'American Hero' From NJ Saves More Than 160 People From Deadly TX Flooding: Reports

A man from New Jersey is being honored as a hero after sources say he saved more than 160 people from the deadly flooding in Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend.

According to Newsweek, Scott Ruskan, 26 of Warren County, is a Petty Officer with the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Corpus Christi, TX who was in charge of triage at Camp Mystic. The summer camp housing 700 teen girls and children was among the hardest hit areas at the time the flash flood erupted in the Guadalupe River outside of San Antonio on July 4.

Ruskan, a rescue swimmer, leaped to action after the agency was called in to help with the emergency rapid response along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Air National Guard, and Texas Task Force 1 (a FEMA urban search and rescue task force). On the morning of July 4, a helicopter search and rescue team formed into Blackhawk 60 and Coast Guard MH-65 choppers and headed to the campsite.

According to the New York Post, helicopter evacuation was considered the only real hope to save any survivors, due to impassable roads and strong currents hindering any boat activity.

“My main job was triaging, and then my second job I kind of picked up was just trying to comfort these kids and the family members and counselors,” Ruskan told the Post. “I mean this is like, probably the worst day of their life. They’re in a terrible situation, they have friends and family unaccounted for, missing, unknown status, and they’re looking to me and all the rescuers for guidance and comfort.”

Ruskan, a former KPMG accountant from Oxford, New Jersey who ran track at Rider University, told the Post, "This is why we do the job...I feel like we did a lot of good that day, but obviously it's still super sad. There's still a lot of people missing and unaccounted for, so the mission's not over yet. It's not over for us."

On the first rescue mission of his career, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he "directly saved an astonishing 165 victims," saying, "his selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the US Coast Guard."

As of Monday afternoon, more than 80 people have died as a result of flooding that caused the Guadalupe River to rise by more than 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes on the morning of July 4. Of these 82 people who died, 27 of the victims were campers and counselors from the all-girls Christian summer camp, according to the AP.

At least 28 children in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic is located, have been confirmed dead according to AP reporting of a statement from Sheriff Larry Leitha. While there are still ten girls and a counselor of Camp Mystic unaccounted for, the number of those missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region has not been released.

The Texas Hill Country area of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain slide along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods began with a bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that heightened the potential of torrential damage and a severe threat to human life.

President Donald Trump has since approved a "Major Disaster Declaration" for Kerr County, the hardest hit area of Texas. Multiple local, state and federal agencies are collaborating on the search and rescue operations.

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.