Texas Camp Mystic Flood: Records Reveal Disaster Plan Approval Days Before Deadly 2025 Tragedy

HUNT, Texas (AP) — New revelations show that Texas inspectors had approved Camp Mystic’s emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding on July 4, 2025, tragically claimed the lives of more than two dozen people, primarily children, at the all-girls Christian summer camp.

Records released by the Department of State Health Services on Tuesday confirm the camp’s compliance with state regulations concerning disaster procedures, including evacuation protocols and staff duties. However, five years of inspection reports provided to The Associated Press offer no specific details of these plans, raising urgent questions about Camp Mystic’s preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in the flood-prone Texas Hill Country.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the area on July 3, 2025, at 1:18 p.m. This warning prompted at least one of the 18 camps along the Guadalupe River to evacuate dozens of campers to higher ground. In contrast, Camp Mystic, established in 1926, did not evacuate and was severely impacted as the river surged from 14 feet to 29.5 feet within 60 minutes in the early morning hours of July 4. Flood stage on this stretch of the Guadalupe begins at approximately 10 feet.

A wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents, and trailers along the river’s edge, with some survivors found clinging to trees. At least 27 campers and counselors died, and as of Tuesday, five campers and one counselor remain missing. Among the deceased was Richard “Dick” Eastland, the camp’s beloved director.

Charlotte Lauten, 19, a former camper who spent nine summers at Mystic, most recently in 2023, recalled never receiving instructions on weather emergencies. She noted the extreme darkness and lack of phone access or service would have severely hindered escape, stating, “It would have been pitch black, like could not see 5 feet in front of you type of darkness.”

The state’s inspection of Camp Mystic on July 2, 2025, found no deficiencies, despite the Texas Division of Emergency Management activating resources for anticipated flooding on the same day. Disaster plans are required to be posted but not filed with the state, meaning the specific details of Camp Mystic’s plan remain undisclosed. The camp has not responded to requests for comment, stating on its website it is in communication with authorities searching for the missing.

While Camp Mystic is licensed by the state and a member of the Camping Association for Mutual Progress, it is not accredited by the American Camp Association, which focuses on safety and risk management. Authorities are also reviewing rain and river gauge data; while some gauges functioned, at least four United States Geological Survey gauges along the Guadalupe River experienced failures on July 4, 2025, stopping data collection in the early morning hours.

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