HUNT, Texas – Like many Hill Country residents, Christian Fell didn’t get much sleep on Friday morning.
He fell asleep around 1 a.m., but the sound of thunder awakened him again two hours later.
“Originally, I thought someone broke into the house because I had no idea there was going to be a storm, or even, like, a flood,” Fell told KSAT on Sunday. “So, when I got up to go look and see what was going on, my feet hit the floor, and there was water up to my ankles, at that point.”
He grabbed a flashlight and walked into the living room. Fell saw the front porch ripped apart and water rushing towards him.
He said he then called his mother, who told them to find higher ground.
“By that point, everything was floating. There was nothing to get on top of,” Fell said. “So, I had to swim through a window and hold on to the meter box outside of the house.”
Fell said he stood on the metal box for nearly three hours.
“It wasn’t until I saw the police officer walking on the street when I realized the water had lowered enough where I could climb down,” Fell said.
As of Sunday evening, Kerr County officials said 68 people, including 28 children, were killed in connection with the deadly Hill Country flood.
According to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, deputies said they found two more bodies in their search and rescue mission.
Fell said he had only one thing on his mind while he stood on the metal box.
“I need to survive,” Fell said. “There’s nothing really else that I’m thinking about. After I got off the phone with 911 for the last time, I kind of realized that I needed to save myself.”
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