(NEW YORK) — Camp Mystic, the Christian girls summer camp that was hit with devastating floods on July 4, was part of an eerily similar tragedy that occurred almost 38 years ago to the day, officials said.
That tragedy on July 17, 1987, known as the Guadalupe River Flood, began when 5 to 10 inches of rain fell in the upper headwaters of the Guadalupe River basin, which resulted in a “massive flood” that traveled down the river through Ingram, Hunt — near Camp Mystic — Kerrville and Comfort, Texas, according to reports from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., a flood warning was issued for the Guadalupe River from Kerrville upstream, with 4 to 6 inches of rain pummeling down in only three to four hours — causing a 15-foot rise in the river near the camp. There were also reports of people being trapped in rising waters at this time, officials said.
Then at 4:30 a.m., an alert was released saying officials at camps along the river — including Camp Mystic — “should have everyone well away from the flood plain and to high ground already,” according to the report from officials.
Five minutes later, Camp Mystic officials said they had “polled camps in the area and all campers are accounted for,” according to the report.
While no one at Camp Mystic died from the 1987 flood — unlike the dozens that died in the tragedy over the weekend — 10 teenagers were killed when a bus and van washed away near Comfort, Texas.
The teenagers were attending a church camp at the Pot O’ Gold Ranch, which was scheduled to end the same day that the flood washed away the group, officials said.
Law enforcement officials had notified the camp at 2 a.m. and at 6 a.m. of the flood wave coming down the Guadalupe River, and the decision was then made to evacuate the children early “to avoid being trapped at the camp,” officials said.
When the caravan of buses and a van left the camp, one of the buses and the van encountered a “flooded low water crossing” on the river and decided to try an alternate route, officials said. The lead buses “successfully made the sharp turn to head a different direction” but rapidly rising water from the river — which had reached 29 feet tall that morning — caused the last bus to stall and the van behind it to become stranded, officials said.
An attempt was made to evacuate the children off the bus and the van, but “as they were wading back to dry ground a wall of water around half a mile wide rushed upon the campers,” officials said.
Forty-three people — 39 teenagers and four adults — were swept into the waters, with 10 teenagers drowning. The remaining 33 children and adults were rescued, officials said.
It is unclear if any changes were implemented in the wake of the 1987 tragedy. This weekend’s tragedy has already raised questions about whether there were adequate safety measures in the region in the event of a major flooding event.
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