4 days ago
Incredible timelapse shows how Camp Mystic was a sitting duck in high-risk flood zone as death toll hits 129
A striking timelapse shows the Guadalupe River rapidly overtaking Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp where at least 27 children and staff members were killed in the early hours of July 4.
Camp Mystic, which has hosted generations of girls since 1926, sits along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas.
Many of its cabins - including those that housed some of the youngest victims - were constructed within federally designated flood zones and floodways, areas considered so hazardous that construction is typically restricted or prohibited entirely.
Emergency officials now say some of the worst damage occurred in a section of the camp, dubbed 'The Flats,' where cabins were located directly in the river's floodway - the zone typically reserved for fast-moving floodwaters in extreme events.
Anna Serra-Llobet, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in flood risk management, said it was 'problematic' to build a camp that houses children in an area so susceptible to flooding.
'It's like pitching a tent in the highway,' Serra-Llobet told the New York Times. 'It's going to happen, sooner or later - a car is going to come, or a big flood is going to come.'
In 2019, the all-girls camp completed a $5 million expansion, adding new cabins and buildings to accommodate growing demand.
While some of that construction occurred on higher ground, records show that several new buildings were still placed in flood-prone areas - and the original riverfront cabins remained in use.
Despite a long history of deadly floods in the region - including one in 1987 that killed 10 campers at a different site - Kerr County officials approved the expansion.
At the time, flood experts say the camp should have used the opportunity to relocate or elevate vulnerable structures.
'Any time you house large groups of children near a river with a history of flooding, there has to be a serious reassessment of risk,' Hiba Baroud, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate, told the Times. 'In this case, the dangers were well known.'
Kerr County adopted stricter floodway regulations in 2020, stating that such areas pose 'an extremely hazardous' threat to human life. Yet existing cabins at Camp Mystic remained in place.
As storms dumped heavy rain upstream on July 3, local officials received rainfall and river-level data from a network of gauges - a system originally installed after past deadly floods.
Despite years of discussion about upgrading the county's flood alert infrastructure — including better sirens and communication tools — local efforts stalled due to funding shortages and political inaction.
Meanwhile, the camp's riverside buildings remained in daily use.
Baroud said the tragedy at Camp Mystic should serve as a national reminder of the dangers posed by riverfront development in a changing climate.
'These events are devastating, and they're also preventable,' she said.
'We can't keep placing people - especially children - in harm's way and acting surprised when the worst happens.'
However, by the time water began rising around 2am on July 4, most of the campers were asleep and some cabins were quickly overwhelmed, while others were torn completely apart.
Search crews later described finding beds flipped over and belongings swept hundreds of yards downstream.
At least 27 campers and staff died in the flood - all at Camp Mystic.
The statewide death toll from the series of floods that struck Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana has risen to 129.
Camp officials have not responded to repeated requests for comment, however, in a brief statement on their website, the camp wrote: 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly.'
Just two days ahead of the disastrous flood, the Christian girls camp passed a state inspection. Inspectors noted the presence of emergency plans but did not include specifics, the New York Times reported.
Camp Mystic's co-owner and longtime executive director, Dick Eastland, was among those killed in the flooding. In interviews over the years, the property owner had acknowledged the power of the Guadalupe but often emphasized that safety systems were in place.
In 1990, after helping install the river gauge warning system, he reportedly told the Austin American-Statesman: 'The river is beautiful, but you have to respect it.'
State and local officials have launched formal investigations into the camp's preparedness, construction approvals, and emergency procedures.
Legal experts say civil lawsuits are likely as grieving families seek answers about why the camp was allowed to operate in such a high-risk area.
Environmental and safety advocates are now calling for tighter enforcement of floodway building restrictions and better oversight of seasonal camps nationwide.
