Name: Camp Mystic hopes flood alarms will instill confidence after floods
Uploaded: 2025-12-11T00:55:29.248Z
Duration: 2 min 32 s
Description: Months after a flash flood killed over two dozen campers and counselors in Texas, a new flash flood warning system is being installed at Camp Mystic.

Months after a flash flood killed over two dozen campers and counselors in Texas, a new flash flood warning system is being installed at Camp Mystic.

Hunt

Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, is implementing a new flood warning system after a flash flood resulted in the deaths of 27 campers and counselors. The system features 8-foot aluminum towers equipped with water sensors, sirens, and lights, designed to provide immediate alerts even if power or cell service fails.

Developed by Ian Cunningham and his team, the system was created in under two months and is intended to restore confidence among camp staff and parents. A private foundation has funded the production of 100 units, which will be installed along the river near dorms and cabins, with the goal of preventing future tragedies.

Camp Mystic hopes flood alarms will instill 'confidence' after floods

Now to a CBS News exclusive. We have details tonight about a new flood warning system at Camp Mystic in Texas. More than two dozen girls and counselors were killed there in those 4th of July floods. Jason Allen has reported extensively on the disaster since it happened. And for the first time, a member of the family that owns the camp has agreed to be interviewed on camera. At the scene of one of the deadliest flash floods in Texas history, 8-foot tall aluminum towers are starting to appear on riverbanks. So the water detection switches are down in the bottom. Ian Cunningham showed us the flash flood warning system he and a small team are beginning to install. These are sirens? Correct. These towers are located at Camp Mystic's Cypress Lake, uphill from the sister camp to where 27 campers and counselors died in the July flood. I think everybody was asking themselves, how did this happen? Did you find yourself asking the same question? I absolutely did. And it's happened before, multiple times here in Texas. And I kind of think this has to be technologically solvable. He tells us he didn't look at it like a business, but as a way to save lives. My two daughters are campers. I can't imagine what those parents are going through. I shudder at the thought. Cunningham and his team combined water sensors from fishing boats, sirens, and lights from ambulances. They still work if power and cell towers go down. The research and design took them less than two months. Stimulated flood. You know, at a basic level, we're providing a smoke detector for floods on your property perimeter. It's another reason why we like this product is it will react and do what it's supposed to do without someone needing to be awake to set off the alarm. Brett Eastland is the director of Camp Mystic's Cypress Lake, who spoke only with CBS News about the new alarms. Were you looking to do more than whatever the state is going to provide? Absolutely. We needed something that was going to provide us confidence and all the parents confidence. Something that would make sure this never happened again. River Century had planned to make just a few of these, maybe give them away to camps. When word of mouth got out, though, a private foundation said make 100 of them at $7,500 a piece. So now they'll be installed up and down the river in front of dorms, cabins, homes, anywhere people are sleeping. And they should be online before camps open next summer.

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