Posted on 07/12/2025 7:00:34 AM PDT by george76
The article does not quite touch on the decision to place the youngest campers in cabins built on a floodway.
In 2013, Homeland Security Secretary was Janet Napolitano from January 20, 2009 – September 6, 2013. Rand Beers was Acting Secretary from September 6, 2013 to December 23, 2013. Jeh Johnson became the next head of DHS on December 23, 2013 until January 20, 2017. Not sure who headed FEMA for Texas back then.
Just a guess. I have no idea.
Some came from well-to-do families, but you can be sure that others came from middle income homes with parents who were stretching to get their daughters a wonderful experience. I’m sure many would wish to establish some sort of memorial to honor the memory of girls taken before they had a chance to blossom. It’s all so sad. I accept that this flash flood was freakishly sudden and violent, but just a weather radio and a couple of air horns would have saved some lives.
The adults in that camp were entrusted with the safety those children. They should have been monitoring the rain/flood situation and had a plan ready for rapid evacuation when a rare, but foreseeable event happened.
I believe the camp owners/operators bear primary responsibility for this tragedy.
Other camps in the area evacuated the day before the flood.
Those camps saved their children, Camp Mystic did not.
“People become complacent. That’s when disaster can strike.”
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It’s not complacency but malfeasance when officials ignore documented threats and allow a children’s summer camp to be built in the middle of a designated flood zone.
...or building hospitals in flood plains in Erwin, Tennessee...
The FIRMS are a crap shoot at best. Wouldn’t want to be the engineer/s of record for pulling the properties out of the flood plain.
I read where it was about $4,500 for a 30-day camp stay. Certainly out of my league and most others.
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