The flooding that overwhelmed Texas’ Guadalupe River on Friday and stranded members of an all-girls Christian camp is proving to be worse than a 1987 disaster triggered by a near-identical deluge that drowned 10 teenagers attending a church camp.
The 1987 Guadalupe River flood caught campers by surprise on the evening of July 16 after an unexpected thunderstorm strengthened by a cold front dumped nearly 12 inches of rainfall over Hunt, Texas.
The camps located along the river quickly started to evacuate early the next morning as water levels swelled to 29-feet high — after rising a frightening 25 feet in just 45 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.
A flood at the Guadalupe River in 1987 claimed the lives of 10 teenagers at a church camp. National Weather ServiceMore than 300 campers from multiple churches were staying overnight at the Pot O’ Gold Ranch, including one group of 43 from a Seagoville Road Baptist Church and Balch Springs Christian Academy, according to a memorial plaque erected at the entrance to the ranch.
The campers were loaded onto their buses and caravans around 7:45 a.m. on July 17, according to the National Weather Service as water levels continued to surge, stretching from Ingram to Comfort, Texas and extending almost a mile beyond its typical bank.
As the fleet was leaving the ranch, the flood reached the camp gate, forcing them to try an alternate route. But not every vehicle managed to escape.
The final bus in the caravan, carrying members of the Seagoville Road Baptist Church, and a small van behind them slammed into the backwash and became stranded, according to the NWS.
Most of the 300 campers escaped, but flooding cut off one bus and van. National Weather Service
Campers and staff aboard the stranded vehicles formed a human chain to try and stay together, but were swept away. National Weather ServiceChurch leaders rushed the teenagers out of the vehicles, but encountered a wall of water nearly half a mile wide while they were trying to wade through the flood to dry ground.
The group formed a human chain to try and best the current, but were quickly scattered.
Follow 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
Ten of the teenagers swept away died in the flood, including a girl named Melanie Finley who fell to her death during a rescue attempt, KSAT reported.
The remaining 33 children and adults clung to treetops until they were rescued via helicopter by the Texas Department of Safety, members of the US Army and a local television station.
Some of the 1987 flood victims plummeted to their deaths. National Weather ServiceIn the years since the devastating flood, few additional safety measures have been put in place.
On Friday, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a news conference that the area doesn’t “have a warning system” and that they “didn’t know [Friday’s] flood was coming.”
Four girls attending Camp Mystic were killed and 23 were still unaccounted for Saturday as a result of the Guadalupe River flooding, which devastated the region. Hundreds of rescue personnel are scouring the area for them and any other survivors.
In all, 32 people were killed, including 14 children.
