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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Climate
- Business Standard
Texas inspectors cleared Camp Mystic's disaster plan 2 days before flood
Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic's emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children. The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster. Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counsellor. Five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press do not offer any details of those plans at Mystic, raising new questions about the camp's preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in flood-prone Texas Hill Country. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch for the area on July 3 at 1.18 pm. That danger prompted at least one of the roughly 18 camps along the Guadalupe River to move dozens of campers to higher ground. Camp Mystic, established in 1926, did not do that and was especially hard hit when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes in the early morning hours of the disaster. Flooding on that stretch of the Guadalupe starts at about 10 feet (3 meters). A wall of water overwhelmed people in cabins, tents and trailers along the river's edge. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. The uncertainty about what happened at Mystic comes as local officials have repeatedly dodged questions about who was monitoring the weather and what measures were taken ahead of the flooding. At least 27 campers and counsellors died during the floods, and officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counsellor have still not been found. Among the dead was Richard Dick Eastland, the camp's beloved director described by campers as a father figure. The potential for heavy rains had put precautions in motion as the state activated an emergency response plan and moved resources into the central Texas area. The state inspected Camp Mystic on July 2, the same day the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources ahead of the anticipated flooding. The inspection found no deficiencies or violations at the camp in a long list of health and safety criteria. The camp had 557 campers and more than 100 staffers at the time between its Guadalupe and Cypress Lake locations. The disaster plans are required to be posted in all camp buildings but aren't filed with the state, said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. We do not have them, Anton wrote in an email. You'd have to get it from the camp. Camp Mystic did not respond to requests for comment on its emergency plan. In a statement on its website, the camp said it has been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls. Camp Mystic notes that it is licensed by the state and a member of the Camping Association for Mutual Progress, which says its goal is to raise health and safety standards for summer camps. Leaders of that association didn't return messages. The American Camp Association said Tuesday that Camp Mystic is not accredited with that organization, whose standards focus on safety and risk management. Spokesperson Lauren McMillin declined to say whether the camp previously had been accredited with the association, which describes itself as the only nationwide accrediting organization for all year-round and summer camps. One rain gauge located about 1,500 feet (460 meters) from Camp Mystic recorded 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) of precipitation July 4, according to Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority data. Another of the agency's gauges further south and to the west recorded 12.2 inches (31 centimeters) of precipitation. The authority told the AP that a review of its equipment found both were functioning during the flood event. However, at least four United States Geological Survey gauges along the Guadalupe River experienced some level of failure July 4. The gauges, located near Hunt and Kerrville, stopped collecting both river levels and the flow rate of water in the early morning hours of July 4. One gauge, about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) east of Hunt and 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of Camp Mystic, recorded a level of 29.5 feet (9 meters) at 4:35 a.m. on July 4, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. It was the last recorded river level from the instrumentation until a USGS hydrologist installed a temporary gauge. At the time, the hydrologist measured the high water mark at 37.52 feet (11.44 meters), a preliminary estimate that could change. At that location, a river level of 32 feet (9.75 meters) could lead to disastrous life-threatening flooding, which could cover the roads of the lowest camps and resorts, according to NOAA.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Texas flooding victims: What we know about those who lost their lives
(NewsNation) — The Fourth of July weekend flash flooding on the Guadalupe River in Central Texas killed dozens of victims on Friday, including children. As rescuers desperately search for dozens more still missing, this is what we know about those who lost their lives. At least 79 dead in Texas as Abbott warns of new flooding threat Jane Ragsdale, 68, was director of Heart O' the Hills Camp in Hunt. It was one of the summer camps in hard-hit Kerr County that was in the path of flood waters. The camp was between sessions and did not have children present, but Ragsdale perished, Heart O' the Hills said in a Facebook post. 'Jane wasn't just our director, she was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important. Her kindness, strength, and wisdom shaped generations of campers and staff,' the camp said. Sarah Marsh, 8, of Mountain Brook, Ala., was a camper at Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp near Hunt, Texas, along the Guadalupe River. The mayor of Mountain Brook announced the girl's passing in a Facebook message, saying, 'This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community. Camp Mystic owner Richard Dick Eastland, who was in his 70s, died while attempting to rescue campers as flood waters overtook the riverfront property, according to multiple media reports. 'It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,' former camper and longtime friend Paige Sumner wrote in the Kerrville Daily Times. 'He had already saved so many lives with the gift of Camp Mystic.' Linnie McCown of Austin, a student at Casis Elementary School, was another camper who did not survive the flooding at Camp Mystic. 'It's with the heaviest of hearts we must share that our sweet little Linnie is with the Lord in heaven,' her father, Michael McCown, said on Instagram. 'She filled our hearts with so much joy we cannot begin to explain.' The family of Camp Mystic attendee Lila Bonner confirmed to KXAN-TV over the weekend she was among those killed in the flooding. In a statement, the Dallas girl's family said, 'We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.' Sisters Blair and Brooke Harber had been staying alongside the Guadalupe River when their cabin was swept away, according to their school, St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas. The girls had not been staying at Camp Mystic but at a different location in the area. Blair was 13 and Brooke was 11. Their parents, who were staying in a different cabin, were safe, but the girls' grandparents were unaccounted for. 'This tragedy has touched every corner of our hearts,' the church said in a statement Sunday. Ingram resident Julian Ryan, 27, died while trying to evacuate his family from their home near the Guadalupe River during the flash flooding. His fiancé, Christina Wilson, says Ryan cut his arm when he punched out a window so that she and her children and mother could escape. His body was recovered after flood waters receded, she said. An online fundraiser has been launched to assist his survivors. Tanya Burwick, 62, went missing as she went to work early Friday at a Walmart near San Angelo, which is in Tom Green County, another jurisdiction hit by flash floods. Police found her submerged SUV later in the day, but not her body until the following morning, blocks from the vehicle. 'We ask that the public continue to keep the Burwick family in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this heartbreaking tragedy,' the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
