Everybody knows the NWS did their job - their watches were out there on Thursday. There were even friends we know who left Kerrville Thursday night and figured they would drive back to Kerrville Friday if things were fine, based on what they were hearing and being concerned about all of that moisture moving up (they have experience with river flooding in the past), and they said others left the area and went back to Austin/East based on traffic around them. Unfortunately, prior to this weekend, based on public comments, because there's so many smaller floods or near-floods, the officials and businesses weren't going to treat every one of them as if it's a repeat of '87.
Because of the history and geography of that area, and because of what just happened, I would imagine that at this point going forward, that mentality of blowing off flood watches/warnings, and the old mentality of upper-river camps warning down-river camps will be thrown out the window.
Any camps in that area that are able to re-open, will not be insured unless they have some serious and verified warning systems in place going forward and some kind of night watch improvement, and the cabins will have to be on a higher elevation (and I really have my doubts about whether they could get any kind of insurance for anything close to the flood plain). And I imagine the state will change up regulations or add regulations concerning this stuff. And I'd also imagine that it won't be just the camps, but that there will need to be local/county improvements to warning systems, for the insurance companies to sign off on anything.
But I have my doubts about how many of those camps will ever re-open. Back in the 80s during the last bad flood, that coverage was pretty limited outside of the area/Texas - I only remember the 1987 flood because one of those who drowned was the kid of one of my mom's friends. If you were not directly affected, after a few days, it drops out of the public consciousness. Fast forward to 2025 and a year or two from now, thanks to the internet, this stuff will still be fresh and easily accessed.
Even if they satisfy the insurance companies and even if the local municipalities improve/add warning systems, and they meet whatever standards the state changes or adds, how many parents are going to be willing to risk it? Even 2-3 kids drowning would be enough for a lot of parents to bail on those camps, but 27?