A timeline of key events in the deadly flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas

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Camp Mystic has halted plans to reopen this summer, a year after devastating floods tore through the all-girls Christian camp in Texas Hill Country, killing 25 young campers and two teenage counselors.

The decision was a striking reversal of the camp owners' determination to reopen. Previously hoping to welcome back campers in May, the owners had said they'd made safety improvements and that devastated areas closest to the Guadalupe River would remain closed. But they backed down in the face of outraged families and investigations that accused the camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies.

Here's a timeline of key events related to the 2025 disaster:

Two days before the flood, state inspectors approve Camp Mystic's safety plan, according to Department of State Health Services records. Their report notes the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding “procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster.” Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counselor.

A storm unleashes heavy, isolated rainfall early on July 4, 2025, sending floodwaters rushing down the Guadalupe River through the hilly region in central Texas. The fast-rising waters quickly overtake two cabins closest to the river, sweeping the youngest girls to their deaths. Camp owner Richard Eastland also dies in the flooding.

Flanked by family members who lost their children at Camp Mystic, Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 5 signs several bills aimed at preventing similar tragedies. The new laws prohibit cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and require camp operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers and to install and maintain emergency warning systems. One allocates $240 million for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and improved weather forecasting.

The owners of Camp Mystic announce a plan to partially reopen the camp in a Sept. 23 letter to parents, prompting outrage from some of the victims' families. The camp also says it will build a memorial to those who were killed. Parents say they weren't consulted. Cici Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains missing, writes in a scathing letter that campers would “swim in the same river that may potentially still hold my daughter’s body.” Parents call the plan “unthinkable.”

The families of the girls who died in the flooding file lawsuits alleging the camp's operators failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached. The lawsuits, filed Nov. 10 in state court in Austin, seek more than $1 million in damages but do not specify an exact amount.

Texas health regulators tell Camp Mystic’s owners they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp as the state considers whether to allow it to reopen. The investigations announced April 7 underscore the challenges camp owners face as they push ahead with their plans.

Texas state regulators find nearly two dozen deficiencies in the emergency operations plan submitted by the owners. An 11-page report sent April 24 by the Health Services Department notes problems with plans for flood warning evacuations, an emergency warning and public address system, the monitoring of safety alerts and safety training.

The April 13-15 hearing shines new light on what happened before and during the flood. Camp director Edward Eastland acknowledges lives could have been saved if staff had acted sooner, but insists they could not have anticipated the severity of the storm. A security guard testifies he received no orders from camp officials on what to do as the floodwaters rose but was able to help a group of campers escape to safety.

An investigator told lawmakers on Thursday that young and inexperienced counselors were not trained to help campers during floods or other emergencies, and feared making decisions on their own. Casey Garrett said a “obedience” culture paired poorly trained teenage counselors with the youngest campers and fostered complacency about flood warnings. A written report is expected later this year.

Camp Mystic officials on April 30 withdrew their application for a license to operate this summer. “No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” their statement said. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the withdrawal.