Latest news with #CampaignForCampSafety
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Texas parents who lost children in Camp Mystic flooding to speak at hearing
The parents of children who were among the 27 killed at Camp Mystic on Texas' Guadalupe River during the historic Fourth of July flash flooding that devastated the Hill Country region are scheduled to testify on Wednesday before a state legislative committee probing the disaster. A coalition of Camp Mystic parents are slated to testify before the Texas Senate Disaster Preparedness and Flooding Select Committee which is considering reforms to increase safety at youth camps across the state. "Our children's lives were cut short because the safeguards in place were not enough," the Campaign for Camp Safety, a group that includes the Camp Mystic parents, said in a statement released this week ahead of Wednesday's hearing. "We are asking lawmakers to make sure no other family ever has to endure the pain we have lived with every day since July 4th." The parents testifying on Wednesday are expected to make suggestions on how to improve camp safety along the Guadalupe River. In its statement, the group said they want lawmakers to require campgrounds in a 100-year floodplain like Camp Mystic to equip cabins with emergency rooftop ladders and develop flash flood evacuation plans. "The families emphasized that while they continue to grieve, they are committed to turning their pain into meaningful and urgent change for all kids, on behalf of their angels they now refer to as 'Heaven's 27,'" the Campaign for Camp Safety said in its statement. MORE: Texas flooding victims: From young campers to a dad saving his family, what we know about the lives lost Camp Mystic, one of 19 youth summer camps on the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas, was devastated on July 4 when torrential rains fell over a short amount of time, causing the river to overflow in the early morning hours of July 4, trapping many campers in their cabins. Officials in hard-hit Kerr County, where Camp Mystic is located, said that more than 12 inches of rain fell in under 6 hours, and that the Guadalupe River rose more than 20 feet per hour during the storm. At least 130 people were killed in flash flooding across the Hill Country region, including 117 in Kerr County, officials said. During an Aug. 1 hearing of the Texas House and Senate Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, the Kerr County emergency management director conceded that he was sick and asleep as the water rose to historic levels on the Guadalupe River. MORE: Kerr County, Texas, lead emergency management official says he was asleep during deadly flooding Other Kerr County officials testified that an inadequate flash-flood warning system upstream contributed to the disaster. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly testified that in the aftermath of the flooding, the county commissioned an independent hydrology study that confirmed the July weather event was a 1,000-year flood. MORE: Texas flooding timeline: How rapidly rising waters killed dozens "By the time flooding became visible downstream, upstream communities, including multiple youth camps, were already under water," Kelly said. When committee members asked Kelly why an evacuation order was not issued, he said, "It was too late."
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Parents of Camp Mystic flooding victims testifying at the Texas Capitol in Austin
Parents of young girls who died in last month's flooding in Texas Hill Country are in Austin this Wednesday to testify about proposed flood safety legislation for camps and campgrounds. Wednesday's hearing will be the first time parents of the victims will speak to the Legislature publically. Last week they met in private with Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows at the Texas Capitol and the Governor's Mansion. 27 girls died early on the morning of July 4, when their cabins were inundated with floodwaters. The parents are members of a group called the Campaign for Camp Safety, which was formed after the devastating flooding to advocate for an investigation into what happened, as well as policy reforms. Their initial recommendations include: Wednesday's meeting of the Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding is the public hearing for Senate Bill 1, which covers safety for both youth camps and campgrounds. According to the bill's author, it incorporates significant feedback from the families of children lost at Camp Mystic. The legislation includes stricter permitting requirements for summer camps; they would no longer be able to operate with cabins located in a 100-year floodplain. Camp Mystic not only had cabins in the 100-year floodplain, but a handful of others were in a regulatory floodway, even closer to the river. Camps will also need to have safety plans approved by the state, hold trainings for staff and volunteers and procedures to communicate with emergency responders, local authorities and parents.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Camp Mystic families push Texas leaders for sweeping camp safety reforms after deadly floods
Families of the 27 girls who died while attending Camp Mystic during July's catastrophic Central Texas floods are urging state leaders to enact comprehensive reforms to improve safety at youth camps across Texas. On Thursday, the parents — who are not currently granting interviews — met with Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows at the Texas Capitol and the Governor's Mansion. Their effort, known as the "Campaign for Camp Safety," calls for an investigation into the Camp Mystic tragedy and the next special legislative session to focus on camp safety. Initial reform recommendations include: According to the coalition, Abbott, Patrick and Burrows have pledged to take action. "Our children's deaths cannot be in vain," a Campaign for Camp Safety spokesperson said in a news release. "We are here to make sure no other parent in Texas gets that phone call – the one that changes everything, but that could have been prevented." The families of the children, who have been labeled "Heaven's 27," have vowed to continue raising awareness and pushing for legislative change until "meaningful, lasting changes are passed into law."
