Controversial Removal of Camp Mystic Buildings from Flood Maps

A search and rescue team scoured the Guadalupe River near a compromised structure at Camp Mystic. Federal authorities consented multiple times to exclude Camp Mystic's buildings from official flood maps, despite these maps indicating high flooding risks for the area.

The U.S. government permitted Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp situated along the Guadalupe River, to exclude several buildings from federal flood maps. Private evaluations, however, pointed to ongoing—and even heightened—flood risks, a discrepancy revealed through documents and datasets reviewed by NPR.

Camp Mystic urged FEMA, the agency accountable for mapping potential flood zones, to modify its maps to exclude over a dozen structures from designated floodplains. During a significant expansion phase in 2020, Camp Mystic did not dismantle any structures previously identified as vulnerable to flooding.

Modifications were sought after FEMA rolled out revised maps in 2011, which classified large portions of the camp's grounds as floodplain zones, signaling substantial flooding hazards as per official records.

Federal guidelines suggest that removing structures from flood maps enables construction practices to better withstand floods, like raising buildings' elevation or fortifying their foundations. This also potentially lifts obligatory flood insurance for property owners.

An analysis conducted by NPR and PBS’s FRONTLINE indicated that many camp buildings were at an elevated risk of flooding than FEMA maps had previously shown. Tragically, a flash flood on Independence Day claimed the lives of over twenty campers and staff, including the camp's proprietor.

New York-based First Street Foundation, known for climate risk analysis, illustrated that at least 17 of the camp's structures are vulnerable to flooding. FEMA's documents, however, do not specify which buildings were successfully removed from the maps.

Camp Mystic has not addressed queries regarding the request for map removals, initially covered by the Associated Press. FEMA stated that its public-reviewed maps should not be juxtaposed with those from private entities, noting distinctive methodologies.

A significant disparity arises because FEMA does not chart rainfall or flash floods in its cartographic efforts, noted Jeremy Porter, a data scientist with First Street. FEMA is primarily reliant on coastal surge and large river flooding data, despite the rising incidence of heavy rainfall due to climate shifts.

The issue extends beyond Texas and is reflected on a national scale, according to Porter. Their findings suggest that FEMA’s mapping significantly underestimates flood-prone habitation, leaving many Americans unaware of their exposure to flood hazards.

FEMA's warnings can sometimes go unheeded, as an NPR and PBS investigation found. Several camp cabins, catering to younger attendees, along with dining and recreational facilities, were situated in what FEMA categorizes as a floodway. This area is expected to endure swift and deep waters during flooding events.