The sun sets over Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in December. The camp has become the focal point of the July 4 weekend flooding disaster — and understandably so. Still, we cannot lose sight the the flooding disaster took at least 135 lives, and questions remain about mitigating future flooding disasters.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
A sheriff’s deputy pauses while combing through debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River on July 5. The flood took at least 135 lives. Is Texas prepared to prevent and mitigate future floods?
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Will and CiCi Steward, who lost their 8-year-old daughter Cile Steward in the July 4 flood, listen to closing arguments during a hearing for a lawsuit against Camp Mystic in April. The camp did the right thing by dropping its bid to reopen this summer.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
If Camp Mystic ever reopens, it will always be the face of tragedy.
It will forever be the bucolic Hill Country camp where 25 children and two counselors died on July 4, 2025, as the Guadalupe River surged — children and counselors who will never again celebrate summer.
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Nearly a year later, the stunning loss of so many young lives continues to defy words. It has also fueled an intense debate over whether Camp Mystic should ever reopen, and how much responsibility for the tragedy falls on the Eastland family, who has owned and operated the camp for decades and now faces withering questions about a lack of flood preparation and failure to evacuate early in the storm.
Dick Eastland, the camp’s co-director, also died in the flood trying to rescue campers.
Against this backdrop, the Eastlands did the right thing in late April by withdrawing the camp’s application for a state license to reopen this summer.
There were too many haunting questions about preparedness, or lack thereof, for future flooding; too many ongoing state investigations about the camp’s readiness for flooding last summer and its failure to quickly evacuate; and it was simply too soon. The body of one camper, 8-year-old Cile Steward of Austin, has yet to be recovered, and many grieving parents have sued Camp Mystic.
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To reopen this summer, even with safety improvements, even on a different part of the Camp Mystic’s property 2,700 feet away from the flooded cabins along the Guadalupe River, would have been in poor taste and caused additional pain for the grieving families. Life does not go on for them. Their anguish must be honored.
While the intense scrutiny on Camp Mystic and the Eastland Family has been deserved, it has also narrowed the public discussion about the flood. Let’s never forget that Camp Mystic is part of a much larger tragedy that killed 119 people in Kerr County and at least 135 people across Central Texas.
Nearly a year later, the questions of when and whether Camp Mystic should reopen are important to answer. They are also not the only questions. With camps resuming along the Guadalupe River and the Hill Country set to begin another summer of tourism, a larger question looms: Is the Texas Hill Country safer from deadly flooding than it was a year ago?
The answer is decidedly mixed. Flooding infrastructure is moving forward, and the anniversary of the July 4 weekend flooding is on everyone’s minds.
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Yet Texas leaders also continue to deny how climate change fuels extreme weather, there is no statewide plan to buy high-risk properties in the floodplain, and there is no statewide marketing campaign to create greater awareness about what to do when flooding strikes a region known as Flash Flood Alley.
Safety has improved
In some respects, the Texas Hill Country is safer from flood risk because the July 4 flood remains front and center in the hearts and minds of Texans.
No one has forgotten about Camp Mystic or the fury of the Guadalupe River, and such awareness helps. Camp administrators, visitors, parents of campers, business owners and longtime residents will likely be vigilant in monitoring the weather all summer.
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To their credit, state lawmakers also instituted more stringent licensing for summer camps, requiring the installation of emergency warning and public address systems, and mandating safety training for campers.
Camps also must submit detailed emergency and safety plans to the state, which will then conduct on-site inspections. As of mid-May, hundreds of camps were awaiting licenses. While we expect this to be mostly resolved this month, we also view it as a positive, as it reflects a new thoroughness that must prove enduring.
A requirement to install fiber-optic networks has been delayed under a legal settlement. This is understandable given the cost and short amount of time that has passed. While this delay will enable many more camps to qualify for licenses, it would be a mistake for lawmakers to jettison the goal. Communication between these camps and the outside world has to be maintained in case of emergency.
Also contributing to improved safety is the launch of a flood alert system along the Guadalupe River. This month, officials were testing eight sirens along the North and South forks of the Guadalupe River. This is the first phase of a larger network of sensors and sirens that will alert officials about dangerous conditions.
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What’s still missing
Lawmakers have focused their outrage on Camp Mystic. Outrage is warranted. It also should not shift the public discussion from the questions of what state and local leaders must do to mitigate flooding risk. The failure is larger than one camp.
While flood alert infrastructure, camp safety plans and Texans with heavy hearts but more awareness undoubtedly make for safer conditions, Texas still falls short on key fundamentals.
The first is a refusal among state leaders to recognize how climate change intensifies and fuels extreme weather. The Texas Hill Country is prone to flooding because of the Balcones Escarpment, which encompasses San Antonio and Austin, and marks the beginning of the Edwards Plateau. This is where dry air from the west and humid air from the east meet, resulting in stunning thunderstorms.
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With more moisture in the warm air due to climate change, the chances of extreme rain increase, climate scientists have said. When extreme rain collides with prolonged drought, flooding worsens.
If Texas officials are serious about making safety a priority in the Texas Hill Country for generations to come, they must account for the effects of climate change on extreme weather.
That also means identifying and buying properties in the floodplain. While private property rights in Texas are sacrosanct, development should not occur in some places. State leaders could honor property rights while mitigating flooding through conservation easements.
Finally, Texas would benefit from a statewide flooding awareness campaign similar to the anti-litter effort of “Don’t Mess with Texas.”
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This may sound hokey to some, but making all Texans, and especially visitors to the Hill Country, aware of the flooding risk and what to do should a flood occur would save lives. Think basic knowledge like how to check weather alerts and where an Airbnb guest should go when rivers rise.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Texas Hill Country flood, let’s not lose sight of the lives lost and the shared goal of preventing future tragedy. That is the best way to honor all the victims of July 4.
This editorial is part of the collaboration between the San Antonio Express-News and Austin American-Statesman editorial boards in response to the 2025 Central Texas floods.