In the days and weeks following the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Lila, at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country, Blake Bonner found himself wondering whether the tragedy was simply an unstoppable act of God, or if something could have been done to prevent it.
Lila was one of 27 Camp Mystic campers and counselors swept to their deaths when fast-rising floodwaters of the Guadalupe River roared through the girls’ summer camp. All told, the destructive flooding in Texas on the Fourth of July killed at least 136 people and washed away homes and vehicles.
“It just became clear to me that this incident was 100% preventable,” Bonner said, “and for a lot of reasons, I was going to do everything in my power, and I was hoping the other parents would as well, to make sure that our girls’ legacy wasn’t in vain.”
IIRC the cabins were built prior to the designation of that area as a flood plain, and the camp wasn’t required to relocate the cabins.
The owner I’m pretty sure, petitioned quite hard to keep that area out of flood zoning so they could keep it.