The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs football team, Clark Hunt, is grieving the loss of a young cousin who perished in the fatal floods over the Fourth Of July weekend in central Texas.
Media say 9-year-old Janie Hunt was the great-granddaughter of the late oil baron, William Herbert Hunt, who was the brother of Clark Hunt’s father.
Now, the matriarch of the family, Tavia Hunt, is breaking her silence on their devastating loss.
“You may not feel ready to trust God again,” Tavia Hunt leans on her faith
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Clark Hunt’s wife Tavia Hunt took to social media over the weekend to express her and her family’s utter grief.
She wrote in a lengthy post about her faith as a Christian and how important it is to remain hopeful, even in the face of unspeakable tragedy.
“Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives-including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend’s little girls,” Tavia wrote.
As a devout Christian, Tavia addressed the seeming contradiction of believing in an omnibenevolent entity while also suffering the painful reality of loss of life.
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“How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen-even to children?” she asked.
She continued: “If your heart is broken, I assure you, god is near.” Tavia explained, according to Christian belief, Jesus also felt the same earthly pain that we feel today. She encouraged people to remember that they’re not alone.
“You may not feel ready to trust God again. That’s ok. Trust grows slowly,” she said, concluding that you “just have to keep bringing Him your hurt each day. That is trust.”
Janie was at Camp Mystic, one of the worst-affected areas
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One of the most devastating areas of the July 4th disaster involves Camp Mystic, whose cabins and facilities sit right along the river’s banks.
Clark Hunt’s relative Janie was a camper there, one of the handful whose body has been recovered. The whereabouts of at least 10 others remain unknown.
Another victim from the camp was Dick Eastland, the camp owner and manager who perished while trying to save some of the campers.
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His family has owned and operated the camp for more than 50 years. Dick Eastland is being remembered as a selfless father figure.
So far, the number of people who lost their lives is 82, but dozens are still missing.
Flash Flood Ally has seen a number of people lose their lives
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The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose star tight end Travis Kelce is famously together with Taylor Swift, did not incur any damages to their property.
Clark and Tavia Hunt, along with their three children, live in Dallas, Texas, which was not affected by the flood.
But it is part of what’s known as Flash Flood Ally, a portion of the state of Texas that is prone to flooding.
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According to an interview in The Conversation with Hatim Sharif, a hydrologist and engineer at the University of Texas, the crescent-shaped strip of land starts with Dallas, then cuts south, southwest through Austin and San Antonio.
“The hills are steep, and the water moves quickly when it floods”, he said, adding that since the soil doesn’t soak up that much water, those creeks can rise quickly.
“When those creeks converge on a river, they can create a surge of water that wipes out homes and washes away cars and, unfortunately, anyone in its path,” Sharif told the publication.
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The region is no stranger to fatalities in flood-related calamities.
In 1987, 10 teenagers, who were also at a camp, perished after the Guadalupe River surged in western Kerr County.
And a mere three weeks ago, 13 people lost their lives after a flash flood in San Antonio swept away cars on an interstate highway ramp.
Aid for those in need includes grants and loans for home-repairs, White House says
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With hope fading, efforts are going from searching for survivors, to recovering the bodies of the missing.
After being declared a federal emergency, U.S. President Trump announced that aid would be made available to those suffering loss.
In a press release, the White House said aid would include “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals recover from the effects of the disaster,”
The president is expected to visit the flood site in Texas sometime this week.
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Netizens react with support and sadness for the victims and the families of the devastating floods in central Texas
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