HUNT, Texas (AP) 鈥 Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic鈥檚 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 鈥減rocedures to be implemented in case of a disaster.鈥 Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counselor.
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鈥檚 preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in flood-prone Texas Hill Country.
The 春色直播 Weather Service had issued a flood watch for the area on July 3 at 1:18 p.m. That danger prompted at least one of the roughly 18 camps along the Guadalupe River to move dozens of campers to higher ground.
The uncertainty about what happened at Mystic comes as local officials have about who was monitoring the weather and what measures were taken ahead of the flooding.
Tragedy falls on the historic camp
Camp Mystic, established in 1926, did not evacuate 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鈥檚 edge. Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
At least 27 campers and counselors died during the floods, and officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counselor have still not been found. Among the dead was Richard 鈥淒ick鈥 Eastland, the camp's beloved director described by campers as a father figure.
Charlotte Lauten, 19, spent nine summers at Camp Mystic, mostly recently in 2023. She said she didn't recall ever receiving instructions as a camper on what do in the case of a weather emergency.
鈥淚 do know that the counselors go through orientation training for a week before camp starts," she said. "They do brief them on all those types of things.鈥
One thing that likely hindered the girls' ability to escape was how dark it would have been, Lauten said. Campers don鈥檛 have access to their phones while at camp, she said, adding they wouldn鈥檛 have cell service anyway because of the remote location.
鈥淭his is the middle of nowhere and they didn鈥檛 have power," she said. 鈥淚t would have been pitch black, like could not see 5 feet in front of you type of darkness. I鈥檝e never seen stars like there because there鈥檚 just no light.鈥
Inspections found no issues
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.
鈥淲e do not have them,鈥 Anton wrote in an email. 鈥淵ou'd have to get it from the camp.鈥
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 鈥渋n communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls.鈥
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 鈥渞aise health and safety standards鈥 for summer camps. Leaders of that association didn鈥檛 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 鈥渢he only nationwide accrediting organization for all year-round and summer camps.鈥
Authorities review rain and river gauges
One rain gauge about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Camp Mystic recorded 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) of precipitation July 4, according to Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority data. Another of the agency鈥檚 gauges 鈥 further south and to the west 鈥 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 春色直播 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 鈥渄isastrous life-threatening flooding,鈥 which could cover the roads of the lowest camps and resorts, according to NOAA.
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This story has been updated to correct that the rain gauge that recorded 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) of precipitation was about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Camp Mystic, not 1,500 feet (460 meters).
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Mustian reported from Miami, Keller from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Foley from Iowa City, Iowa. Associated Press reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.
