The flooding that overwhelmed Texas’ Guadalupe River on Friday and stranded members of an all-girls Christian camp is proving to be worse than a 1987 disaster triggered by a near-identical deluge that drowned 10 teenagers attending a church camp.
The 1987 Guadalupe River flood caught campers by surprise on the evening of July 16 after an unexpected thunderstorm strengthened by a cold front dumped nearly 12 inches of rainfall over Hunt, Texas.
The camps located along the river quickly started to evacuate early the next morning as water levels swelled to 29-feet high — after rising a frightening 25 feet in just 45 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.
Photo showing flood depth and location where a bus and van stalled.
A flood at the Guadalupe River in 1987 claimed the lives of 10 teenagers at a church camp.
National Weather Service
More than 300 campers from multiple churches were staying overnight at the Pot O’ Gold Ranch, including one group of 43 from a Seagoville Road Baptist Church and Balch Springs Christian Academy, according to a memorial plaque erected at the entrance to the ranch.
The campers were loaded onto their buses and caravans around 7:45 a.m. on July 17, according to the National Weather Service as water levels continued to surge, stretching from Ingram to Comfort, Texas and extending almost a mile beyond its typical bank
