Camp Mystic confirmed Monday it is “grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors” following the devastating floods in Texas over the weekend.
The all-girls Christian camp, which has been a summertime retreat for generations of Texas girls, has become the focus of floods’ aftermath. The camp is Kerr County along the Guadalupe River, where water reached catastrophic levels overnight Friday. About 10 inches of rain fell within a few hours, causing the river to rise 26 feet in 45 minutes.
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” the camp wrote in a statement to their website. “We are praying for them constantly.”
The camp said it has been in communication with local and state authorities who are conducting searches for the missing girls.
Officials have confirmed at least 79 deaths as of Sunday from the floods in Central Texas, including 40 adults and 28 children in Kerr County. It was not immediately clear Monday morning how many of the girls from Camp Mystic were included in that official count. A press conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m.
Camp Mystic’s director Richard “Dick” Eastland is among those who have been confirmed dead. According to Eastland’s son, the director died trying to save campers as the floodwaters began engulfing the camp.
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level,” the camp said on its website.
Questions about a lack of sufficient warnings have continued to grow since the flash floods. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch Thursday afternoon, predicting up to seven inches of isolated rainfall early Friday morning.
At 1:14 a.m. Friday, the NWS issued the first flash flood warning. At 4:03 a.m., the NWS issued a flash flood emergency, warning of an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
Local and state officials have since said the NWS forecasts did not accurately predict the intensity of the rainfall.
This post contains was first published on Texas Tribune and republished here under a Creative Commons License.
