When Katie Poe heard about the deadly floods in Texas that claimed over 100 lives, including more than two dozen members of a sleepaway summer camp, all she wanted to do was hug her two daughters.
They were away at Camp Alleghany for Girls, an overnight camp in West Virginia. Poe, whose son will attend the overnight Echo Hill Camp on the Eastern Shore later this summer, said the news “hits very close to home.”
“Just absolute sorrow for the families,” Poe, a Towson resident, said. “I’m pretty destroyed for the whole entire camp community that this has happened.”
Following the flood, the director of Camp Alleghany sent parents a lengthy email detailing the camp’s safety protocols — “comforting” to read, Poe said.
Overnight summer camps throughout Maryland similarly emphasized their emergency weather safety protocols and showed support for the victims in the wake of the deadly Texas flooding Friday.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to Camp Mystic,” said Zach King, the residency director at River Valley Ranch in Carroll County. “We obviously care deeply about the safety of children, and we have ourselves in a position where we’re tasked with keeping campers safe, so we know the pain that they must be feeling in that situation.”
At least 27 campers and counselors have died after flash floods devastated Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt, Texas. The camp is located along the Guadalupe River, which rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, state officials said.
Similar camps in Maryland, such as River Valley Ranch, received a handful of calls from parents asking about weather protocols. The camp posted their weather protocols at the top of its website.
“Part of dealing with anxiety is giving [parents] all the information to say we take your child’s safety seriously,” said Jon Bisset, executive director of River Valley Ranch.
These proactive protocols include a computer dedicated to tracking the live National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radar and alerts, a text alert system to all leadership staff, a camp-wide public announcement system, radio communication and a color-coded alert system — staff receive daily texts with green, yellow or red alerts about the weather.
In 2014, River Valley Ranch experienced an extreme weather-related tragedy when a 12-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell on him during a thunderstorm — eight other campers were injured in the storm.
Bisset said it was a “freak accident” similar to the Texas flood. The experience gives him insight into what the Texas camp community is feeling.
“At the time, we had good protocols in place, but I think we realized we needed to step up,” Bisset said. “It would be a shame if a tragedy happened and there were never changes made.”
JJ Hill, executive director of Indian Lake Christian Camp, a summer camp in Harford County, said the Texas tragedy brought safety to “front of mind” in the camp’s weekly staff meeting Sunday.
“We definitely talked at our staff meeting about, ‘Hey, these parents have this front of mind. They’re gonna be a little bit more nervous dropping off,’” Hill said. “This is why we practice all of the things that we have worst case scenarios for.”
Hill said campers will go to a concrete bath house for protection in extreme weather scenarios, all staff have emergency procedures in their handbook and four people are watching the radar.
While Indian Lake Christian Camp is located near the Susquehanna River, the camp is high enough on a hill where flooding isn’t a concern, Hill said.
River Valley Ranch, located near the Gunpowder River and Muddy Creek, is more susceptible to potential flooding. Bisset said Gunpowder Falls experienced a “significant flood” 20 years ago. No buildings or dorms would be affected by significant floods, but the camp is extremely cautious around the river in the rain.
Bisset said River Valley Ranch is sending a big card signed by the camp’s staff to Camp Mystic “expressing our love and care.”
“Our counselors, our staff, they feel the weight of what has happened in Texas, but also they feel prepared,” King said. “You can prepare for what you can prepare for, and so we do our best that we can, and I feel confident in the things that we prepared.”
Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or on X at @bnords03.