Families of victims sue Camp Mystic for negligence over death of 27 girls in Texas floods

Each lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages from the organisers of the Camp Mystic in Texas.

Camp Mystic failed to protect campers

The lawsuits allege that Camp Mystic failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.

They allege that a groundskeeper was directed to spend more than an hour evacuating equipment while girls and counselors in cabins closest to the Guadalupe River were ordered to remain there, even as floodwaters overwhelmed the property.

“These young girls died because a for-profit camp put profit over safety,” the lawsuit, filed in Travis County, Texas, said.

“The camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins.”

The suit also alleges the operators of the camp chose not to make plans to safely evacuate campers, despite state rules requiring such plans, and instead ordered campers and counsellors to remain in their cabins as a matter of policy.

The lawsuits name several members of the Eastland family, who own and operate Camp Mystic, as defendants, including the estate of Richard “Dick” Eastland, who died during the floods attempting to save several campers.

“We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do. This legal step is one of honouring her, and we believe that truth and justice are essential to finding peace — not only for our family, but for every family affected,” Ryan DeWitt, the father of 9-year-old Molly DeWitt, said in a statement.

What lawyer of Camp Mystic said

An attorney for Camp Mystic said in a statement, quoted by the Associated Press, that they empathise with the families who lost loved ones in the flood, but they disagree with “several accusations and misinformation” in the legal filings.

“We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area,” Jeff Ray, legal counsel for Camp Mystic, said, according to AP.

Texas flood on July 4

A total of 136 people, including the 27 Camp Mystic victims, were killed in the catastrophic flash flooding in Texas on July 4.

The summer camp was in a low-lying area, and despite the head of Camp Mystic, who had been tracking the weather beforehand, failed to notice an urgent warning from the National Weather Service that had triggered an emergency alert to phones.

The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate and was hit hard when the river rose from 4.2 meters to 9 meters within 60 minutes. The lawsuits were filed amid renewed outrage from several victims’ families over plans to reopen the 100-year-old camp next summer.