Camp Mystic buildings were removed from flood map, US media reports

BBC News

3 days ago

US regulators reportedly altered official maps of flooding risks to remove many of the buildings at a camp in Texas where 27 children died in severe floods. Citing official records, the New York Times and Associated Press said maps by the Federal Emergency Management (Fema) in 2011 had initially considered the popular summer camp to be in high risk of flooding. But they say that Camp Mystic - located in a low-lying area by the Guadalupe River - then successfully challenged those designations.The BBC has contacted Fema and Camp Mystic, neither of which have commented publicly on the issue.
Fema describes flood maps as "a tool that communities use to know which areas have the highest risk of flooding".Syracuse University associate professor Sarah Pralle, who has studied the Fema flood maps, said she found it "perplexing" that the riverside camp had been granted exemptions from the maps. "I think it's extremely troubling that it's a camp for children," Prof Pralle told the New York Times. "You'd think you want to be extra cautious - that you'd go beyond the minimum of what's required for flood protection."Fema's official flood maps show that some of Camp Mystic's cabins were within a "floodway", a particularly hazardous area where dangerous floodwaters would be expected to flow, the New York Times reported. It said that other cabins were within a broader zone that would also be expected to flood once every 100 years.Those designations require the camp to have flood insurance and tighter regulations on any construction projects.The newspaper added that the Fema maps had not been modified to incorporate Camp Mystic's written appeals.The popular camp lost at least 27 young girls when floodwaters ripped through the premises before dawn on 4 July.Across Texas, at least 129 people have been killed, and scores are still missing.On Friday, President Donald Trump visited the flood-hit areas, pledging that the government would help those who lost their houses and properties to rebuild."I've never seen anything like it," he said. Trump also dismissed a question from a reporter about what more could have been done to warn residents, saying: "Only an evil person would ask a question like that."In the wake of the deadly tragedy, questions have been raised about whether adequate warnings were provided and why camps weren't evacuated ahead of the deluge.Experts have said a number of factors led to the deadly impact of the flash flood, including the pre-dawn timing and the location of some buildings.