The disastrous Camp Mystic safety plans signed just days before catastrophic Texas flood revealed
The all-girls Christian summer camp, lost 27 campers and counselors after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level in the early hours of July 4.
Five girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic as of Tuesday night.
Newly released records show that Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic's emergency planning just two days before the camp was swept by raging floodwaters.
The Department of State Health Services released records on Tuesday showing that the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding 'procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster.'
But some staffers alleged details of the plan had not been communicated and that they were woefully unprepared when disaster struck.
The state inspected Camp Mystic on July 2, the same day the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources in anticipation of the impending flooding.
Camp Mystic had 557 campers and more than 100 staff members at the time between its Guadalupe and Cypress Lake locations.
The inspection found no deficiencies or violations in a comprehensive list of health and safety criteria at the camp.
The records come as one Camp Mystic counselor shared they did not have communication devices during the flood.
One counselor told CNN that while the owners and few leaders had walkie talkes, most of them did not. She also indicated that they had not received evacuation training.
Earlier this week, counselor Caroline Cutrona explained to the outlet that Camp Mystic has a no-screen policy, and staff members are required to turn off their phones while working.
She said that because of this policy, she did not receive the weather emergency alerts sent out.
'As camp counselors, we turn in our phone when we don't have our time off. So, there was no alert or anything that I heard. No signal to know that anything was happening,' Cutrona said.
'We have just an overall loudspeaker... But, the power went out at about 4am at Camp Mystic.
'Once that power went out, I knew in my head, "Oh, we're not going to have reveille, which is what we wake up to." No announcements could have been made.'
The camp's father-figure and owner, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, died while trying to save the young girls.
The 13 girls and two counselors were staying in Camp Mystic's Bubble Inn cabin when the catastrophic floods hit on Friday morning
A heartbreaking photo showed an entire cabin of Camp Mystic girls and counselors who were washed away in the horrific Texas floods.
The 13 girls and two counselors were staying in Camp Mystic's Bubble Inn cabin, which, alongside the Twins cabin, housed the youngest of the girls, aged 8 to 10.
The cabins were less than 500 feet from the river and thus took in water from two directions: the Guadalupe River and a nearby creek, making the girls' escape particularly challenging.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
‘Scrap juries or risk collapse of criminal justice system'
Act now to keep your subscription We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Complex web of watchdogs under fire
Act now to keep your subscription We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
You be the judge: my mum says our family should share towels, but I think it's gross. Am I right to protest?
I have firm boundaries around personal hygiene – and bacteria thrive on wet towels Towels should be for personal use only, but my mum thinks they should be shared in our household of four. That might have been OK when I was a baby, but now I'm 21 I think it's weird. Mum has this thing about washing and the environment. She has been trying to wash clothes less, and uses these washing bags that capture microplastic fibres to prevent them from going out into the water supply. I support this, but not at the expense of my personal hygiene. She wants our family to only use one or two towels a week, which means the four of us sharing them – my younger brother, Lewis, who is five, my parents and me. I think this is totally gross. Mum says 'towels dry, it's fine' but that's not true. Bacteria thrives on towels and the idea that a towel is clean just because it has dried misses a crucial point: moisture breeds bacteria, especially in damp, warm environments like bathrooms. I don't want everyone else's germs on my body. A towel that's been used even once can carry a lot of bacteria. Lewis is a messy child. Sharing a towel with him will increase my risk of fungal infections, as he towels after his swimming club. The idea of using his towel is disgusting to me. Like most young women, I have firm boundaries around hygiene. Growing up, I didn't think much about my mum making us share towels, but I began to notice it when I got older. At 16 I said I didn't want to do it any more and started using a fresh towel every time I showered – and got told off for it. I then compromised and started using the same towel for a week, thinking it was just for me. But what I didn't know was that Mum was using the same towel to dry herself and Lewis. When I found out, I freaked out. Now I've started hiding my towel in my room so no one else uses it. Mum thinks I'm being a diva, but everyone having their own towel isn't an indulgence – it keeps us all clean. Using someone else's dirty towel, even if they are family, is gross. I always shared towels with my family growing up – older generations don't worry about this stuff From a mother's perspective, insisting everyone use a different towel every single day is wasteful. It means more laundry, more water, more electricity, and more mental load. When you're juggling work, meals, school runs and everything else, having the kids share a clean, dry towel is a simple way to reduce the chaos. It's not unhygienic if the towel is used on clean, just-showered bodies and hung up to dry between uses. Ava wanted a new towel after every single shower and I told her that was contributing to the destruction of the planet, and not good for my mental health. She said she would wash her own towels but I have yet to see that happen. She always just adds her laundry to my pile and then hopes I won't notice. Ava's obsession with personal space is relatively new. She has become more demanding since returning home from university a month ago. I think she's ready to move out. She's taken to hiding her towel, but I just think we should share them. If one starts to smell or look questionable I'd wash it sooner, but if it's dry and clean, it's fine. I do a regular weekly wash of the towels. I always shared towels with my family growing up. Older generations didn't think about this stuff – we didn't have time. There was often only one or two towels to go round, and nobody keeled over from it. My husband and I were sharing towels with Lewis and Ava until she was old enough to start protesting. Teaching kids to share and not get precious over tiny things builds resilience and cooperation. It instills the idea that comfort doesn't always have to come with individual ownership. Ava isn't a germaphobe with other things, like sharing my headphones or cleaning up after herself, so I find it funny she has become so obsessive about sharing towels. She needs to remember there's a difference between good hygiene and becoming germ-obsessed over things that pose little risk. Should Lynsey give Ava her own towel? Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Ava has already said she'll use one towel for the whole week so that lessens the laundry load a lot. The guilt‑tripping about the planet and mental health seems a bit excessive over this one 32 It's completely reasonable to ask for a towel for sole use. I understand washing can get overwhelming, but an additional towel for the sake of Ava feeling comfortable and clean is really not a 30 It's perfectly reasonable for Ava to draw the line at towel-sharing. After all, they don't just dry you off, they double as exfoliators for dead skin – hardly something you'd want to inherit from anyone, even family. Lynsey should respect that boundary, and, in return, Ava could help with the 50 I am absolutely with Ava on this one. You dry intimate areas with a towel, the last thing I would want to do is share it with anyone else – even family. I sympathise with Lynsey's environmental concerns, but surely Ava can have one towel a week for her own personal 45 I am an acknowledged towel thief in my family. I think it's fine to save the environment and the water bill by sharing towels – you're already clean when you use one, after all. Anyway, a few shared germs will keep your immune system on its toes. Kitty, 33 In our online poll, tell us: who is in the right? The poll closes on Wednesday 16 July at 10am BST We asked whether Cleo should stop filling her shared flat with plant clippings.93% of you said yes – Cleo is guilty 7% of you said no – Cleo is not guilty
