Ashley Dickens, a nurse and mother in Springfield, Tenn., was already a bit nervous. She was days away from dropping off her 11-year-old daughter, Natalie, at summer camp, the first time that she would be attending.

Then came the tragedy at Camp Mystic in Central Texas, a flood on the Guadalupe River on July 4 that swept away trees, belongings and the lives of more than two dozen campers and staff members.

Ms. Dickens and her husband watched the news last weekend with horror, immediately asking themselves whether they could bear taking Natalie to camp after all.

“Oh gosh, we went back and forth several times on whether to send her or not,” she said. “We got online, searching what body of water was near camp, trying to figure out the likelihood of anything happening.”

Across the country, the scenes of muddy destruction at the riverfront Camp Mystic left Americans in shock and anguish, wondering how so many young lives could have been lost. The flooding took on particular resonance for campers, parents and directors at thousands of overnight camps, which are places of refuge and adventure in the heart of their summer season.

Camp directors spent this week reviewing their safety and security protocols. Some camps added even more safety procedures.