Texas camp where 25 girls died in 2025 flood may not be allowed to reopen | Texas floods 2025
A Texas Christian summer camp where 27 girls and counselors died in a July 2025 flood may not be allowed to reopen next summer after state officials found the camp did not meet health and safety requirements.
According to a letter from the Texas department of state health services, Camp Mystic must make several changes, including emergency and parental notification processes, in order to receive a permit to operate.
The letter says there was an inadequate emergency alert system, no floodplain map showing the location of camper cabins, and a flawed fire evacuation plan.
The camp has 45 days to fix these problems before it can get its license. A spokesperson for Camp Mystic said it plans to open to campers on May 30 as planned.
“Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our campers, and we hope to continue Camp Mystic’s nearly century-old mission and ministry of providing girls with a Christian camp experience that allows them to grow physically, mentally and spiritually,” the camp said in a statement Friday. he said. NBC News.
Camp Mystic plans to open a site separate from the area hit by the deadly July 4, 2025 floods.
That day, 25 girls, two counselors, and the owner of Camp Mystic were killed at the campground in Kerr County when torrential rain caused catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River next to the campground. More than 130 people died in the region due to floods.
Some family members of the dead campers criticized the decision to reopen the camp and questioned whether camp and state officials did enough to prevent the tragedy. In February, families of nine flood victims filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that an evacuation plan from the camp was not properly requested.
In early April, Camp Mystic’s medical officer testified that he still had not officially reported the deaths to the state health agency.
Under Texas administrative code, camps are required to report deaths to state health regulators within 24 hours. But in testimony at a hearing on a lawsuit filed by the family of Cecilia “Cile” Steward, one of the dead girls, Mary Liz Eastland said she did not.
Eastland’s testimony followed that of her husband, camp manager Edward Eastland, whose father, owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.
Edward Eastland testified that he did not see official weather warnings before the storm, did not hold a staff meeting about possible flooding, and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed written flood evacuation plan.
He said earlier action could have saved lives but suggested camp officials could not have predicted the size of the storm.
