋredʒəs] adj. 可憎的；可耻的；粗暴的；无法无天的

 

20:09 Shark sighting forces closure of popular beach in New York City

 

In New York City tonight, shark sightings repeatedly forcing parts of a popular beach to close. Drones spotting a shark just off Rockaway Beach in Queens today.

 

Multiple sightings, in fact, forcing swimmers out of the water over the holiday weekend. When we come back here in Texas, the bravery of the children here.

 

20:26 David Muir shares some of the powerful images after the deadly Texas flooding

 

Before we go, the heart of the people here, the search and rescue operations, dedicated first responders not giving up, volunteers, children delivering supplies, and amid the destruction, the Texas state flag.

 

Our thoughts are with all of the families here. I'm David Muir. Good night.

 

thought [θɔt] n. 关怀; 关心

 

Thank you for making World News Tonight with David Muir, America's most watched newscast.