Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of people who died in the July 2025 flooding at Camp Mystic.

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — As windchimes sang on a foggy December morning, it was hard to imagine the chaos that flooded Camp Mystic nearly six months before.

A Fourth of July weekend Britt Eastland will never forget.

“We’re just grateful for all the prayers and support that a lot of people have been giving us,” Eastland said. “And, we’ll continue to pray for all of all the families affected.”

Twenty-five campers and two counselors at Mystic’s main camp site along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County were killed by swift waters. The flood also took the life of Eastland’s father, Richard ‘Dick’ Eastland.

The 70-year-old was Mystic’s owner and camp director for more than 50 years.

“It can be very healing to come back, to be with our friends in the outdoors and continue to learn about Christ and to have a great experience,” Eastland said.

In his heart, Eastland knew his dad would want to see his legacy live on.

“It’s a family decision whether or not they feel comfortable sending their daughters back to camp mystic,” Eastland said. “And, we respect that.”

As a direct result of the tragedy, Texas legislators passed the Youth Camper Act which calls for camps to have an emergency system that doesn’t require the use of internet.

Eastland heard about a man who was installing flood sirens at camps down stream and decided to give him a call.

That man was Ian Cunningham, a former navy and commercial pilot. He created River Sentry after learning about the Kerr County floods.

“We started researching floods,” Cunningham said. “You know, and the difference between floods and flood tragedies. If you kind of get into it, you start to see some common elements that keep appearing. The flood tragedies happen at night. 80% of them have to do with sleeping.”

The technology

He and his small team of engineers built eight-foot-tall aluminum towers equipped with lights and sirens.

“These will actually provide an extra layer of protection,” Cunningham said about adding the sirens to what the county plans for future flood emergencies.

As the water rises, it triggers the siren which then sends a signal to the other towers.

“In actuality, these should provide early warning up to 15 miles downstream,” Cunningham said. “We have to get to people before the water does.”

Cunningham said every element of the tower is purposeful, including the lights which are the same ones used on ambulances.

And, they point in only one direction, the path to safety.

“The intent is to wake everybody up here and light up the egress solution, which is pointing uphill and only uphill,” Cunningham said.

Where will the sirens be located and who is funding them?

Cunningham said four towers have been installed at Camp Mystic-Cypress Lake, six between Camp Rio Vista and Camp Sierra Vista and six will be installed at Camp La Junta and possibly more downstream in early January.

“When we first started, we were just going to donate them,” Cunningham said.

Eastland said many of the camps came together to raise money, collecting funds from generous donors to put towards a 15-mile alert system consisting of 100 River Sentry towers. Eastland said the cost of the project is $750,000.

“It’s a community wide effort,” Eastland said. “It’s camps in this area that are working on getting these towers. And, and we’re sharing information about evacuation plans. And, and it’s also just homeowners who live near the river. They’re going to put these and they’re going to help protect their neighbors.”

Eastland said the sirens are an obvious precaution but a new evacuation and emergency plan are important if they plan to partially open Camp Mystic this summer.

Both hope all 100 sirens will be installed along the south and north forks of the Guadalupe River by April.

What’s next?

Cunningham said he has a meeting with Travis County officials and has already been contacted by different agencies around the country that are interested in installing sirens in their area.

He’s also planning on developing rubix cube sized alarms for homeowners and an app they can download that will receive alerts triggered by the towers.

“I think as a state, we’ve been dealing with these flood tragedies for far too long. It’s just time we solve it in a good way,” Cunningham said.

He said the towers will also have a control app that will allow camp owners or administrators to sound alarms on the towers for other emergencies.

KXAN Investigates photographer Ritchie Bowes contributed to this report.