5 days ago
Video shows Camp Mystic girls sing as they are evacuated from Texas floods
Search and rescue operations continue following catastrophic flooding that hit central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Video was captured on July 4 at Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old private nondenominational Christian camp for girls in Kerr County, where flooding hit the hardest. It shows the girls singing worship songs such as "Pass It On" and "Lord Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary" as they are being evacuated on a bus. One of the girls can also be heard expressing her shock as they pass by a gushing river.
The footage was posted to TikTok on July 6 by Devon Paige, a Texas-based nurse who had been working at the summer camp. The songs appear to be worship songs
"The girls are singing to try and calm everyone," Paige wrote in the caption of the video that has close to 9 million views.
Watch: Camp Mystic girls sing as they are evacuated from flooding
Flooding causes devastation and destruction across central Texas
At least 104 people have been killed including at least 27 children and counselors at Camp Mystic. Ten Mystic campers and one counselor remain unaccounted for.
There were over 700 girls at Camp Mystic when floodwaters overwhelmed the century-old camp, officials have said. Among those reported dead are the camp's owner, Dick Eastland, campers Sarah Marsh, 8; Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, 14; and counselor Chloe Childress, 19. Photos of the aftermath show children's bunks caked in mud, belongings strewn about and a building with an entire wall missing.
The flooding came in the early morning hours, with rainfall causing the nearby Guadalupe River to surge over 26 feet in less than an hour, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The rain didn't let up, with the flood risk ongoing and impacting many communities in the central part of the state over the next few days.
Camp Mystic: Why the flooding tragedy is hitting so hard for many parents
What is Camp Mystic?
Camp Mystic for Girls was founded in 1926 by Edward "Doc" Stewart, who was the football and men's basketball coach at the University of Texas, according to an Internet Archive's capture of the camp's website (much of the site was overwhelmed with traffic on Saturday).
The camp has been in operation since then. However, during World War II it served as a "rehabilitation and recovery camp for army air corps veterans," according to the site.
"Campers and counselors join together to sing songs, listen to scripture, discover ways to grow spiritually, and learn to apply these lessons to their daily life at camp and back home," according to the site. Religious activities include: Bible studies, Saturday evening Catholic Mass, Sunday morning devotionals along the river, Sunday evening Vespers services, and, once during each two-week or four-week term, a sunrise communion service.
Other activities include cooking, dance, basketball, horseback riding, lacrosse, swimming, soccer and yoga.
Where is Camp Mystic in Texas?
Camp Mystic for Girls is in Texas, about six miles south of Hunt, Texas, in Kerr County. That's within Texas Hill Country, about 80 miles northwest of San Antonio.
The original camp and a second camp, opened in 2020 near Cypress Lake, is bisected by Cypress Creek.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
