Latest news with #AmeliaMoore
New York Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- New York Post
Camp Mystic survivors heard screams in the dark as flood waters hit hours earlier than previously thought
Camp Mystic survivors have described hearing the terrifying screams of their fellow campers in the dark as they were swept up in the devastating July 4 Texas floods. The flooding struck around 3 a.m. — much earlier than previously reported, according to the Wall Street Journal. One survivor recounted how counselors told the girls that all of the younger children had been moved to safety beforehand. In reality they were fighting for their lives — and at least 27 were swept away to their deaths. Many of the 650 campers and staffers at Camp Mystic were asleep when, at 1:14 a.m., a flash-flood warning for Kerr County, Texas, with 'catastrophic' potential for loss of life was issued by the National Weather Service. Amelia Moore, 14, one of the older girls at the century-old Christian girls' summer camp, was awakened at around 2 a.m. by a clap of thunder, an hour before the power went out. 7 Campers at Camp Mystic have described hearing the screaming of girls trapped in flooded cabins. Getty Images She could hear screaming coming from the girls in some of the cabins further downhill, directly in the floodway of the Guadalupe River in an area known as the Flats, but was told to ignore it and stay in her cabin, she claimed. 'A lot of counselors had been here for so long they thought it was nothing. So they were like, 'Just stay in the cabin,'' Amelia told the WSJ. But as other girls began to crowd into their cabin, describing how theirs were filling with water, she realized this was not a normal summer storm. 7 A plush toy belonging to a camper found after the flood waters subsided. AFP via Getty Images Eventually, she fell back to sleep, but then awoke at 7 a.m. to find that Senior Hill, where many of the older campers were located, had been cut off by floodwaters and downed trees. They were stuck for hours without food or any way of contacting the outside world, due to Camp Mystic's strict rules on not allowing campers to keep snacks or their cellphones in their cabins. 7 The Post's July 6 front page after the horror in Central Texas. 'We were so hungry. We were starving. As the day goes on, we were like, 'Does anyone have food that they smuggled in? You won't get in trouble. We just need food,'' Amelia recalled. The girls were wrongly told that the younger campers had all been safely taken to another campsite and were fine, although whether this was due to the counselors trying to prevent panic or whether they didn't know the truth is unclear. 7 Flooding was worst in many of the cabins belonging to the younger campers. AFP via Getty Images Campers staying in Chatterbox, one of the cabins in the flatlands housing the youngest campers, were forced to climb through a window and up a rocky hill in the dark, some of them barefoot and still in pajamas, Amelia said. 'This is the part that makes me sick. Because the whole time we were told that the flats were safe and accounted for in Rec Hall. We were told they were playing games in Rec Hall and that they were perfectly fine,' Amelia said. 7 Rescue workers pray amid the desperate search for survivors in Texas. AP 'We should have been a lot more panicked in the situation but we genuinely didn't know that anything was wrong,' she added. Amelia described chaotic scenes in the hours that followed, with the first rescue helicopter not touching down until around 3 p.m., more than 12 hours after the flooding began. 7 Last week's flooding came hours earlier than expected. AFP via Getty Images As the aircraft could only accommodate a few people at a time, the evacuation was painfully slow, and it wasn't clear who was in charge, according to Amelia. 'It was hectic. There were counselors but no one on that hill was over 21 years old,' Amelia said. 7 Campers were wrongly told all the young girls had been moved to safety. AP Tempers flared as new girls arrived and jumped the line, while counselors tried to arrange the order of evacuation from youngest to oldest, Amelia said. Organizers of the camp did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
How the Tragedy at Camp Mystic Unfolded, Cabin by Cabin
The power died around 3 a.m. Amelia Moore, 14, had been awakened about an hour earlier by a clap of thunder so near that it shook her cabin at Camp Mystic. There were screams in the night. She and her friends in 'Angel's Attic' were growing anxious.
Boston Globe
12-05-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Academic freedom is essential to URI's statewide impact, and Rhode Island's progress
'The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society.' We - three University of Rhode Island professors - are writing in support of these freedoms to explain how higher education — and URI in particular — contributes to the state in many different ways. Advertisement URI, the state's flagship public university, is more than a place of learning. With 17,000 students and over 120,000 alumni , it has become a statewide center of discovery and progress — impacting areas from health care to engineering, business and environmental conservation. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up As a land and sea grant institution, URI is protecting Rhode Island's natural resources so that future generations can inherit a healthy environment. Each day, our students and scientists contribute to the sustainable growth of the state's Advertisement URI's impact extends to public health. The Colleges of Our College of Our College of Higher education is also a major economic force. Rhode Island's colleges and universities contribute Our growing national reputation reflects these achievements. The Advertisement Rhode Islanders need to know that this progress is possible because of academic freedom — our ability to teach, research, and collaborate based on scholarly merit and public need. URI faculty, students, and staff live in the communities where we work. We engage directly with residents, schools, hospitals, corporations, and government agencies to ensure our work responds to the real-world needs of Rhode Islanders. Our research is rooted in service to the state. We provide value across every district and municipality, but we can only continue this work if we are free to explore the facts, test ideas, and to galvanize truth through debate. A dynamic, responsive economy depends on the unrestricted exchange of ideas and evidence. As URI professors, we urge our fellow Rhode Islanders, the business community, and elected leaders to stand with us in defending higher education and the values that sustain it. Brice Loose, Amelia Moore, and Koray Ozpolat are professors of oceanography, marine affairs, and supply chain management, respectively, at the University of Rhode Island.
