Texas Officials Sued For Allegedly Lax Oversight Of Camp Mystic In Connection To 2025 Flood
More than half a year after a flash flood took the lives of 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, a new lawsuit accuses a Texas state agency of failing to do its job to prevent the tragedy.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin by families of nine of the flood victims, says six officials at the Texas Department of State Health Services denied the victims their constitutional rights “to life and bodily integrity” by permitting Camp Mystic to operate despite having allegedly inadequate emergency plans.
According to the lawsuit, DSHS inspectors ignored the state’s safety rules for certifying summer camps by failing to verify the adequacy of Camp Mystic’s plans. This allegedly had been going on for years, YetterColeman LLP partner Paul Yetter told CW39.
The agency “decided not to enforce Texas law, and they have allowed Camp Mystic for at least the last 10 years to operate every summer, hosting hundreds of children on the banks of a river that regularly floods,” he said.
The flash flood of the Guadalupe River on July 4 quickly inundated several cabins in the middle of the night before rescuers could reach those inside.
At least four cabins for young campers were in an area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an “extreme flood hazard, where water moves at its highest velocity and depth,” Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
During the flooding last July, the town of Hunt, where Camp Mystic is located, experienced 6.5 inches of rain in just three hours. As NASA reported, the Guadalupe River surged 26 feet in 45 minutes at Hunt before reaching a record crest of 37.5 feet.
Chad Berginnis, CEO of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, warned state and local officials who are tasked with managing flood plains that gaps in regulatory oversight of flood risk management can leave campgrounds and summer camps vulnerable to similar tragedies.
“While there may be either state and local standards and inspection/licensure requirements through health departments, any requirements for emergency procedures from a public health perspective are typically generic, if they exist at all,” Berginnis wrote in the association’s online publication. “Inspections tend to be ‘check the box’ and focused on actions like posting the plan in public spaces.”
The lawsuit was filed even as Camp Mystic is reportedly accepting applications for its 2026 summer camp. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has protested the camp’s reopening and is urging officials to halt enrollment, The New York Times reported.
“Until these deaths are investigated and any necessary corrective actions are taken to ensure this never happens again, a camp license should not be issued to Camp Mystic,” Patrick said Monday in a letter addressed to DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford.
There are several other lawsuits underway regarding the flooding deaths.
