Where is Camp Mystic, the Christian girls camp hit by flooding in Texas?
More than 750 girls were at the camp, which is located along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, where rain of up to 12 inches an hour fell, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a press conference Friday afternoon. Flash flooding occurred as river waters rose 29 feet rapidly near the camp, officials said. At the time, about 20 girls were missing, Patrick said.
Parents and relatives have been posting on social media as they have learned about the deaths of young family members who had been attending the camp. At least three girls have died, based on reports from family members.
Live updates: Texas flooding death toll rises to 27; children among the dead
Camp Mystic for Girls was founded in 1926 by Edward "Doc" Stewart, who was the football and men's basketball coach at the University of Texas, according to an Internet Archive's capture of the camp's website (much of the site was overwhelmed with traffic on Saturday).
The camp has been in operation since then. However, during World War II it served as a "rehabilitation and recovery camp for army air corps veterans," according to the site.
"Campers and counselors join together to sing songs, listen to scripture, discover ways to grow spiritually, and learn to apply these lessons to their daily life at camp and back home," according to the site. Religious activities include: Bible studies, Saturday evening Catholic Mass, Sunday morning devotionals along the river, Sunday evening Vespers services, and, once during each two-week or four-week term, a sunrise communion service.
Other activities include cooking, dance, basketball, horseback riding, lacrosse, swimming, soccer and yoga.
Camp Mystic for Girls, is in Texas, about six miles south of Hunt, Texas, in Kerr County. That's within Texas Hill Country, about 80 miles northwest of San Antonio.
The original camp and a second camp, opened in 2020 near Cypress Lake, is bisected by Cypress Creek.
YouTube videos show the camp facilities nestled within the tree-filled landscape at the two camps, one along the Guadalupe River and the newer camp near Cypress Lake.
Contributing: Reuters
Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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Los Angeles Times
31 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Girls camp grieves loss of 27 campers and counselors in Texas floods that killed nearly 90 people
KERRVILLE, Texas — Crews trudged through debris and waded into swollen riverbanks Monday in the search for victims of catastrophic flooding over the July Fourth weekend that has killed nearly 90 people in Texas, including more than two dozen campers and counselors from an all-girls Christian camp. With additional rain on the way, the risk of more flooding was still high in saturated parts of central Texas. Authorities said the death toll was sure to rise as crews looked for the many people who were still missing. Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said Monday that they lost 27 campers and counselors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River. 'We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls,' the camp said in a statement. Authorities said Monday that 10 girls and a counselor from the camp remain missing. In the Hill Country area, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Twelve other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials. The floods, among the nation's worst in decades, swept away people sleeping in tents, cabins and homes along the river Friday in the middle of the night. Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her. 'Then they were able to reach their tool shed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their tool shed, and they all rode it out together,' Brown said. A few miles away, rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes kept up the search for the missing. Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. Families were allowed to look around Camp Mystic beginning Sunday morning. A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks. One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage. Crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river. With each passing hour, the prospect of finding more survivors dimmed. Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area said Monday that more than 1,000 volunteers had been directed to an area of hard-hit Kerr County. Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday. 'It's a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible,' he told reporters. Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics, praying the water wouldn't reach them. At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at the camp, and the director of another camp up the road. Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing Sunday after their cabin was swept away. Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe, but the girls' grandparents were unaccounted for. On Thursday the National Weather Service advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying the public of imminent danger. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months of rain for the area. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said authorities are committed to a full review of the emergency response. Trump, asked whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that was something 'we can talk about later, but right now we are busy working.' He has said he wants to overhaul if not completely eliminate FEMA and has sharply criticized its performance. Trump said he doesn't plan to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending cuts. 'This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people there, and they didn't see it,' the president said. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said recent cuts to FEMA and the National Weather Service did not delay warnings ahead of the flood. 'This is not a time for partisan finger pointing and attacks,' he said. 'There will be a time to find out what could been done differently. My hope is in time we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood.' Vertuno and Seewer write for the Associated Press. Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Contributing to this report were AP writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn.; Cedar Attanasio in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; and Michelle Price in Morristown, N.J.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Fatal Texas floods spark forecast scrutiny
Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here It's Monday. Welcome back from the long weekend. The holiday has been irrevocably changed due to the devastating flooding in Texas. In today's issue: At least 81 people, including 28 children, have died after catastrophic flash flooding in Texas on the Fourth of July. Camp Mystic, a Christian children's camp, confirmed that 27 campers and counselors died, calling it an 'unimaginable tragedy.' A dozen people from the camp, including 11 campers and one counselor, are still unaccounted for, according to the sheriff's office. What happened?: Heavy rain dumped more than a month's worth of rain in parts of Texas, causing the Guadalupe River to surge more than 26 feet in less than an hour. This washed away areas along the river, including part of a children's camp. Rescuers are still frantically searching for survivors. But search crews are up against time and aware their window is closing. President Trump has signed a disaster declaration to ramp up resources for the situation. The deadly flash flooding has raised questions about preparing for these types of weather events, as well as warning the public. Some have pointed fingers at the Trump administration's cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) for underestimating the fatal event. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) suggested that the NWS cuts should be investigated. Keep in mind the NWS has defended its forecast. And the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) slammed 'the mainstream media' for 'deliberately lying about the events leading up to the catastrophic flooding in Texas.' The DHS then posted its timeline of its forecasting. 🔎 Read DHS's timeline What we know about the warning, per ABC News: The first flood watch alert was issued Thursday afternoon. An urgent warning was issued around 4 a.m. 'Local officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area.' The looming questions, per CNN: 'The National Weather Service warned of 'life-threatening flooding' along the river in a series of alerts in the early morning hours. But questions remain about how many people they reached, whether critical vacancies at the forecast offices could have affected warning dissemination, and if so-called warning fatigue had been growing among residents in a region described as one of the most dangerous in the country for flash flooding.' ➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: This time-lapse is terrifying: AccuWeather posted a 📹 video time lapse of the water levels rapidly rising. This man is a hero: Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin helped save 165 people from the floods. He spoke with The New York Times about his experience. He also 📹told his story on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' 📸Photos of Camp Mystic The rescue efforts have been incredible: CBS News 📹posted video of a Coast Guard helicopter airlifting people from the roof of a motorhome. Two sisters rescused an 8-year-old who had floated 6 miles from Camp Mystic: The sisters 📹spoke with 'CBS Mornings.' 🗺️ Map of the flash flooding fatalities A woman says her family survived by climbing a tree: She detailed her experience to Nexstar's KXAN. Former first lady Laura Bush was once a counselor at Camp Mystic: Jenna Bush Hager of NBC's 'Today,' reacted to the fatal flooding. She talked about the 100-year-old camp and how her mom was a counselor. 📹 Watch ^ And CNN's Pamela Brown attended the camp: She reported live from the camp this weekend and reminisced about her time at the camp. ➤ TEXAS IS BRACING FOR MORE RAIN: KXAN reports there are flood watches issued for central Texas today. ➤ NORTH CAROLINA IS ALSO GETTING PUMMELED: Tropical Depression Chantal passed through North Carolina last night, dumping heavy rain and causing flash flooding. Roughly 80 people have been rescued by boat, per CBS 17 News. ➤ RELATED READS: Time: Experts Question If Weather Service Was Operating at Its Best Ahead of Texas Floods Amid Trump's Cuts The Washington Post: How the cataclysmic Texas floods unfolded, minute by minute NPR: How good was the forecast? 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(All times EST) 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 4 p.m.: Trump signs executive orders. 6:30 p.m.: Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House. 🍝 Celebrate: Today is National Macaroni Day. 🦫 I came out of Buc-ee's with both claustrophobia and some excellent snacks: The mega convenience store and gas station with a cult following is expanding. Here's a list of where it is planning to expand And to keep the holiday vibes going, check out this French bulldog's shimmy.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
New flood alert issued in central Texas for already flooded areas
(NewsNation) — The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a new flash flood watch for central Texas through 7 p.m. local time Monday, covering areas already hit by heavy flooding. The watch covers Llano, Burnet, Williamson, Edwards, Real, Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Blanco, Hays, Travis, Bastrop, Lee, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Comar, Guadalupe and Caldwell counties, along with parts of Hill County. A flood watch indicates that conditions are conducive to possible flooding, but it does not mean flooding has already begun. Slow-moving heavy rains overnight and throughout Monday could lead to flash floods, with the NWS saying it is difficult to pinpoint the exact areas where heavier rainfall will occur. The affected area could see two to four inches of additional rainfall with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches. Any heavy rainfall in the already hard-hit areas will lead to rapid runoff and flash flooding. Kerr County is already dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic flooding after the Guadalupe River rose 26 in 45 minutes in the early morning hours of Friday. Nearby counties have also suffered flooding, including an area that is home to several summer camps. At least 82 people have died in the floods, including 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp. That number is expected to rise as rescue and recovery efforts continue and more rain threatens the area.
