A father of three who sacrificed himself to save his family from the Texas flash floods told them, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love y’all.’
Julian Ryan, 27, died after the Guadalupe River in central Texas rose 30 feet and flooded into his family’s home.
At least 51 people including 15 children have died in the flash floods that have swept through Kerr County in central Texas.
Ryan’s fiancée, Christina Wilson, said she and her family had been sleeping when the water in their home rose to knee-level in ’20 minutes’.
‘We ran back into the room and we started calling 911, but the water just kept coming. We had no choice but to get out,’ she said.
In a bid to save his family, Ryan punched a window to help his partner, three children, and his mum reach the roof – but sliced open his arm in the process.
Ryan severed an artery and nearly cut his arm off. Emergency responders weren’t able to reach the family in time, and he died of his injuries hours later.
Wilson added: ‘He looked at me, the kids, and his mother and said, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love y’all.’
Search and rescue operations are continuing in ‘harsh’ terrain after the Guadalupe River rose overnight Thursday and devastated several towns.
At least 27 children are still missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer camp which is located on the river.
Emergency services have evacuated more than 850 uninjured people and eight injured people, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday afternoon.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr said that ‘it will be a hard day’ as he outlined how people ‘from across the state and the world’ can help via following the city’s Facebook page.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed that authorities would work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded.
He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state: ‘I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday – for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines.
Authorities were coming under scrutiny about whether the camps and residents in places long vulnerable to flooding had received proper warning and whether enough preparations were made.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
