Yes. From what I've read, the Mystic camp staff received the flash flood warning. Why the camp was not evacuated remains a mystery other than the natural reluctance of adults to not awaken sleeping children when they had no way to really expect what was going to happen. It had not happened before but then the Guadalupe River had not risen more than 20 feet in less than an hour before.
It often takes a terrible terrible tragedy like this--something that never happened before--to get protections and policies in place to ensure it doesn't happen again.
People die in terrible unexpected tragedies--wildfires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. all over the world every year, probably every day, that goes by.
Could this tragedy have been avoided? Absolutely with a good measure of caution and precaution. And I'm pretty sure that safeguards and policies will be put into place to ensure i never happens again.
Meanwhile, to blame God is just dumb.
As a resident of 50 years of a Major, MAJOR Hurricane pathway, I can't tell you the number of times I've heard, ''EVACUATE NOW!!! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T EVACUATE NOW!!!"
The last one that went roaring through here (Ian) killed hundreds of people. My Kid was driving the Beach and he personally saw bodies floating up in the surf to the beach, He works for a big Construction Supply House.
They told me, "Evacuate or DIE!" I stayed. Nothing. They've told me to evacuate many times. Predicted Hell On Earth, Biblical Flooding, etc, etc.
And most of the time, they're just dead wrong.
Know whay? Because they Over-Warn people.
I remember one time, years ago, The Kid, at the urging of his fretful Wife, loaded up his car with him, his Wife, his son, their 90lb dog and her Mother and Father. In a 5 passenger vehicle. 4 Adults, 1 teenage boy and a 90lb Lab.
Hauled ass to the Panhandle where a relative lives. Stuck on I-75 traffic for 15 hours, bumper to bumper, gas stations closed or overwhelmed or both, nowhere to stop and rest, no motels, Rest Areas crowded, Street Urchins from town prowling all over.
Then there was the 12 hour ride back. Because -- Traffic. Stop and Go on I-75 the whole way. Both ways
And while he was gone, the power went out and his refrigerator/freezer leaked water and food all over the floor and did several thousand dollars worth of damage. No to mention the wonderful smell it left.
They Over-Warn, and people have gotten into the habit of ignoring them.
You gotta know where you live and what's going on. You live in Hill Country and the rain is multiplied geometrically. Five inches of rain for us is an afternoon shower. In Hill Country, it can kill you.
Five inches of rain here and it just kinda lays there and takes two or three days to drain. Five inches of rain in Hill Country and every place with a higher elevation is draining a buttload of rain water down to the lower elevations and especially into Creeks and rivers.
The old-timers that ran the place should have known better. A lot of them died, too. A lot. Really a lot.
But only scum of the Earth dimocrap FILTH would try to score political points on the bodies of dead children.
dimocrap scum have done it before, MANY times, and I promise -- They'll do it again.
Because they're scum. That's what scum does
