Profit Over Safety: Risks & Consequences

The families of nine of the victims who lost their lives in the catastrophic flood at Camp Mystic last July 4 have sued the camp’s owners for gross negligence. The lawsuits were filed on Monday.

According to the cases, the camp management is said to have prioritized financial gain over safety, and spent over an hour rescuing equipment while girls and supervisors were asked to remain in their cabins – despite the fact that life-threatening flood waters were approaching.

– These young girls died because a profit-driven camp put profit over safety, says one of the lawsuits, according to CNN.

Accusations of failure to evacuate

The first lawsuit is filed by the families of five girls and two counselors who died: Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly DeWitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry and Blakely McCrory.

Another lawsuit has been filed by the family of eight-year-old Eloise “Lulu” Peck, while a third comes from the family of nine-year-old Ellen Getten, according to CNN.

The plaintiffs claim that the camp management received notice of a “life-threatening flash flood” as early as 01:14, but chose to spend valuable time securing equipment instead of evacuating the girls.

– As the river rose, the camp ordered its employees to evacuate equipment – not children and guides, the lawsuit states.

The camp is also said to have left two huts unprotected even after other groups were moved to safer areas, just 90 meters away.

The camp defends itself

Jeff Ray, legal counsel for Camp Mystic, said Monday that the camp feels deep sympathy for the families — but denies several of the allegations.

– We want to document that this sudden flood was of a completely different order of magnitude than anything the area has previously experienced. It was unexpected and there were no working warning systems in the area, Ray told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

The camp’s lawyer Mikal Watts has previously explained that the evacuation started before 03:00, and that 166 girls were saved thanks to the quick efforts of the management.

– This was an extreme, once-in-a-thousand-year event that no one could have predicted. Something like this has never happened before, Watts told CNN in an earlier interview.

Dramatic flooding

Flooding hit the 99-year-old girls’ camp in Kerr County, Texas, early in the morning on July 4. In just 45 minutes, the Guadalupe River rose from about one meter to nearly nine meters.

A total of 27 people died at the camp – 25 girls, two counselors and the camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, who died while trying to rescue some of the girls. The youngest lived in cabins close to the river bank.

The flooding claimed at least 136 lives in the region in total, according to NBC News.

The lawsuits claim that the camp has long been aware that the area is prone to flooding, and that the owners were warned as early as 1932 that the cabins were “right in the firing line of potential floodwaters from the Guadalupe River.”

This is what the US president said about the disaster:

New security laws adopted

The deaths at Camp Mystic have raised critical questions from both parents and politicians about the camp’s preparedness in an area known for repeated flooding.

In September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed new, stricter camp safety laws. Among other things, they demand that local authorities install outdoor sirens and warning systems in flood-prone areas, reports CNN.

– We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do. This lawsuit is our way of honoring her – because truth and justice are essential to find peace, says Ryan DeWitt, who lost his daughter Molly, to the news channel.

Camp Mystic has announced plans for a partial reopening next summer in conjunction with the camp’s 100th anniversary. The section near the Guadalupe River will remain closed, while the newer, higher-lying section that was not affected by the flood will be reopened.

Each lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages, according to AP News.