Texas Inspectors Signed Off on Flood-Prone Summer Camp's Emergency Plan Days Before Tragedy

Summer camps in Texas like Camp Mystic are supposed to have robust emergency plans in place, including procedures for evacuations and assigning specific duties to staff members and counselors. However, 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 that caused catastrophic flooding. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch for the area on July 3 at 1:18 p.m., but Camp Mystic did not take any measures to move campers to higher ground.

Key Takeaways:

• The Texas Department of State Health Services released records showing that Camp Mystic complied with state regulations regarding emergency planning, but inspection reports did not provide any details of the camp's plans.
• The camp had 557 campers and more than 100 staffers at the time of the disaster, with no deficiencies or violations found during an inspection on July 2.
• The camp did not respond to requests for comment on its emergency plan, but stated that it has been in communication with local and state authorities who are searching for missing campers.
• Camp Mystic is a member of the Camping Association for Mutual Progress, which claims to raise health and safety standards for summer camps, but the American Camp Association stated that Mystic is not accredited with the organization.
• The investigation into the cause of the disaster is ongoing, with officials dodging questions about who was monitoring the weather and what measures were taken ahead of the flooding.

Statistics:

• At least 27 campers and counselors died in the floods, with five campers and one counselor still not found.
• The Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources on July 3 ahead of the anticipated flooding, but it is unclear whether these efforts were sufficient to prevent the devastation.
• The Guadalupe River rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes during the early morning hours of the disaster.

Sources:

• The Associated Press (no date given)
• The Texas Department of State Health Services
• The Camping Association for Mutual Progress (no date given)
• The American Camp Association