Relief groups like Eights Days of Hope (EDOH) had been chomping at the bit to start working in Kerr County, where the floods hit a couple weeks ago, but local authorities asked them to hold back so they did not get in the way of the search for survivors.
But now, EDOH president Steven Tybor says they've finally made it to the banks of the Guadelupe River.
“We have deployed our Rapid Response Division, our heavy equipment, from backhoes to Bobcats, bulldozers, lift trucks. We'll be going into Kerr County to clear off some of the debris along the banks,” Tybor states.
He says they are working at the direction of local authorities, not directly involved with recovery efforts but clearing the way as the search for the missing continues.
A sergeant from the Kerrville police department reported that 60 people from Kerr County are dead with 161 still missing, including one counselor and five campers from Camp Mystic.
He says the heartbreak is everywhere.
“Everyone knows somebody that is missing, or a loved one that has gone through just the worst phone call that you can get. This is the perfect time for the church to be there for people who are hurting that might not know Jesus,” Tybor expresses.
Convoy of Hope is on the ground there too. Vice President Stacy Lamb says they're helping first responders and other victims of the flood.
“Just get emergency supplies in the field as soon as possible: food, water, hygiene kits, baby care items, even cleaning supplies,” Lamb explains.
He, too, has never seen this much heartbreak up close.
“The weightiness, the heaviness of what they're doing, even though it is primarily a recovery effort at this point, unfortunately, it still weighs on them heavily,” Lamb says.
