Camp Mystic, site of Texas flooding disaster, had no emergency plan, report finds

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Camp Mystic, site of Texas flooding disaster, had no emergency plan, report finds Nearly a year after the catastrophic Texas Hill Country flooding, state lawmakers adopt a report on recommendations for improving prediction and response to natural disasters. National Camp Mystic, site of Texas flooding disaster, had no emergency plan, report finds June 19, 20264:46 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From The Texas Newsroom By Blaise Gainey Camp Mystic, site of Texas flooding disaster, had no emergency plan, report finds Listen &middot; 2:34 2:34 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5861806/nx-s1-9817149" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Nearly a year after the catastrophic Texas Hill Country flooding, state lawmakers adopt a report on recommendations for improving prediction and response to natural disasters. Sponsor Message LEILA FADEL, HOST: A Texas legislative committee has detailed major failures by an all-girls youth camp where 27 people died in a major flood last July 4. Overall, more than 130 people died. The committee released its report on Thursday, finding Camp Mystic was not prepared for the flood and did not properly train its staff for emergencies. The Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey reports.

+ BLAISE GAINEY, BYLINE: As floodwaters rose at Camp Mystic, counselors reached for their radios, looking for instructions. That's the story they told investigator Casey Garrett. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) CASEY GARRETT: The senior counselor in Cozy Corner said they were on the walkie-talkie - what do we do? What do we do? And it went unanswered. GAINEY: That moment became one of the defining findings of a monthslong legislative investigation into the disaster that killed 25 campers and two counselors. Garrett told lawmakers the unanswered call reflected a larger problem. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) GARRETT: Nobody had any idea what they needed to be doing. GAINEY: The report found Camp Mystic had no written emergency evacuation plan that met state requirements. Staff and counselors weren't given specific emergency assignments, and campers weren't taught how to evacuate if floodwaters threatened their cabins. Former Justice Michael Massengale, who helped lead the investigation, says camp director Dick Eastland had no evacuation strategy. And if there was one at all, it wasn't shared with the people who needed it. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) MICHAEL MASSENGALE: A plan that existed only in Dick Eastland's head is not a plan that satisfied the state's rules for camps like Camp Mystic. And when disaster struck - and it did strike on July 4 of last year - it may as well have been no plan at all. GAINEY: Camp Mystic hasn't responded to any requests for comment since the report was published Thursday. In a previous hearing in April, Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors, said he regrets not communicating more and apologized to families of the victims. Lawmakers passed legislation setting aside funds for sirens along rivers and a requirement to have a state-approved emergency plan earlier this year. But Democratic Representative Joe Moody says the state's work isn't finished. JOE MOODY: This task is not done, and there is more that we need to - we need to look in the mirror at state - at what the state did in coordination and what we can continue to do. GAINEY: Moody wants the state to look into making changes for trailer parks, rural homes and the positioning of disaster response equipment by the state's Department of Emergency Management. For NPR News, I'm Blaise Gainey in Austin. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{309:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(81)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(770),o(154),o(175),o(93),o(448),o(253),o(128),o(130),o(755),o(174),o(756),o(254),o(77),o(774)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},783:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(309)}},[[783,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();