The stunning flood that killed more than two dozen campers and counselors along a river at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country was the result of extraordinary rain and walls of water. Nonetheless, experts agree that information about how a camp plans for emergencies is just as important as the lunch menu and the times to go swimming.

Camp staff went to bed following what seemed like routine flood warnings. Within hours, they were fighting for survival. “Chaos struck almost instantaneously.”