Camp Mystic director testifies 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 testified that he did not see official warnings issued the day before the storm hit, that staff had no meetings about the pending danger, and that they did not make the call to evacuate until it was too late. Edward Eastland provided the most detailed description yet of how camp staff responded as floodwaters along the Guadalupe River quickly rose to historic levels, trapping children and counselors in cabins before they were swept away.

Why it matters

This hearing is part of a legal battle between the camp owners and victims' families who have filed multiple lawsuits, with the families demanding to preserve the damage at the camp site as evidence. It comes as Camp Mystic plans to reopen in less than two months, raising concerns about the camp's ability to keep children safe after the deadly 2025 flood.

The details

Eastland acknowledged the camp had no detailed written flood evacuation plan, and said more campers would have survived if he and his father, camp co-owner Richard Eastland, as well as a camp safety director had made quicker decisions to evacuate. By the time they did, the waters were so high and so fast they were producing rapids that swirled around some cabins. Eastland also acknowledged staff didn't use simple measures like using campus loudspeakers to tell campers and counselors to leave their cabins and get to higher ground earlier in the storm.

• On July 2 and 3, the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Emergency Management issued flood watch social media posts that Eastland said he did not see.
• At 1:14 a.m. on July 4, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning that Eastland said he slept through.
• Around 2 a.m. on July 4, Eastland's father called him about hard rain falling and the need to move canoes and water equipment off the riverfront, but they did not move to evacuate cabins at that point.
• Around 3 a.m. on July 4, Richard Eastland made the call to evacuate cabins, but it was too late.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The hearing is scheduled to continue on Tuesday as the legal battle between the camp owners and victims' families continues. Texas health regulators are also investigating hundreds of complaints filed against the camp owners, and the Texas Rangers are helping look into allegations of neglect.