In the wake of the deadly floodwaters that devastated Camp Mystic in Texas, Henry Dehart of the American Camp Association explains how summer camps prepare for severe weather emergencies.

Texas

In response to the recent fatal flooding at a Texas summer camp, the American Camp Association (ACA) has highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness at camps nationwide. Henry DeHart, interim president and CEO of the ACA, explained that while most weather-related risks at camps are minor, such as sunburn or heat, camps are required to have comprehensive emergency plans tailored to their specific locations and risks, including floods and wildfires.

These plans involve regular staff training, risk assessments, and coordination with local first responders. Accreditation by the ACA mandates that camps connect with emergency services and review their procedures annually or more frequently. The ACA is currently developing additional educational resources to support camps and reassure parents in light of recent events.

How summer camps prepare for severe weather emergencies

Safety is always a priority at summer camps. But after this week's deadly flooding tragedy in Central Texas, there's a renewed focus on severe weather safety planning. The American Camp Association is a national nonprofit that accredits camps across the country on health, safety, and risk management. Joining us right now is Henry DeHart, interim president and CEO of the ACA. Sir, thank you for joining us. I know it's been a difficult time for everybody. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me here. It's just such an incredible tragedy. And while the whole country's mourning for the tragedy in Texas, it's been really exciting to see how the camp community has rallied to support those camps and those communities there. But thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that is what camp is all about too. So let's talk about emergency plans for summer camps. What are they expected to have in place for severe weather events and are there drills to practice these? Yeah, great question. And I know parents are really nervous right now, appropriately so. Let me just start by saying that the most common weather-related risks that a parent is likely to have their child face at camp is sunburn, dehydration, heat, thunderstorms, the basic things that we see all the time. Those are things that parents can help their kids actually prepare for and camps have well-honed strategies. So I just want to put that out there that while we're all thinking about national disasters, that's probably the things that we want to focus on as we're sending our kids to camp. But camps do have emergency plans. They spend a lot of time doing risk assessments. They look at location-specific concerns, which can be different in different parts of the country. It might be flooding in one part, could be wildfires in another part. Once they have these plans, they do staff train around them and rehearse those plans. And a part of those plans are, how are they going to communicate? How do they get their information about potential challenges? But then also how do they communicate out to parents in an emergency? So lots of planning in place. What is required of them changes from state to state. States regulate camps and it varies widely, which is one of the reasons ACA has an accreditation program. We're really the only national set of standards around health and safety. And we try and support camps in enhancing those health and safety practices. And as we move forward here, how do camps, if we could go to number three, please, how do camps coordinate with local officials and emergency management teams? Great, so it's a great practice for camps to connect with local first responders, have a relationship, let them know when their session dates are. And then ideally they'll also sit down with their emergency plans and they'll review those with the local first responders because they'll often have good insights into things they might want to tweak based on their experiences. So this is a good practice. If you're accredited by the American Camp Association, it's a mandatory standard that you reach out and connect with these local first responders. But many camps are doing this because it just makes good sense. We talked a little bit about drills and preparing. So what else does preparedness include at camps for staff and campers? And is the guidance changing as severe weather becomes more frequent? Well, the practices include a lot of what we just talked about, reviewing all of the different practices, having those in place, training and rehearsing ahead of time on those things. They're very localized to what the camp's concerns are. Camps are reviewing these at least annually and often more than that. I will say that whenever you have a major event like this, there's gonna be learning that comes out of it. And so I do expect across the country right now, camps are taking their emergency plans and just evaluating them based on what's happened and seeing if they should tweak them. I also know that camps are reaching out to parents to try and let them know what their plans are because they know that parents are anxious about that. And of course, ACA is watching and we're developing educational resources right now in the moment. But as we learn more over the coming weeks and months, we will also be focused on evaluating what practices make the most sense and what changes might happen. And then we'll make that available in educational resources to camps across the country. Henry DeHart, Interim President and CEO of the ACA, thank you for joining us here in AccuWeather early. And I think after hearing you speak, I think a lot of parents feel a lot better. Agreed, absolutely.

The National Guard has started to patrol the streets of Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency. He’s also ordered troops to clear out all homeless encampments by the end of the week.

Washington

National Guard starts patrolling Washington

Record-high temperatures across Europe are fanning wildfires across the continent. Experts say a warming climate and an increase in flammable vegetation from rural depopulation are major factors.

Madrid

Historic heat fuels fires across Europe

Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán said the EU attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited. He also called for an EU-Russia summit.

Brussels

Ukraine Invasion

EU leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin talks

President Trump said Monday he expects that Russia and Ukraine will "land swap" certain territories as part of an eventual ceasefire deal. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump claims 'land swapping' between Russia, Ukraine will happen

Taylor Swift confirmed her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," in a teaser for her upcoming appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast. Swift did not disclose the release date of the album.

Taylor Swift announces new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will be to "feel out" the leader as pressure mounts for Russia and Ukraine to make a peace deal.

Trump to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday

A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place in Alaska, with European leaders notably excluded from the talks. Until Europe can defend itself, it's not likely to be invited to a great power dialogue, experts have told Euronews.

Alaska

Europe frozen out as U.S. and Russia prepare for Alaska talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will instantly show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.

Trump says both sides in Ukraine war will need to cede territory

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues and another journalist in an Israeli airstrike in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israeli strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

At last one person is dead, dozens are injured and two people are unaccounted for after an explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton plant in Pennsylvania on Monday.

Clairton

At least 1 dead, dozens injured in U.S. Steel plant explosion

President Donald Trump has placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and announced he's activating the National Guard to combat crime in Washington, D.C.

Trump deploying National Guard to Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is thanking European leaders for backing his push to join this week's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, insisting an end to the war must be fair.

Trump and Putin set to meet on Friday without Zelenskyy

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies fear being sidelined and worry any deal could reward Moscow’s occupation of Ukrainian territory.

Kyiv

Ukraine fights for a seat at the table ahead of Trump-Putin summit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending his decision to keep fighting in Gaza, despite protests at home and abroad. Debora Patta has the latest.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Netanyahu defends plan to expand war in Gaza

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is thanking European leaders for backing his push to join this week's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, insisting an end to the war must be fair. Willie James Inman has more from the White House.

Anchorage

Countdown begins to Trump-Putin meeting, without Zelenskyy

Violent weather hit several Midwest states over the weekend, with high winds being blamed for the death of at least one person in Nebraska and flash flooding prompting a state of emergency in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee inundated with floodwaters, one dead in Nebraska

Thirty-seven major wildfires are currently burning across nine states in the western United States. Firefighters have made significant progress on the Canyon Fire in California, achieving 62% containment and allowing over 4,000 residents to return home, with minimal property loss reported.

Major fires continue to burn across western U.S.

President Donald Trump's envoy met with the Qatari prime minister on Saturday in Spain to discuss possible deals to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, as Israel's military plans to expand into Gaza City. Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages and Palestinians alike are pleading for peace.

Families of Israeli hostages, Palestinians plead for ceasefire

Renewed anti-government protests have taken place in Israel, where relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas demanded their release and an end to the brutal war Israel has been waging in Gaza.

Israeli anti-government protesters take to the streets in Tel Aviv

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Kyiv "values and fully supports" a joint statement by European leaders that welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to try to end the war, while emphasizing the need to pressure Russia and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.

Europe stresses need to protect Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meet

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has firmly rejected Russia’s proposal requiring land concessions to end the war. Ukrainian and European officials have submitted a counterproposal to Washington.

Ukraine, Europe counter Russian ceasefire proposal ahead of US talks

There have been more protests, and counter protests, in several British towns and cities, outside of hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers. Some far-right protesters called for one of the hotels to stop housing migrants.

Bournemouth

UK: Anti-immigration & anti-racism protesters face off

A man who opened fire on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, firing into the complex from a pharmacy and killing a police officer, blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, according to reports.

Atlanta

Vaccine conspiracy could be behind Atlanta shooting

The Gifford Fire burning through the rugged backcountry of California's Central Coast is now the state's largest wildfire of the year. It has reached so-called "mega-fire" status and is one of 38 large fires burning across nine states.

San Luis Obispo

Largest California wildfire of 2025 reaches "mega fire" status

President Trump is preparing to take another swing at a deal with President Putin during a high-stakes summit next Friday in Anchorage, Alaska. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country will never give up land, even if it means an end to the war.

Trump: Ukraine must cede land for ceasefire; Zelenskyy refuses

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold a rare Sunday meeting to discuss Israel's plan to intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking control of Gaza City. CBS News' Debora Patta reports on the conflict and the mounting humanitarian crisis.

Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza comes under fire

At least 200 protesters have been arrested at a rally showing solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Parliament in London. Crowds are also demonstrating against a ban on the Palestine Action group, after it was designated as a terrorist organisation.

Breakdown