Camp Mystic director says he missed flood warnings before deadly 2025 storm

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The director of the Texas summer camp where 27 campers and counselors were killed by a devastating flood in 2025 said he did not see early federal and state warnings issued the day before the storm hit, and that staff had no meetings about the pending danger. Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland testified in a court hearing about preserving damaged areas of the camp's grounds as evidence in several lawsuits filed by families of the victims.

Why it matters

The deadly flood at Camp Mystic has raised questions about how the camp operators responded to severe weather warnings and whether they took adequate steps to protect the campers. The camp's efforts to reopen have outraged the families of the victims, who argue that camp officials failed in their duty of care.

The details

Eastland said he and other staff were signed up for an emergency warning system on their phones and used other weather apps, but he said he did not see flood watch social media posts by the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Emergency Management on July 2 and 3rd. Eastland said he wasn't following those agencies on social media and thought the local 'CodeRED' mobile phone alert system and phone weather apps staff had at the time 'was enough.' A July 3 National Weather Service alert asked area broadcasters to note that locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding in rivers, creeks, streams and low-lying areas, all features of the Camp Mystic property. Eastland said he did not believe camp staff held a meeting about the alerts and warnings that day.

• On July 2 and 3, the National Weather Service and Texas Department of Emergency Management issued flood watch social media posts that Eastland said he did not see.
• On July 3, the National Weather Service issued an alert asking area broadcasters to note that locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding.
• Around 2 a.m. on July 4, Eastland's father called him on a walkie-talkie to say it was raining hard and they needed to move canoes and water equipment off the riverfront, but they did not evacuate cabins at that time.
• Around 3 a.m. on July 4, Eastland's father made the call to evacuate the cabins.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide whether to allow Camp Mystic to reopen this summer on a part of the campus that did not flood, while state lawmakers and agencies continue to investigate the camp's operations.