, a prestigious girls’ summer camp in Kerr County, Texas, sits along the Guadalupe River within a region known as "Flash Flood Alley."
The camp was included in FEMA’s “Special Flood Hazard Area” in 2011, requiring flood insurance and stricter building regulations12.
: FEMA approved an appeal to remove 15 Camp Mystic buildings from the flood hazard map.
: FEMA granted further appeals, removing 15 more structures, including those at the newly expanded Cypress Lake site1.
These changes reduced regulatory oversight, potentially lowering insurance costs and easing restrictions for new construction.
Camp Mystic’s requests to amend FEMA maps may have been aimed at:
Avoiding mandatory flood insurance.
Reducing insurance premiums.
Facilitating expansion and renovations under less stringent regulations1.
Experts criticized the removals, noting that many exempted buildings were still at clear risk, with some structures within two feet of the flood plain boundary1.
Data from First Street, a climate risk modeling firm, indicated that nearly all of Camp Mystic Guadalupe remained at risk for a 100-year flood, despite FEMA’s amendments12.
On July 4, 2025, catastrophic flash flooding swept through Camp Mystic, resulting in at least 27 deaths among campers and staff2.
The flooding was far more severe than the 100-year event anticipated by FEMA’s maps and occurred in the middle of the night, catching many off guard in a county with limited warning systems12.
The disaster highlighted the limitations of FEMA’s mapping process, which does not fully account for heavy precipitation on smaller waterways and may underestimate true flood risks2.
Floodplain management experts and researchers called the FEMA amendments “disturbing,” especially given the camp’s responsibility for child safety in a known hazard area1.
Studies show FEMA approves about 90% of map amendment requests, with the process favoring wealthier, newer, and higher-value properties1.
FEMA’s approval of map amendments for Camp Mystic reduced oversight and may have contributed to the camp’s vulnerability during the 2025 flood disaster.
The tragedy underscores the need for more accurate flood risk assessments and stricter regulation in high-risk zones, especially where children’s safety is at stake12.