Where this was said
The Eastlands Respond: Shelter in Place and a 1,000-Year Flood
At 42:53 · chapter starts 38:00
The Eastlands declined NBC's interview request, but their attorney Michael Watts made their case on camera. He argued the shelter-in-place policy saved hundreds of girls, that a 1,000-year flood was genuinely unforeseeable, and that digital evidence showed the water came from the hillside, not the rising river — a claim disputed by the National Weather Service. He also pointed to the state, arguing that Texas lawmakers had refused to fund upstream flood detection sirens nearly a decade earlier; had those sirens existed, he said, everyone could have been saved. At a Texas legislative hearing, Edward Eastland apologized and said the anger directed at him felt 'completely reasonable.' Jenny Gettin described sobbing when she first saw him speak. [1] — Michael Watts "The Eastland family's attorney says the shelter-in-place directive saved hundreds of girls, and that the real culprit was a freak 1,000-yea…" 40:49 [2] — Michael Watts "Michael Watts argues the real failure was at the state level: nearly a decade ago, Texas lawmakers refused to fund an upstream flood detect…" 43:37
Lawsuits allege the Eastlands successfully appealed to FEMA to reclassify cabins out of the flood hazard area and failed to disclose this to parents.
The Eastland family's attorney says the shelter-in-place directive saved hundreds of girls, and that the real culprit was a freak 1,000-year flood that no plan could have anticipated. He also argues water came from the hillside, not the river — a claim disputed by the National Weather Service.
Michael Watts argues the real failure was at the state level: nearly a decade ago, Texas lawmakers refused to fund an upstream flood detection system with sirens that would have given the camp enough warning to evacuate everyone safely. Without it, a text-only warning at 1:14 AM wasn't enough.
More than 130 people died along the Guadalupe River on the night of the flood, far beyond the Camp Mystic casualties alone.
