As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort — a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out.

In one of the deadliest floods in Texas history, a mother's worst fears turned into grateful tears when she reunited with her two sons after they survived a harrowing experience at a camp near the Guadalupe River.