The families of six children and two teenage counselors killed in flooding this summer at Camp Mystic in Texas' Hill Country on Monday accused the camp of putting "profit over safety" by ignoring warnings about the risky location of cabins and failing to evacuate campers as a storm blew in.

Flooding in Texas left 27 dead at Camp Mystic, spurring several families to sue. The camp has contended that the flooding was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The July 4 flooding at the summer camp caused the deaths of 27 people, including soon-to-be third-graders Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Lainey Landry, Blakely McCrory and Eloise "Lulu" Peck, as well as counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo, who were incoming first years at the University of Texas, according to two lawsuits filed in Travis County.

"These young girls died because a for-profit camp put profit over safety," one suit alleges. "The camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins."

"The camp chose not to make plans to safely evacuate its campers and counselors from those cabins, despite state rules requiring evacuation plans, and not to spend time and money on safety training and tools," it states. "Instead, the camp chose to assure its campers and counselors that these cabins are built on 'high, safe locations.'"

What's more, Camp Mystic has known its cabins "sat in the bullseye of potential flood waters from the Guadalupe River" since July 1932, according to the suit filed by the Peck family.

"Since that date, Camp Mystic continued to play Russian roulette with the lives of the little girls, disregarding what Camp Mystic knew would be an unspeakable tragedy when the flood hit those cabins," the Pecks said.

According to the litigation, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority has stated that the Guadalupe River Basin is one of the three most dangerous regions in the U.S. for flash floods, and Camp Mystic has previously been impacted by these sudden floods on numerous occasions. Several of the camp's cabins — including those housing the plaintiffs' children — were located in the floodplain, one of the highest-risk locations for flooding, the families allege.

And while the camp in the mid-2010s undertook a multimillion-dollar expansion of its facilities, it decided not to relocate any of the older buildings and cabins that were in the most danger from floodwaters, according to the litigation.

To make matters worse, Camp Mystic implemented "dangerous policies" in the event of a flood, including that "all campers on Senior Hill must stay in their cabins ... those on the flats must also stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office," the litigation states.

Starting on July 3, the camp started receiving alerts from the National Weather Service about the potential for significant rain and flooding, until around 1 a.m. on July 4 when the NWS issued a warning for "life threatening flash flooding," according to the litigation.

But instead of taking steps to keep campers and counselors safe, Camp Mystic ignored the warnings, the families said. Instead, staff worked to keep camp equipment safe and dry, the litigation states.

"Defendants knew that if they ordered counselors and campers to stay in their cabins, even watching the rising flood waters and knowing the area's history of catastrophic flooding, it was substantially certain the girls would sustain grave or fatal injuries," the families allege, noting that the campers and counselors left behind could have easily walked to safety before it was too late.

Even after the devastating waters receded and the bodies of victims were discovered, Camp Mystic told families their daughters were "unaccounted for," providing false hope to some parents that their children could be alive, according to the litigation.

"Most recently, defendants enthusiastically announced the camp would reopen next summer. Yet a camper, Cile Steward, remains missing," the families said, adding that the camp "used the deceased girls as a recruiting tool, touting a 'memorial' they would build in their honor — without ever asking the parents of the girls."

"Defendants' rush to reopen their for-profit campsite, while parents still grieve their lost daughters, is only the latest example of the camp putting profits over all else," they said.

The families assert claims for negligence, negligent undertaking, premises liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things. They are seeking damages, funeral expenses, counseling expenses, litigation costs and interest.

The Peck family's claims include negligence, gross negligence, premises liability and concert of action. They are seeking wrongful death, survival, exemplary and other damages of at least $1 million, as well as litigation costs and interest.

"Our clients have filed this lawsuit to seek accountability and truth. Camp Mystic failed at its primary job to keep its campers and counselors safe, and young girls died as a result," Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman LLP, an attorney for the families, said in a statement Monday.

"This action is about transparency, responsibility and ensuring no other family experiences what these parents will now suffer the rest of their lives," he said.

Molly DeWitt's father, Ryan DeWitt, added, "We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do. This legal step is one of honoring her, and we believe that truth and justice are essential to finding peace — not only for our family, but for every family affected."

"We trust that through this process, light will be shed on what happened, and our hope is that justice will pave the way for prevention and much-needed safety reform," he said.

Lulu Peck's father, Tim Peck, said in a statement that he and his wife are pursuing legal action "not out of anger, but out of love — love for our child, and for the truth and justice she deserves. We are asking for accountability, transparency and meaningful change, so that no other parents have to endure this kind of loss."

Randy Howry of Howry Breen & Herman LLP, an attorney representing the Peck family, added, "This was not an unforeseeable act of nature. What happened at Camp Mystic was preventable, and no parent should ever endure the pain of sending their child to a place of safety only to face tragedy."

A representative for Camp Mystic did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.

In a statement received by CNN, Jeff Ray, legal counsel for Camp Mystic, said: "We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and all families in the Hill Country who lost loved ones in the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4."

"We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area," the statement continued. "We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and [camp executive director] Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well."

The families are represented by R. Paul Yetter, Justin P. Tschoepe, J. Reid Simpson and Shannon N. Smith of Yetter Coleman LLP.

The Peck family is represented by Randy R. Howry and Sean E. Breen of Howry Breen & Herman LLP, Jarom Tefteller of Tefteller Law PLLC and Ron Armstrong II of the Armstrong Firm PLLC.

Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.

The suits are Warren and Patricia Bellows et al. v. Camp Mystic LLC et al., case number D-1-GN-25-009963, and Eloise "Lulu" Peck et al. v. Camp Mystic LLC et al., case number unavailable, both in the 455th District Court of Travis County, Texas.