Not Just a Camp. Not Just a Tragedy. A Mirror.
We've heard the polished grief for Camp Mystic. We've seen the prayers, the ribbons, the televised tears. And that grief is real. But so is the silence around everyone else who died in the same flood --in the same night-- just without the privilege.
Was this preventable?
FEMA funding slashed.
RV families from Odessa, gone.
So no. I'm not in the Mood to Be Witty
We can't claim that "nobody could have known."
Until now.
This isn't just about Camp Mystic.
It's about 82 lives lost across Central Texas.
It's about 27 girls and counselors at an elite camp and dozens of everyday Texans whose names you haven't see in the headlines.
We've heard the polished grief for Camp Mystic. We've seen the prayers, the ribbons, the televised tears. And that grief is real. But so is the silence around everyone else who died in the same flood --in the same night-- just without the privilege.
Was this preventable?
Yes.
Meteorologists screamed warnings days ahead.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood alerts hours before the water rose.
But the systems meant to respond had already been cut, gutted or ignored.
FEMA funding slashed.
NOAA and weather science jobs eliminated.
Local counties, like Kerr, still lacked sirens or river alarm systems even after decades of prior flooding.
And now? The same politicians who cut preparedness budgets are offering "thoughts and prayers" on camera.
Camp Mystic is a sacred name in Texas elite circles. Girls of governors, oil families, and even former first ladies have attended.
This summer:
~750 campers
~$4500 each,
Estimated $3.3-3.5 million in one session alone.
And yet, no real evacuation plan.
No sirens.
No weather-proof bunkers.
No required flood training.
Just prayers and hope on a river that's flooded before.
In 1932. In 1978. In 1987.
This was known.
And still, kids were sleeping in cabins on the banks.
While the nation grieves the girls at Mystic, 41 other Kerr country residents also died.
They weren't from legacy families.
They weren't in matching Mystic uniforms.
But they mattered.
RV families from Odessa, gone.
A 92-year-old swept from her attic.
A father-of-four drowned saving his kids.
A beloved camp director from a different girls' camp, lost
No headlines. No hashtags. Just grief.
While politicians bickered, Mexico sent firefighters.
Yes, Mexico sent trained first responders across the border to help rescue Americans.
Why? Because they know what community means.
Because some of the bravest acts that night came from two young Mexican counselors who rescued 20 girls, wrote their names on their bodies with Sharpie in case they didn't make it.
Let that sink in:
The same country demonized at our borders just saved our daughters.
We failed these kids.
All of them.
Nor just at Camp Mystic, but across the Hill Country.
We failed the RV family.
The old woman.
The teacher.
The father.
We failed the weather scientists who warned us.
We failed the responders who did not have the resources.
And we failed the Mexican heroes who won't get headlines but gave everything.
So no. I'm not in the Mood to Be Witty
Because this wasn't a tragedy. It was a choice.
A choice to ignore science.
A choice to protect profit over planning.
A choice to treat some deaths as national news and others as statistics.
We can't claim that "nobody could have known."
We did know.
We've known for decades.
We just decided it wasn't urgent.
Until now.
If you're reading this:
Say their names, all of them.
Demand sirens in every river town.
Fund FEMA.
Fund science.
And never forget that when the river came, it didn't ask what color your skin was or who had money.
It just took.
(Note that the death toll is currently at 104 with 41 still accounted for. Roughly half of that number are children.)
Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteIt is a heartbreaking story in a world filled with them.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteWell, We need to listen to science, prepare better, and honor every life equally. Tragedy or not, we can’t keep ignoring what we already know. Change is overdue.
Your words 'honor every life equally' would solve a great many of our world's problems, wouldn't it? So simple...but we can't do it.
DeleteIt's sad. Not sure the Texas or national politicians will change. God bless the rescuers from everywhere, including Mexico. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI think the thing that bothered me most was hearing a local official say that people were desensitized by too many alerts. Another said 'we know the river'. It sounds to me as if people entrusted to get the word out simply decided nothing was going to happen.
DeleteAll true and all tragic and possibly (probably?) preventable.
ReplyDeleteThe first alerts went out at 1:18 PM. They continued through the night. It is my understanding that there were also cell phone alerts. Over and over and over again, the warning went out. However somewhere along the line, it was decided that this was over reaction, that they knew more than the experts.
DeleteThe news about the two Mexican counsellors is on Threads...but I haven't seen it elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'd not heard one thing about Mexico sending first responders in either.
DeleteSuch moments in time always brings out the best in people but the sanctimonious twitterings by those in power is sad. A heart breaking event for all the families who have experienced loss.
ReplyDeleteWe saw heroes. The story of the father saving his children was one of them. I'm sure there are more.
DeleteNone of that, apart from Camp Mystic, has appeared in the News here.
ReplyDeleteTragic.
It is very tragic.
DeleteSomething not mentioned in the press is the loss of funds for bolstering climate resilience (ie, river gauges & sirens in this case) as grants from Biden's IRA bill to localities have been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteWe're paying a heavy price for ignoring science, and it is not going to get any better.
DeleteIt's a tragedy, brushed off as a 'once in 100 years event' which it clearly isn't. So many lives ripped apart.
ReplyDeleteI get so tired of hearing reports that say 'no one could have predicted...' It was predicted. There were warnings. How does a politician stand before the cameras and try to cast blame on the emergency alerts, by saying that there were so many of them, people became desensitized to them. I remember as a child, we camped at a place. We were surrounded by empty tents. It was very eerie. What we didn't realize is that there had been a flash flood event earlier in the week and that the police had come around and made people leave. There was still equipment waiting to be collected.
DeleteThis is literally the only place I've found such a summary of the other lives lost. It is beyond heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteYou're right.
DeleteGeez … 😞
ReplyDeleteThere but for the grace....
DeleteThis is one of the most touching things I have ever read. You expressed so well what needs to be said. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI should have said you and Mariana
DeleteI just copied this. The truth of it struck me hard.
DeleteThe camp was in a located in flash flood alley. Why would anyone build a camp there? The same reason the NOAA and FEMA were gutted?
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this thoughtful piece. It breaks my heart. I hope people start paying attention.
It's actually been there for generations. They've seen flooding through the years. It just seems as if they'd have some sort of emergency protocol for this. Especially given the amount of rain that was falling.
DeleteI am almost certain that this is only the first of many such tragedies we're going to see. When a hurricane wipes out Alligator Auschwitz and hundreds, if not thousands, perish, the people who are so happy about its presence are going to say- oh well. That's god's doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a strange god they must believe in.
There, Ms. Moon. You've said it. 'What a strange god they must believe in.' These are people who create a god in their own image. He hates who they hate. He punishes who they want to see suffer.
DeleteI have been reading about prior flooding and studies on warning systems. And basically, after completing the studies, it was decided that tax payers didn't want to fund any warning systems or personnel. Even though they KNEW the risk (and by they I am guessing local government officials).
ReplyDeleteVery sad posts today on insta by other people in the area. An RV park in a neighboring community who is begging for help. She received no warnings. Saw one Law Enforcement 24 hours later and is begging for help to search overturned campers that she knows have bodies inside. The media needs to blow this up to affect change. But they aren't. They are focusing on the little girls who had such outstanding futures ahead of them. But there are hundreds and thousands of other people who aren't as photogenic whose lives and families have been devastated and decimated.
Thank you. This is incredibly well written.
That is the tragedy of it all, Merry. I have to say that Ms. Hernandez put words to something that we all need to 'see'.
DeleteThank you for sharing this. It was a wake up call for me especially since I've only been reading the headlines.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the only one, I am sure.
DeleteSad, sad, sad.... and too much MAGAt BS to go along with it. I'm with Mary, who is that MAGAt god they worship?
ReplyDeleteI just think when people fashion a God in their own image, they in fact, worshipping themselves.
DeleteI know. I am beyond words.
ReplyDeleteI think many have simply run out of words. Thankfully Ms. Hernandez has not.
DeleteIt's horrible. Horrible.
ReplyDeleteIt is. At some point, the scales need to tip. Profit and $ need to cease to be the primary consideration. Arrogant people need to stop believing that they are smarter than the experts.
DeleteThank you for writing this. I didn't know about the Mexican first responders. It's horrifying that knowing of past flooding, the organization continued to use a dangerous location for a children's camp, of all things.
ReplyDeleteBoud, it was not written by me. I copied and pasted from Mariana Hernandez.
DeleteDear God, I have no words. We are going to pay a terrible price for ignoring science and the callous disregard for human life. A civilized society puts the infrastructure in place to protect its citizens, sadly we are not a civilized society anymore, "thoughts & prayers" just doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad to hear it: we are not a civilized society anymore. But when a country places more importance on money than people, I am not even sure the word "society' applies to us any more.
DeleteAck, just lost my long winded comment. To recap, there is a known flood alley. There should be sirens loud enough to wake people up. There should have been an evacuation plan. Nope, too much money.
ReplyDeleteAn elected official who voted against the alarm system says he would vote differently today.
Delete