His mother and stepfather evacuated from their home only to return to find a body in the trees
NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky has spent his career in the field covering disasters, but on Friday, July 4, the tragedy hit close to home.
Chesky, 39, tells PEOPLE he awoke at his home in Los Angeles to numerous text messages asking if his family in Kerrville, Texas, was okay amidst the devastating flooding. After confirming that his mom and stepdad were safe, he rushed to his hometown.
"When I arrived here, having covered disasters for many years at this point, it didn't take long to realize that despite the countless disasters I've covered, witnessing one in your own hometown is like seeing a tragedy for the first time," Chesky says. "And it hits in a personal way that you can't shake because there's no level of separation."
Calling the disastrous flooding of the Guadalupe River "essentially the worst tragedy in my lifetime in my hometown," Chesky adds, "As painful as this is to witness, there's no other place on the planet I'd rather be than right here alongside these folks trying to wrap their heads around this and take one step forward at a time."
The reporter and Here's the Scoop podcast co-host says he arrived in Texas with the goal of putting "people first."
"Put the people first in this story and the rest will take care of itself," he explains. "And I think so far we've done that. And we've let the strong folks of the Texas Hill Country share their heartbreak but also share their strength that they're finding as a result of this very much ongoing tragedy. And I take pride in seeing that resilience."
Witnessing resilience of survivors is nothing new for Chesky, but witnessing it where he grew up has been a completely different experience.
"I'm always struck by the resilience of people that rise to the occasion following a tragedy, but this time, I know the people and that changes everything," he says. "That sense of grief and grit is being felt, and it also lets me know that as tough as this moment is, this town, these people, they're gonna get through this."
In an interview for NBC News, Chesky's mother, Karen, and his stepdad, Michael, recounted waking up at 4 a.m. on the morning of July 4th to the weather system's alert of potential flooding. The correspondent tells PEOPLE that Kerrville natives are very aware of what the Guadalupe River is capable of.
"There were those times when I was a boy that my dad would take me to the river's edge from a safe distance, and we would just kind of look upon this river that turned torrent and you'd see debris coming by and even as a young kid, you'd see the power behind the water," he shares.
Chesky continues, "Somebody asked me what it was like growing up near the Guadalupe River, and I kind of feel like it was like growing up near a volcano. For 99.9% of the time, it was peaceful, quiet, beautiful, in a way, but it’s that 1% or less that things can get really bad really fast."
Karen told NBC News that when she looked out her window at 4 a.m. the river wasn’t flooding. But less than an hour later, she began to hear “a roar” and “a rumble” in her kitchen. Chesky says his mom told him the river had risen 30 ft. in less than an hour.
“That’s when she and my stepfather, Michael, realized that this was unlike any other flood that they had seen,” Chesky says. “She started packing up stuff, he started running down to these RV pads where there were trailers there, and started banging on doors saying, ‘The river’s coming up, the river’s coming up, you’ve gotta get out of here.’ ”
In the three to four minutes it took Michael to wake and warn his neighbors, he said the water went from being at his ankles to rising to his knees.
“He went back to the house grabbed my mom and they got out of here thank God,” Chesky says.
The reporter adds that one couple from the trailers returned after the rain stopped and told Michael,“You saved our life and we can’t thank you enough.”
Due to the nature of the disaster, Chesky’s mom and stepdad were able to return to their home later in the day on July 4th. The water had only come up to their door, but others weren’t as lucky.
“Michael started walking down the street to get a better look at what was left behind and that’s when he stumbled upon what will stick with him forever -- the body of a young girl wrapped around a tree,”Chesky says.“So he contacted authorities and that one instance is tragic enough,but to hear that’s happening over and over and over again just breaks your heart.”
Chesky admits that remaining composed while covering these tragedies has been a challenge for him, especially as the father of a 2-year-old daughter, Eleanor.
“I mean for the first time in my life when my mother told me the girls at [Camp] Mystic were missing,I broke down at my house in L.A.,”he shares,noting that his grandmother was a camper at the popular local camp.“And it wasn’t because I knew any of those girls at that camp.It was because my daughter Eleanor was sleeping still one room over,and I put myself in the place of those parents.
“Being a father has changed the way in which I view essentially every story I cover now,”Chesky adds.“Everything hits deeper.And every emotion feels a little stronger I think as a result of that.And that’s not a bad thing.”
In addition to Chesky’s coverage of the floods on NBC,the journalist has also been following the story on his podcast,Here’s the Scoop,which covers the news in 15 minutes or less.
For the Monday,July 7 episode,Chesky interviewed his mother Karen,where she detailed her experience.
“I feel like it offers folks here a lot of opportunities to hear what’s really happening,”Chesky says of the podcast.“Too many times you grab a sound bite and you’re out of there.So hearing [my mom] talk about the floods she’s witnessed growing up,her experience escaping this flood,and just sharing a little love together was special.Special thanks to our Here’s the Scoop team for sitting through the tears while I try to share and break down what’s happening here.”