Camp Mystic’s co-owner only started evacuating campers more than 45 minutes after getting an emergency alert about the “life-threatening” flash floods, it has been revealed.
Richard “Dick” Eastland — who died trying to save young girls at his Hunt, Texas, camp on the Guadalupe River — got the initial National Weather Service blast on his phone at about 1:14 a.m., a spokesperson for his family told ABC News.
But he only began relocating campers at the private all-girls Christian camp to higher ground around 2 a.m. — just as the situation began deteriorating rapidly.
Camp Mystic director Dick Eastland died in the devastating floods. LeslieEastland/Facebook
People erect a cross by the Guadalupe River, across from Camp Mystic, following the deadly floods. REUTERS“They had no information that indicated the magnitude of what was coming,” the family spokesperson, Jeff Carr, said of the floods that would kill 27 children and counselors.
“They got a standard, run-of-the-mill NWS warning that they’ve seen dozens of times before,” Carr said.
The inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic after devastating floods hit the area. AFP via Getty Images
A map of Camp Mystic and how far it was from the Guadalupe River.
Eastland immediately began communicating with family members who worked at the camp via walkie-talkie as soon as he received the alert, which didn’t include an evacuation warning, according to Carr.
They started moving campers to higher ground when they saw the floodwaters, he added.
A sheriff’s deputy pauses while combing the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic. APFollow The Post’s coverage on the deadly Texas flooding
- Camp Mystic survivors heard screams in the dark as floodwaters hit hours earlier than previously thought
- Camp Mystic co-owner waited 45 minutes to evacuate campers after getting urgent ‘life-threatening’ flash floods alert
- Texas flood volunteers ordered to evacuate as heavy rainfall expected to strike devastated region
- Texas family mourns 8-year-old daughter confirmed dead in Camp Mystic flood disaster
Carr said the timeline, which he stressed was preliminary, had been pieced together after speaking with Eastland family members who worked at the camp and frantically helped in the evacuation.
He noted the family wanted to release the timeline to avoid speculation after the devastating flash floods ended up claiming the lives of 27 children and counselors.
