Families sue Texas summer camp over deadly July 4 flood that killed 27

The families of seven campers and two counselors who died in the catastrophic flooding at a Texas summer camp in July are suing the camp and its owners, accusing them of gross negligence.

The three lawsuits, filed Monday, collectively allege that the deaths of 27 campers and counselors in the July 4 flash flood at Camp Mystic, located along a stretch of the Guadalupe River known as “Flood Alley,” were preventable, and that the camp operators ignored decades of flood warnings and knowingly housed children in danger, all the while misleading parents.

The complaints, filed in a state district court in Austin and seeking damages in the millions, name as defendants several entities related to Camp Mystic, along with members of the Eastland family, which has owned and managed the 725-acre property since 1939.

As detailed in one of the lawsuits, the families accuse the defendants of negligence, recklessness, and gross negligence, citing what they call “the most horrific, brutal, and terrifying” deaths imaginable when floodwaters rose into cabins and swept the 8- and 9-year-old girls away.

According to that complaint, severe floods have been recorded along that stretch of the river since the 1930s. In 2011 the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated parts of the property a Special Flood Hazard Area. Yet, the families allege, camp management concealed that history from parents, built or maintained cabins within floodplains and failed to create or follow any viable evacuation plan.

The filings detail a timeline of warnings ignored throughout July 3, leading up to several cabins being overcome by water by 4 a.m. on July 4. Multiple weather agencies issued flash-flood watches and later an emergency warning at 1:14 a.m. Despite that, the complaints allege, the camp operators and other staff did not evacuate the youngest campers.

Instead, one complaint alleges, they secured lawn equipment and canoes while instructing girls to “stay in their cabins” — a directive that lawsuit calls a “death sentence.” Counselors allegedly had no radios or phones, and by the time the water reached cabin ceilings around 3:45 a.m., escape was impossible.

The plaintiffs also allege the Eastlands had previously petitioned FEMA to remove cabins from flood maps to lower insurance costs and continue advertising the camp as “safe.” The suits seek damages for wrongful death and survival claims and vow to hold the defendants accountable.The lawsuits follow changes to state law, signed in September, aimed at improving safety at summer camps. That same month, Camp Mystic officials announced plans to reopen parts of its camp for summer 2026. The camp had not officially commented on the lawsuits as of Tuesday. Its lawyers had previously told numerous media outlets that such lawsuits would not be successful.