On July 4, amidst the devastating floods that swept through Texas, two young camp counselors—Silvana Garza Valdez, 20, and Maria Paula Zarate, 19—showed extraordinary courage and quick thinking at Camp Mystic.
As floodwaters rose rapidly around the camp, Silvana and Maria found themselves in a life-or-death situation. When evacuees began arriving at a nearby branch, the two counselors took an unusual but vital step: they wrote their own names on their arms, preparing for the worst in case they were swept away. But their bravery didn’t stop there. They carefully wrote the names of each girl under their care on their own arms in clear, visible spots to help with identification if disaster struck.
While parts of the camp were on higher ground, others lay dangerously low, forcing everyone into a frantic fight for safety. Through their calm leadership and selflessness, Silvana and Maria helped save 20 young girls amid the chaos.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, the counselors did their best to keep spirits up. “We tried to stay strong and put on a ‘happy face’ to keep the girls calm as we prepared for evacuation,” Silvana recalled.
“At the time, we were preparing because we thought we would be evacuated too,” Maria said in an interview with the New York Post. “We told the girls to pack a bag with their favorite stuffed animals. We didn’t know what was going to happen. We were just waiting.”
The scene was heartbreaking. “Some of the girls started to panic, crying because they didn’t want to leave. Others were asking for their parents. It was something awful — I don’t know how else to explain it,” Silvana said.
Tragically, Camp Mystic suffered devastating losses: at least 27 campers and counselors have been confirmed dead, and 11 remain missing. But thanks to the bravery of Silvana and Maria, many lives were saved that day.
The campers and counselors were eventually rescued from their precarious location, but the full weight of the tragedy only became clear afterward.
In the devastating Central Texas floods, more than 100 lives have been confirmed lost, with emergency crews tirelessly continuing their search for dozens still missing. Even four days later, search-and-rescue teams pressed on along the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas, holding onto hope as they combed the flood-ravaged terrain.