In June 2025, more than 500 campers filled the cabins at Camp Mystic, a girls sleepaway camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. They played games. They fished. They counted down to the July 4th celebration.
But on the evening of July 3, a storm system moved in over Central Texas. Instead of passing through, it stalled, pounding the area for hours overnight.
Beside the camp, the river was rising.
It climbed several feet within an hour, and continued, threatening to submerge entire cabins.
Counselors woke girls in the dark. Some cabins sheltered in place, others sought higher ground.
By 6:00 the next morning, the storm was over and the water started to slowly recede.
Destruction was left behind.
But that was nothing compared to the devastation that would be revealed when the camp gathered and took a headcount to make sure everyone was OK.
Everyone was not OK.
Twenty-six families lost daughters in the flood at Camp Mystic.
And all that was left were questions. Why did their daughters die, and could their deaths have been prevented?
Watch the full episode of “After the Flood,” available now on Peacock.
You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to the full episode on our podcast.
Then watch as the families pay tribute to their lost daughters, now known as Heaven’s 27.
And hear from some of the Houston moms who share how they lean on each other for support in their shared grief.
Learn how the Hunt, Texas, community is moving forward after the flood.
Former Hunt Volunteer Fire Chief Lee Pool describes getting trapped by the deadly July 4, 2025, flash floods in Texas.
Then catch this week’s episode of Talking Dateline in which Lester Holt and NBC News National Correspondent, and Texas Hill Country native, Morgan Chesky talk about what it has been like for each of them covering the story. You can also watch Talking Dateline on Peacock, YouTube, or by subscribing to the NBC News app.
