Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan is being hailed as a hero after saving 165 people during his first-ever mission amid deadly Texas floods, earning praise from the White House and DHS for his bravery.

The team deployed around 7 a.m. Friday from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south of where the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, had risen from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet. Floodwaters in the area had swept through and battered several youth camps on the river banks — including Camp Mystic, the summer camp where they were headed.