Camp Mystic Tragedy: Lack of Emergency Planning

0:00It's April 27th. This is Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Investigators just dropped a bombshell at the Texas legislature on that tragic July 4th flood at Camp Mystic, the All Girls Camp by the Guadalupe River. Young counselors got zero training, no drills, no plans for handling floods or emergencies. That lack of prep lets its 27 deaths. Mostly campers and teen staffers swept away. Those victims were under 10 years old, many at camp for the first time. Owner Richard Eastland died too, trying to drive girls to higher ground. His vehicle ended up underwater, with several campers inside. Families of the loss filled the hearing room, solving his victim photos flashed, and names got read aloud. Survivors shared wild stories, like one girl carried 6 miles downstream, dumped underwater multiple times before rescue. The camp's emergency guide? There's one paragraph saying stay put in cabins, which were supposedly safe.

1:00Counselors hesitated to act, scared of the owner's iron-fisted rule. They called him the general. Some broke windows for ad hoc escapes, saving lives on the fly. Now the camp pushes to reopen in late May, with 900 girls expected, dodging flooded spots. Families are raging, top officials want the license yanked. New safety laws hit last year, but real change hangs on this probe and regulators.