One Tragedy. One Success. One Clear Message About Camp Safety.
Scarcely a week after the one-year anniversary of the deadly flooding at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country, we had another eerily similar situation unfold in the Missouri Ozarks when Camp Taum Sauk flooded in an overnight flash flood that some locals called a “biblical” event. However, unlike what happened at Camp Mystic, this event had a happy ending. No lives were lost at Camp Taum Sauk because they put an emergency response plan into action.
What the Camp Taum Sauk flood demonstrated is what was quickly realized in the aftermath of Camp Mystic: we have a massive policy gap when it comes to camps, campgrounds, and RV parks. There are only a couple of states with laws that have meaningful regulation of camps for natural hazards like floods, wildfires, etc., including the requirement to have an Emergency Action Plan. And even when plans exist, they may be inadequate. Perhaps worse, our processes for permitting and regulating overnight cabins, as well as flood mapping, give people a false sense of security and honestly don’t go nearly far enough.
That is why ASFPM jumped at the opportunity to help. Two weeks ago, we launched a webpage on camp resources that includes step-by-step guidance for developing an EAP as well as model ordinance language. Why both? Because both are needed. When we analyzed existing EAPs for camps, it became clear that flooding was a hazard often mixed in with other weather events, and the plans were often far too generic to be of practical use, in addition to other shortcomings. Generic = deadly. There also is a need for common-sense mandates that ensure EAPs are not only developed, but are exercised so that campers and staff have knowledge of flood risks and how to respond. Prior to Camp Mystic, our research was only able to identify one state with comprehensive state regulations for camps and campgrounds when it came to flood risk, and that was Wisconsin. Since then, Oklahoma and Texas have adopted new laws, and a handful of other states are considering them. It is exciting to see others acknowledging the need to do more.
All of that being said, there are still additional considerations that we need to think about. What about standards for things like overnight cabins in floodways or in the floodplain where flash flooding is a risk? How about access — ingress and egress to a campground or campsite? And what about the seemingly perennial issue of a site being filled, a LOMR-F being issued, and then everyone forgetting about the flood risk — perhaps LOMR-Fs are not a good idea or maybe we need to think of another approach to mapping revisions altogether.
After 33 years in this field, I continue to be amazed at what there is left to do, and how much is still left to learn. Let’s make sure that the Camp Mystic tragedy is something that we never forget. We must learn from it and make the appropriate adjustments so it never happens again. Finally, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Jeff Herd and Mary Bart on the staff of ASFPM for their work on these campground resources and for the generous funding from the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies for allowing this important work to proceed.
Your partner in loss reduction,
