July 17, 1987, is a day forever ingrained in his memory. At the time, he was an assistant pastor at a Mesquite church, leading a group of teens at the Pot O' Gold Christian camp near Comfort, Texas. Early that morning, they were told they'd need to evacuate because of the risk of flooding from the Guadalupe River.

Before help could arrive, Texans in hard-hit areas said they tried to save themselves from the deadly floodwaters.

Eyewitness Tonia Fucci recounted the destruction that followed deadly floods in Comfort, central Texas, near the Guadalupe River on July 4.

The heavy rain that turned a river in Texas into a raging wall of water was fueled by unique atmospheric conditions, according to meteorologists and climate scientists.

A combination of steep terrain, shallow soil and a moisture-laden weather system that stalled over the Texas Hill Country caused the flash floods that killed at least 79 people Friday. The weather system that caused the flooding was fueled by moist air from the coastal plain that swept up the Hill Country’s steep cliffs,