Summer camps review safety plans after Texas flooding
In response to a tragic incident at Camp Mystic in Kerrville, Texas, where flash floods claimed the lives of 27 individuals, summer camps nationwide are revising their safety protocols. The American Camps Association is advocating for enhanced safety measures to better address severe weather conditions.
The families of six young girls who perished in the flooding at Camp Mystic have initiated a wrongful death lawsuit. They claim that camp authorities disregarded escalating warnings and delayed evacuation efforts, leaving the youngest campers vulnerable in cabins positioned dangerously close to the swelling Guadalupe River.
Filed in the Travis County District Court, the lawsuit accuses the camp of negligence and gross negligence. It highlights several failures, including not adhering to established flood evacuation plans, neglecting to relocate children to safer areas once flooding commenced, and insufficient training and communication systems. The lawsuit also criticizes the decision to house children in flood-prone areas despite the evident danger.
According to the suit, forecasters began issuing warnings on July 3, with the National Weather Service implementing a Flood Watch and Flood Advisories. Despite these alerts, the camp allegedly did not take necessary actions to avert disaster.
In Comfort, Texas, on July 6, 2025, a search and rescue volunteer was seen holding a T-shirt and backpack branded with the Camp Mystic logo. (Photo by Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The lawsuit further details that on the night of July 4, when the flooding occurred, Camp Mystic’s leadership prioritized securing equipment over evacuating the children to safety. The decision to meet with grounds staff rather than immediately ensuring the children’s safety is a central point of contention in the legal action.
At 2 a.m., the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office logged its first emergency call about hazardous conditions. At 2:10 a.m., counselors reported cabins taking on water and, according to the complaint, were told to shelter in place with counselors “not allowed” phones, radios or walkie-talkies.
Counselors who were awake began moving girls toward a hillside around 3 a.m., with accounts of a broader evacuation at 3:11 a.m., the lawsuit says.
Photos timestamped 3:26 a.m. on July 4, 2025, show campers are still able to walk toward higher ground as water rose in Camp Mystic. (Travis County District Court)
Photos timestamped 3:26 a.m. show campers still able to walk toward higher ground as water rose across the property. By about 3:44 a.m., doors were “breaking open” and water rushed in, the lawsuit says.
Apple Watch data from leaders allegedly recorded submersion at 3:51 a.m. and 4:09 a.m. An emergency call from the camp was logged at 3:59 a.m.
The families say the youngest girls were kept in Bubble Inn and Twins I & Twins II on “the flats” near the river even as water rose, despite nearby options: a hillside roughly 20 yards from Bubble Inn and a two-story commissary with exterior stairs near the Twins cabins. Staff members who lived above the commissary survived, the suit says.
The filing includes a one-page “Emergency Instructions” sheet that was found following the Camp Mystic flooding on July 4, 2025. (Travis County District Court)
The lawsuit includes a one-page “Emergency Instructions” sheet that told campers to stay inside during floods and stated, “All cabins are constructed on high, safe ground.” Families call this guidance “false and dangerous.” The document was allegedly recovered from a counselor’s trunk after the flood.
The six families of the young girls argue the camp sits in a FEMA-mapped flood hazard area in a region along the Guadalupe known as “Flood Alley,” citing federal maps that place cabins in the floodway and floodplains and prior major floods in 1932, 1952, 1978 and 1987. FEMA identified the site as a Special Flood Hazard Area in 2011, the suit says.
The lawsuit names the girls as Virginia “Wynne” Naylor and Jane “Janie” Hunt, both housed in Bubble Inn; Lucy Lee Dillon and Kellyanne Elizabeth Lytal, housed in Twins I; and Hadley Rebecca Hanna and Virginia Larins Hollis, housed in Twins II.
All were 8 or 9, according to the filing. They were among 27 campers and counselors who died in the flooding.
Fox News Digital reached out to Camp Mystic for comment on the lawsuit.
WATCH: Camp Mystic counselor opens up on tragic flooding
Here is a detailed look at what the complaint alleges between the early warnings on July 3 and the morning of July 4:
TIMELINE
JULY 2
5:47 p.m. — Texas emergency officials activated a flood response ahead of expected storms, according to the complaint.
JULY 3
10:48 a.m. — The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for the area and pushed this information through social media, newscasts and other emergency communication systems at 2:35 p.m.
6:26 p.m. – The National Water Center sent its own “rapid onset flooding” warning and “locally considerable impacts,” into early July 4.
11:13 p.m. — A Flood Advisory was posted for Kerr County with “significant flooding likely.”
Deceased victims who have been identified in Texas floods on backdrop of swollen Guadalupe River (Rachel Wolf/Fox News Digital; The Marsh Family; The McCown Family; LeslieEastland/Facebook; Missy Peck; Facebook; GoFundMe; Bellows Family; Rhae Brunswick via AP)
JULY 4
1:14 a.m. — The NWS issued an Emergency Flash Flood Warning saying “life-threatening flash flooding” was underway; camp leaders received or quickly learned of the alert.
1:45 a.m. — Workers who had been offsite returned “after a harrowing drive,” according to the complaint’s account of the night watchman’s interview.
1:47 a.m. — Camp leaders met grounds staff and began securing equipment around the property, the suit says.
2 a.m. — The Kerr County Sheriff’s Department logged its first emergency phone call about hazardous conditions, according to the complaint.
2:10 a.m. — Counselors reported cabins taking on water and were told to shelter in place; the filing says counselors in cabins were not allowed phones, radios or walkie-talkies.
2:13 a.m. — Leaders were still securing equipment while counselors and children sheltered in place, the lawsuit states.
Camp Mystic is shown in Hunt, Texas, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
2:19 a.m. — Staff “became aware” of water entering the Bug House cabin and instructed counselors to put towels at the doorway and stay, the suit alleges.
2:25 a.m. — The gatekeeper called camp leadership and said that the gate house was taking in water. The gatekeeper calls the situation “very serious.”
2:30 a.m. — Some evacuations began; conditions were too severe for a vehicle rescue, the filing says.
3 a.m. — Some counselors woke on their own and started moving girls toward a hillside to safety.
3:11 a.m. — Counselors at higher elevations reported being woken to start evacuation of river-adjacent cabins, according to the complaint.
A view inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)
3:26 a.m. — Time-stamped photos showed campers walking through water toward higher ground.
3:30 a.m. — Kerrville emergency services received numerous requests for airlift assistance, the suit says.
3:44 a.m. — Doors were “breaking open” as water rushed in, according to the filing.
3:51 a.m. — Apple Watch data allegedly showed leader Dick Eastland’s device was submerged.
3:59 a.m. — An emergency call was placed from Camp Mystic.
4:09 a.m. — Apple Watch data allegedly showed leader Edward Eastland’s device was submerged.
People leave flowers for the victims of the deadly flood in Kerrville, Texas, the United States, on July 12, 2025. (Nick Wagner/Xinhua via Getty Images)
9:44 a.m. to 10:57 a.m. — Texts from a camp leader said they were still searching, and that rescue boats were on the river, according to the lawsuit.
