July 2025’s devastating flood that swept through Camp Mystic on the Guadalupe River left 27 dead, including 25 campers, two counselors, and the camp’s owner, Richard “Dick” Eastland, who was 70. The tragedy has spurred a statewide push for emergency sirens and a new law aimed at protecting youth camps from future floods.
The Tragedy
On a fog-laden December morning, windchimes rang while the memory of July’s flood seemed distant. Yet, on that Fourth of July weekend, the waters surged, claiming the lives of twenty-five campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic’s main site in Kerr County. The same night, the flood took the life of Eastland’s father, Richard “Dick” Eastland, who had directed the camp for more than five decades.
“We’re just grateful for all the prayers and support that a lot of people have been giving us,” Eastland said. “And, we’ll continue to pray for all of all the families affected.”
A New Law
In direct response to the disaster, Texas legislators enacted the Youth Camper Act. The act requires camps to maintain an emergency system that does not rely on the internet. “It can be very healing to come back, to be with our friends in the outdoors and continue to learn about Christ and to have a great experience,” Eastland added, noting that he believes his father would want the camp’s legacy to live on.
Eastland explained that the decision to reopen Camp Mystic this summer will depend on families’ comfort levels. “It’s a family decision whether or not they feel comfortable sending their daughters back to camp mystic,” he said. “And, we respect that.”
River Sentry Sirens
Eastland learned of a man installing flood sirens downstream and reached out to him. The man, Ian Cunningham, a former navy and commercial pilot, had founded River Sentry after studying the Kerr County floods.
“We started researching floods,” Cunningham said. “You know, and the difference between floods and flood tragedies. If you kind of get into it, you start to see some common elements that keep appearing. The flood tragedies happen at night. 80% of them have to do with sleeping.”
Cunningham and a small team built eight-foot-tall aluminum towers equipped with lights and sirens. “These will actually provide an extra layer of protection,” he said about adding the sirens to the county’s future flood emergency plans.
As water rises, it triggers the siren, which then sends a signal to the other towers. “In actuality, these should provide early warning up to 15 miles downstream,” Cunningham said. “We have to get to people before the water does.”
Every element of the tower is purposeful. The lights are the same ones used on ambulances, and they point only in one direction-the path to safety uphill. “The intent is to wake everybody up here and light up the egress solution, which is pointing uphill and only uphill,” Cunningham added.
Installation Plan
Cunningham outlined the current and planned locations:
- Four towers at Camp Mystic-Cypress Lake
- Six between Camp Rio Vista and Camp Sierra Vista
- Six at Camp La Junta, with additional towers possibly downstream in early January
When the project began, Cunningham said the plan was to donate the towers. Eastland noted that many camps joined forces to raise money, collecting funds from generous donors for a 15-mile alert system of 100 River Sentry towers. The total cost is $750,000.
“It’s a community wide effort,” Eastland said. “It’s camps in this area that are working on getting these towers. And, we’re sharing information about evacuation plans. And, it’s also just homeowners who live near the river. They’re going to put these and they’re going to help protect their neighbors.”
The sirens are a visible precaution, but Eastland emphasized that a new evacuation and emergency plan is essential if Camp Mystic opens partially this summer.
Both Eastland and Cunningham hope all 100 sirens will be installed along the south and north forks of the Guadalupe River by April.
Next Steps
Cunningham said he has a meeting with Travis County officials and has already been contacted by agencies across the country interested in installing sirens in their areas. He is also planning rubix-cube-sized alarms for homeowners and an app that will receive alerts triggered by the towers.
“I think as a state, we’ve been dealing with these flood tragedies for far too long. It’s just time we solve it in a good way,” Cunningham said. He added that the towers will have a control app allowing camp owners or administrators to sound alarms for other emergencies.
KXAN Investigates photographer Ritchie Bowes contributed to this report.
